1.Short
title; table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Women, Peace, and Security Act
of 2012
.
(b)The table of
contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of
contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Sense of Congress regarding the National Action Plan on
Women, Peace, and Security.
Sec. 5. Statement of United States policies.
Sec. 6. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and
Security.
Sec. 7. Monitoring and evaluating.
Sec. 8. Engaging women in the full range of conflict
prevention, peace negotiation, peace-building, and security
initiatives.
Sec. 9. National Security Council.
Sec. 10. Consultations with stakeholders.
Sec. 11. Reports to Congress.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1325, and subsequent Resolutions 1820, 1888, 1889,
and 1960, affirm the critical role of women in the prevention and resolution of
conflicts, including in—
(A)conflict
prevention;
(B)peace
negotiations;
(C)peacekeeping and
peace-building efforts;
(D)humanitarian
response; and
(E)post-conflict
reconstruction and governance.
(2)Fundamental to
the affirmations described in paragraph (1) is the full and equal participation
of women as planners, implementers, and beneficiaries in all efforts to achieve
solutions for just conflict resolution, lasting stability, and inclusive
democratic governance.
(3)The meaningful
inclusion of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts also requires
engaging men and boys in the effort to empower women and girls and educating
them on the universal benefits of gender equality.
(4)During the second
half of the 20th century, approximately 25 percent of conflicts that had ended
in a peace agreement resumed within 5 years, and nearly 50 percent of the
conflicts resolved by an accord during the 1990s resumed within 5 years.
(5)Since 1992, women
have accounted for fewer than 3 percent of mediators and 8 percent of
negotiators in major peace processes.
(6)Successful peace
negotiations that produce just and sustainable peace agreements generally
include robust mechanisms for the participation of civil society, such as a
national dialogue.
(7)From Guatemala to
Darfur to Northern Ireland, women have made major contributions to peace
negotiations, helping to ensure that processes were more transparent and that
the content of final agreements was more comprehensive, more responsive to root
causes of conflict, and more sustainable.
(8)The United States
May 2010 National Security Strategy states, Experience shows that
countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and
equal rights and opportunity. When those rights and opportunities are denied,
countries often lag behind.
.
(9)According to the
2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, The protection and
empowerment of women and girls is key to the foreign policy and security of the
United States. … To that end, women are at the center of our diplomacy and
development efforts—not simply as beneficiaries, but also as agents of peace,
reconciliation, development, growth, and stability. … By reaching out to women
and girls and integrating them into our diplomatic mission, we ensure more
effective diplomacy, whether in driving economic growth, resisting extremism,
safeguarding human rights, or promoting political solutions, including in areas
of conflict.
.
(10)On October 26,
2010, on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton—
(A)stated,
The only way to … reduce the number of conflicts around the world, to
eliminate rape as a weapon of war, to combat the culture of impunity for sexual
violence, to build sustainable peace—is to draw on the full contributions of
both women and men in every aspect of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and
peace-building.
; and
(B)announced the
United States commitment to develop a United States National Action Plan to
accelerate the implementation of Resolution 1325, joining more than 25 other
countries that had committed to developing national action plans.
(11)The United
States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, issued in December
2011—
(A)asserts that
evidence from around the world and across cultures shows that
integrating women and gender considerations into peace-building processes helps
promote democratic governance and long-term stability
;
(B)describes
the course the United States Government will take to accelerate,
institutionalize, and better coordinate our efforts to advance women’s
inclusion in peace negotiations, peace-building activities, and conflict
prevention; to protect women from sexual and gender-based violence, including
preventing forced child marriages; and to ensure equal access to relief and
recovery assistance, in areas of conflict and insecurity.
; and
(C)affirms as a
Statement of National Policy that the engagement and protection of women
as agents of peace and stability will be central to the United States efforts
to promote security, prevent, respond to, and resolve conflict, and rebuild
societies.
.
(12)In March 2012,
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released a new,
agency-wide Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy, the first such
policy since 1982. According to this policy, Gender equality and female
empowerment are core development objectives, fundamental for the realization of
human rights and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes. No
society can develop successfully without providing equitable opportunities,
resources, and life prospects for males and females so that they can shape
their own lives and contribute to their families and
communities.
.
(13)In March 2012,
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued the first ever Secretarial
Policy Guidance on Promoting Gender Equality to Achieve our National Security
and Foreign Policy Objectives, which requests embassies and bureaus to
work to … draw on the full contributions of both women and men in peacemaking,
peacekeeping, and peace-building
. The Policy Guidance highlights 3
mechanisms that will be utilized to promote gender equality in service
of America’s foreign policy
, namely—
(A)planning and
budget development;
(B)programming,
monitoring and evaluation; and
(C)management and
training.
