Today, on 8 March, we are celebrating the International Women’s Day under the theme "Step it up for Gender Equality”. On that note, Sweden together with civil society organisations International Alert and Kvinna to Kvinna presents a gender audit of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Region (PSCF), which is celebrating three years.

The PSCF signed by eleven African States, including Rwanda, in the context of the crisis of the Movement of March 23 (M23), calls on states in the region to stop supporting rebellions in the DRC. It also indicates that the Congolese government should apply fundamental governance reforms and encourages the international community to renew its commitments to the DRC.

Monitoring mechanisms have been established at national and regional levels with an action plan of specific activities, timelines, responsibilities and funding arrangements.

The gender audit that Sweden initiated was conducted between July and September 2015 through interviews in Rwanda and the DRC, and aimed at analyzing the inclusion of the gender dimension in the development of PSCF as well as its implementation and monitoring mechanisms. This article provides an overview of key findings and recommendations from this analysis.

Redefining gender in peace building

The gender audit reveals that the inclusion of gender in the development of PSCF was unfortunately dominated by the idea that gender is an issue that concerns only women. It does not consider women as potential actors for peace building; their role is reduced to that of victims of sexual violence.

This undermines the development of effective gender equality programmes. It appears necessary to broaden and deepen the concept of gender, recognising that men and women have different experiences of conflicts, play multiple and different roles in peace building, access resources differently and have different interests and practical needs.

We also need to apply a gender perspective in our political analyses and include and listen to the voices of both women and men. This means combining our political and diplomatic work with development cooperation, and providing space for and giving a voice to women peace builders.

This is crucial, as research shows that women’s participation leads to more sustainable peace.

Effective participation over mere consultation

This gender audit also shows that despite efforts made by MONUSCO and the Office of the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region to involve civil society and women’s rights organisations in the implementation and monitoring of the PSCF, their involvement is limited to the consultation, and they have not been able to participate meaningfully in the mechanisms of decision-making.

It is appropriate to put in place a formal framework for civil society and women’s rights organizations which is useful in monitoring, for example in the Advisory Committee that will be set up under the monitoring mechanism.

It is also necessary to specify minimum quotas of women in the main organs for monitoring and implementation and develop a mechanism to ensure or control the financing of the participation of women by applying a specific gender budgeting.

The effective and efficient implementation of the PSCF is a concern for not only Congolese women but also Rwandan women because Rwanda is part of this framework.

Peace and security in DRC and the Great Lakes Region broadly is undoubtedly a key pillar for sustainable well-being and development for the population in the region. Women’s voices matter, let us all participate.

Reviving the Platform of Women in the Great Lakes Region

A women’s platform was created by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General for the Great Lakes region to support the active participation of women in the PSCF and to ensure that their voices are heard effectively and aspirations are communicated across the region in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

The Secretary General of the United Nations referred to the Platform as "a unique way to ensure that women’s voices are heard in the Great Lakes and actively participate in decision making as well as in the social and economic development of the region.”

However, despite the attention and recognition that this platform has created around the importance of leadership and participation of women, many interviewees in the DRC and Rwanda as part of the gender audit had only limited information on the status of the platform and some have argued that "the lack of transparency and lack of the selection criteria of beneficiaries had become an obstacle to the participation of other organizations.”

Beyond the question of the functionality of the platform, the gender audit emphasizes that it is limited to be a one-time funding mechanism (and modest) for women’s organizations instead of promoting the political participation of women athigher levels.

An external evaluation of the platform and a stronger focus and investment to boost its action are deemed necessary. It would be important, for example to strengthen regional initiatives to enable the participation of a wide range of civil society and women’s organizations in particular, through a consistent process that is inclusive, open, transparent and accountable.

Broadly, while the PSCF has suitably identified the key factors of the conflict and contributed to highlight key issues, it has not achieved its objectives. At a time when pre-electoral dynamics may generate instability and more insecurity, International Alert and the Swedish Embassy in Kigali hope that the international community together with the Congolese government and the eleven African Countries who signed this framework, including Rwanda, will make the inclusion of women a priority to address key national and regional factors of continued instability in the region.

This gender audit was carried out in the context of the project TUSHIRIKI WOTE (Let’s all Participate!) and Kwa AMANI PAMOJA Project (Together for Peace), both implemented by International Alert and Kvinna till Kvinna, in the DRC and to some extension Rwanda.

Maria Håkansson is the Chargé d’Affairs, Embassy of Sweden in Kigali and Betty Mutesi, Rwanda Country Coordinator, International Alert.