UN Women trains Jordanian peacekeepers to address gender-based violence
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UN Women Jordan is supporting the Government of Jordan to ensure that its deployments of peacekeepers are equipped to address and combat sexual violence in conflict. To this end, Major-General Patrick Cammaert, a leading international expert on peacekeeping who has served in numerous capacities with both the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps and the United Nations[1], has just completed the first in a series of training for Jordan’s peacekeepers, undertaken in collaboration with the Jordan Armed Forces in the Peacekeeping Operations Training Centre.
“Pre-deployment training on conflict related sexual violence is vital for a successful implementation of the mandate,” affirmed Major-General Cammaert.
This support recognizes Jordan’s prominent role as a provider of global peace and security expertise. Since the creation of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Jordan has been among the top ten countries worldwide contributing to UN Peacekeeping Troops and UN Police Officers – with an estimated number of 61,611 officers deployed in the past 10 years. Given the widespread use of sexual and gender-based violence as a tactic of war, it is crucial for peacekeeper troops to be able to identify, prevent, and address this form of violence in order to strengthen protection mechanisms and provide effective support to survivors.
“The use of sexual and gender based violence as a military tactic represents an unacceptable form of humiliation and shame, women and girls being the vast majority of victims. Peacekeeping officers should be empowered to support the most vulnerable, mitigating the devastating effects on the lives of the survivors, their families and the communities in which they live,” said Giuseppe Belsito, UN Women’s Jordan Representative.
Ensuring that peacekeeping operations address the unique situations and needs of women in conflict settings was enshrined by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 as a key pillar of the international framework on women in times of conflict. During the recent Global Gender Summit held at the margins of the UN General Assembly in September to mark the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform of Action, Jordan announced its commitment to “accelerate the adoption of national action plan to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security and all subsequent resolutions.” UN Women– in partnership with the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) – is supporting the Government of Jordan in developing and endorsing a National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) through an inclusive national consultation process.
[1] Major-General Cammaert’s missions included commanding UN troops in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and more recently as the head of the Gaza Commission of Inquiry (2014).