(14)In Afghanistan,
women leaders in civil society continue to demand a full and meaningful role in
any future negotiations, particularly where decisions will be made about the
futures of Afghan women and girls.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development.
(2)Appropriate
congressional committeesThe term appropriate congressional
committees means—
(A)the
Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate;
(B)the
Committee on Armed Services of the
Senate;
(C)the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(D)the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives;
(E)the
Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(F)the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(3)Decision-making
processesThe term decision-making processes means
formal or informal processes related to, or a part of, negotiations or
mediations addressing conflict prevention and stabilization, peace-building,
protection, or appropriate security initiatives.
(4)The
term NAP means the United States National Action Plan on Women,
Peace, and Security, which was instituted by Executive Order 13595 on December
19, 2011.
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of State.
(6)The
term stakeholders means nongovernmental and private sector
entities engaged in or affected by conflict prevention and stabilization,
peace-building, protection, security, transition initiatives, humanitarian
response, or related efforts, including—
(A)registered or
nonregistered nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, business or trade
associations, labor unions, cooperatives, credit unions, relief or development
organizations, community and faith-based organizations, philanthropic
foundations, and tribal leaders or structures;
(B)independent
media, educational, or research institutions; and
(C)private
enterprises, including international development firms, banks, and other
financial institutions, and particularly small businesses and businesses owned
by women or disadvantaged groups.
(7)Women’s
meaningful inclusion and participationThe term women’s
meaningful inclusion and participation means ensuring women have safe,
genuine, and effective access and are present and actively involved in the full
range of decision-making processes, which may include—
(A)conflict
prevention;
(B)mediation or
negotiation efforts to resolve, mitigate and transition from violent
conflict;
(C)peacekeeping and
peace-building efforts;
(D)post-conflict
reconstruction, transition initiatives, and governance; and
(E)humanitarian
response.
4.Sense of
Congress regarding the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and
SecurityIt is the sense of
Congress that—
(1)the
implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and
Security (referred to in this section as the NAP
) is paramount
in improving the lives of women around the world and increasing overall global
stability and prosperity;
(2)Congress supports
the goals and ideals of the NAP;
(3)Congress supports
the statement in the NAP of the United States unqualified commitment to
integrating women’s views and perspectives fully into our diplomatic, security,
and development efforts—not simply as beneficiaries, but as agents of peace,
reconciliation, development, growth, and stability
;
(4)Congress is
strongly committed to advancing the principles of the NAP, as instituted by
Executive Order 13595 on December 19, 2011;
(5)the United States
should coordinate with the international community and civil society to develop
criteria for eligibility to ensure that appropriate women representatives with
the requisite experience are identified for inclusion in all peace-building
activities;
(6)the President, in
coordination with the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Administrator, should—
(A)ensure the NAP’s
robust, transparent, comprehensive, and coordinated implementation; and
(B)coordinate with
the international community to reaffirm global commitments to implementation of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and subsequent Resolutions
1880, 1888, 1889, and 1960, utilizing the commitments outlined in the NAP as a
diplomatic means to encourage other nations to—
(i)advance women’s
inclusion in peace negotiations, peace building activities, and conflict
prevention;
(ii)protect women
from sexual and gender-based violence; and
(iii)ensure equal
access to relief and recovery assistance in areas of conflict and
insecurity.
5.Statement of
United States policies
(a)It is the policy of
the United States to implement the United States National Action Plan on Women,
Peace, and Security, as instituted by Executive Order 13595 on December 19,
2011, to ensure that the United States effectively promotes and supports women
in conflict-affected and post-conflict regions through clear, measurable
commitments—
(1)to promote the
active and meaningful participation of women in affected areas in all aspects
of conflict prevention, management, and resolution;
(2)to integrate the
perspectives and interests of affected women into conflict-prevention
activities and strategies;
(3)to promote the
physical safety, economic security, and dignity of women and girls;
(4)to support
women’s equal access to aid distribution mechanisms and services; and
(5)to monitor,
analyze, and evaluate implementation efforts and the impact of such
efforts.
(b)Congress—
(1)recognizes the
invaluable contributions that United States and international civil society
groups have made to United States policies and programs on women, peace, and
security; and
(2)encourages the
Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the Administrator to continue to
consult and utilize the networks and expertise of these stakeholders to
strengthen the implementation of the NAP.
(c)The
Secretary and the Administrator should—
(1)integrate gender
as fully as applicable into all diplomatic and development efforts;
(2)include gender in
strategic and budget planning processes; and
(3)continue to use
and improve upon performance indicators and evaluation mechanisms to account
for ongoing results and measure the impact of United States policies and
programs on women and girls in foreign countries.
