CTED’s Ms. Aleksandra Dier in her briefing to the Arria-formula meeting.
On 26 June 2023, the Security Council held a so-called Arria-formula meeting* focused on enhancing the capacities of Member States to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in a gender-responsive, human rights-compliant manner. Organized by the Permanent Mission of Malta to the United Nations, in cooperation with the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica, Jordan, Mexico, Mozambique, New Zealand, Spain, and the United States, the meeting included several briefers who highlighted various challenges Member States face in mainstreaming gender in counter-terrorism responses, as well as their capacity needs in this area.
Ms. Sarah Hendricks, Deputy Executive Director a.i. for Policy, Programme, Civil Society and Intergovernmental Support at UN Women, stressed the grave violations of women’s rights in contexts affected by terrorism, including the current situation of women in Afghanistan; the mass abduction of girls by terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel; the plight of Yazidi women taken captive by ISIL/Da’esh; and the situation for tens of thousands of women and children in detention camps in Northeastern Syria. Noting a growing body of research on misogyny and toxic masculinity as drivers of terrorism, she called for the integration of the WPS agenda into national strategies for counter-terrorism and warned that gender considerations are still often an afterthought in these circumstances.
In her presentation, Ms. Aleksandra Dier, Gender Coordinator with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), emphasized that gender mainstreaming in counter-terrorism efforts is a necessity both from a rights-based and an operational perspective. Drawing from CTED’s country assessments on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, Ms. Dier identified several trends in the lack of systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data; the absence of robust monitoring and evaluation of the gender and human rights impacts of counter-terrorism measures; and the limited attention given to structural gender inequality in counter-terrorism efforts. She noted specific gaps and capacity needs in gender-responsive criminal justice approaches, particularly in ensuring accountability for sexual and gender-based violence committed in terrorism contexts. Stressing the need for political will to mainstream gender in counter-terrorism efforts effectively, she stated that “without the commitment to invest in this area, we will continue to pay lip service to [its] importance […], while lagging behind in actual implementation.”
To assist Member States in this space, CTED is currently engaging in a project with Switzerland on advancing meaningful accountability for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in terrorism situations and will be publishing a study on this theme in the coming months, Ms. Dier said.
Opening remarks were delivered by H.E. Ms. Vanessa Frazier, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations, who urged that the gap between policy and practice in this context be bridged. Other briefers included Mr. Steven Hill, Executive Secretary of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), who highlighted the importance of the rule of law and human rights-based approaches in addressing terrorism; and Ms. Fauziya Ali, President of Women in International Security (WIIS) in the Horn of Africa, who underlined that resilience against terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism requires gender equality and called on Member States to increase their commitment to gender mainstreaming.
* Arria-formula meetings are convened informally by a Security Council member to enable dialogue and exchange between the United Nations Security Council and non-members, including individuals, organizations, or institutions on matters within the competence of the Security Council.
The full list of speakers is available here.
The concept note for the meeting can be found here.
A web recording of the proceedings can be accessed at the following link: YouTube.
Additional photos from the meeting are available here.