(d)Integration of
gender goals in agency guidance and contracting
(1)The Secretary should prescribe regulations and issue
guidance setting forth key goals of the NAP with a view to fully integrate such
goals into the operations of the Department of State in the United States and
overseas, and should ensure that any such guidance and regulations call for
compliance by all Department personnel and contractors.
(2)United States
Agency for international developmentThe Administrator should
prescribe regulations and issue guidance setting forth key goals of the NAP
with a view to fully integrate such goals into the operations of the United
States Agency for International Development in the United States and overseas,
and should ensure that any such guidance and regulations call for compliance by
all Agency personnel and contractors.
(e)The
head of each agency of the Federal Government shall ensure, as appropriate,
that the tenets of the NAP are incorporated into all programs administered by
such agency related to—
(1)conflict
prevention;
(2)humanitarian and
disaster response;
(3)conflict
mediation;
(4)peacekeeping;
(5)post-conflict
reconstruction;
(6)institution
building; and
(7)democracy
promotion.
6.National Action
Plan on Women, Peace, and Security
(a)The Secretary, the Administrator, the
Secretary of Defense, and representatives of other Federal agencies, as
appropriate, should implement the NAP.
(b)
(1)In implementing the
NAP under this section, the individuals referred to in subsection (a) should
ensure that all relevant Federal employees receive appropriate training on
gender considerations and women’s meaningful inclusion and participation,
including training regarding—
(A)participation in
conflict prevention, peace processes, and security initiatives;
(B)international
human rights law and international humanitarian law, as relevant; and
(C)protecting
civilians from violence, exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
(2)
(A)Foreign service
act of 1980Section 704 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22
U.S.C. 2024) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
(e)The Secretary, in
conjunction with the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, should ensure that all appropriate personnel,
including special envoys, members of mediation or negotiation teams, relevant
members of the Civil Service or Foreign Service, and contractors responsible
for, or deploying to, countries or regions considered to be at risk of,
undergoing, or emerging from violent conflict, obtain substantive knowledge and
skills through—
(1)appropriate
advanced training in conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution that
specifically addresses the importance of women’s meaningful inclusion and
participation (as defined in section 3 of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2012);
and
(2)receive training
on effective strategies and best practices for ensuring women’s meaningful
inclusion and participation, as so
defined.
.
(B)Title 10,
united states code
(i)Chapter 107 of title 10, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
2158.Training for
ensuring women’s meaningful inclusion and participationThe Secretary of Defense should ensure that
all appropriate personnel, including members of the armed forces, members of
mediation or negotiation teams, relevant members of the Civil Service, and
contractors responsible for, or deploying to, countries or regions considered
to be at risk of, undergoing, or emerging from violent conflict, obtain
substantive knowledge and skills through—
(1)appropriate
advanced training in conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution that
specifically addresses the importance of women’s meaningful inclusion and
participation (as defined in section 3 of the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2012);
and
(2)training on
effective strategies and best practices for ensuring women’s meaningful
inclusion and participation (as defined in such
section).
.
(ii)The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 107
of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
2158. Training for ensuring women’s meaningful inclusion and
participation.
.
(3)The Secretary is strongly encouraged to work with the
United Nations and the international community to promote training that
provides international peacekeeping personnel with substantive knowledge and
skills needed to effectively ensure women’s meaningful inclusion and
participation.
7.Monitoring and
evaluating
(a)The implementation of the NAP under section 6 should
include the establishment or improvement of monitoring and evaluation tools to
ensure accountability and effectiveness of policies, programs, projects, and
activities undertaken to support the objectives set forth in the NAP.
(b)Foreign
assistance coordination, planning, data collection, and tracking
systemsThe Secretary and the Administrator, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, should—
(1)utilize
appropriate foreign assistance coordination, planning, data collection, and
tracking systems to—
(A)analyze the
impact of staff training, management systems, and organizational structures on
program results;
(B)improve
collection of sex-disaggregated data in conflict-affected areas;
(C)ensure proper
targeting of programs; and
(D)collect and
analyze gender data for the purpose of developing and enhancing early warning
systems of conflict and violence;
(2)support
budgeting, operational and programmatic planning, and performance management,
related to women’s meaningful inclusion and participation; and
(3)develop or
improve upon existing data collection mechanisms that—
(A)track and report
progress on the objectives set forth in the NAP;
(B)assess lessons
learned; and
(C)identify best
practices.
(c)The
Secretary and the Administrator, in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense,
as appropriate, are strongly encouraged to identify common indicators to
evaluate the impact of United States foreign assistance on women’s meaningful
inclusion and participation.
8.Engaging women
in the full range of conflict prevention, peace negotiation, peace-building,
and security initiatives
(a)The Secretary and the Administrator are strongly
encouraged to work to facilitate women’s meaningful inclusion and participation
in informal and formal peace negotiations, including, as appropriate by—
(1)providing
technical assistance, training, and logistical support to female negotiators,
peace-builders, and stakeholders;
(2)utilizing
technology, such as cell phones or social media tools, that assist the work of
organizers, negotiators, communicators, peace-builders, and other civil society
actors;
(3)addressing
security-related barriers to women’s participation;
(4)expanding
emphasis on gender analysis to improve program design and targeting; and
(5)supporting
appropriate local organizations, especially women’s peace-building
organizations.
(b)The
Secretary is encouraged to promote the meaningful inclusion and participation
of women in coordination and consultation with international partners,
including multilateral organizations, stakeholders, and other relevant
international organizations, particularly in circumstances in which direct
engagement is not appropriate or advisable.
(c)The
Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, and in cooperation with the
Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, should conduct assessments that include
the perspective of women before implementing new projects or activities in
support of assistance related to—
(1)transitional
justice and accountability processes;
(2)efforts to combat
violent extremism; and
(3)security sector
reform.
(d)
(1)The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator,
and in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense and other relevant government
agencies, as appropriate, should encourage and facilitate the efforts of
partner governments to improve women’s meaningful inclusion and participation
in peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace-building,
transitional processes, and decision-making institutions in conflict-affected
environments.
(2)The efforts of partner governments to be encouraged and
facilitated under paragraph (1) include—
(A)the recruitment
and retention of women (including minorities) in leadership roles;
(B)capacity building
of legislative, judicial, defense, and law enforcement institutions to develop
and implement policies which support women’s meaningful inclusion and
participation;
(C)increased women’s
participation in programs funded by the United States Government that—
(i)provide training
to foreign nationals regarding law enforcement, the rule of law, and
professional military education; and
(ii)offer foreign
nationals opportunities to participate in educational exchanges, conferences,
and seminars;
(D)training,
education, and mobilization of men and boys as partners in support of women’s
meaningful inclusion and participation;
(E)development of
transitional justice and accountability mechanisms that are inclusive of the
experiences and perspectives of women and girls; and
(F)measures to
ensure that relief and recovery planning and assistance are informed by
effective consultation with women.
9.National
Security Council
(a)It is the sense of Congress that the President should
designate a person on the staff of the National Security Council, who—
(1)shall be
responsible for promoting the objectives of the NAP; and
(2)shall report to
the National Security Advisor.
(b)In
addition to any other duties that the President may assign to the person
designated under subsection (a), such person should—
(1)advise the
National Security Advisor regarding the objectives of the NAP;
(2)oversee the
implementation of the goals and objectives of the NAP;
(3)monitor and
coordinate the efforts of all Federal agencies, particularly the Department of
State, the United States Agency for International Development, and the
Department of Defense, as appropriate, regarding women, peace, and security and
women’s meaningful inclusion and participation.
10.Consultations
with stakeholders
(a)The Secretary and the Administrator should establish
guidelines for overseas United States personnel to consult with stakeholders
regarding United States efforts to prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent
conflict.
(b)The
purpose of consultations under subsection (a) is to enhance the success of
mediation and negotiation processes by ensuring women’s meaningful inclusion
and participation.
(c)Consultations under subsection (a) should—
(1)take place not
less frequently than once every 180 days, as appropriate; and
(2)include a range
and representative sample of local stakeholders, including women, youth, ethnic
and religious minorities, and other politically underrepresented or
marginalized populations.
11.
(a)The Secretary, in conjunction with the Administrator and
the Secretary of Defense, shall designate appropriate officials to brief the
appropriate congressional committees, not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, on—
(1)the existing,
enhanced, and newly established training carried out pursuant to section 6(b)
and the amendments made by such section; and
(2)the guidelines
established for overseas United States embassy and consulate personnel to
engage in consultations with United States and international stakeholders
pursuant to section 10.
(b)Annual Report
on Women, Peace, and SecurityNot later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in
conjunction with the Administrator and the Secretary of Defense, should submit
a report to the appropriate congressional committees that—
(1)outlines the
monitoring and evaluation tools, mechanisms, and common indicators established
under section 7 to assess progress made on the objectives of the NAP;
(2)summarizes United
States diplomatic efforts and foreign assistance programs, projects, and
activities to promote women’s meaningful inclusion and participation;
and
(3)summarizes and
evaluates the impact of the United States NAP initiatives.