Abstract
It would not be realistic to envisage that significant progress towards a stable and lasting peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia can be achieved without the participation and the effective contribution of women. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how gender issues are important for establishing a trustworthy and fair relationship between the two States. With special reference to the situation in Eritrea and Ethiopia the chapter examines the peculiarities and consequences of women’s experiences in armed conflict, as either civilians or combatants, the modalities of women’s participation in peace negotiations, and the current perspectives of their involvement in political and economic activities in a peaceful environment. As a conclusion, it is argued that Eritrea and Ethiopia cannot lose the opportunity offered by the reestablishment of peace to foster a newly balanced social and economic development, and should strive to fully involve women in the economic and societal development of their countries.
The author is Professor Emerita at the University of Milan, Italy.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
See Ahmed 2013; Nur 2013; Basu 2016. The complete list of UNSC resolutions is available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/peace-and-security/global-norms-and-standards#_WPS_resolutions. Accessed 16 June 2020.
- 3.
Since 1997, the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) operated with the purpose to promote and strengthen the effective implementation of the Millennium Declaration, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform of the UNGA special session on Beijing + 5. In 2010 OSAGI merged into UN Women whose broad mandate is to further the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women and the achievement of equality between women and men. See unwomen.org/en Accessed 16 June 2020.
- 4.
See Tryggestad 2010 and the Directory of UN Resources on Gender and Women’s Issues, https://www.un.org/womenwatch/directory/specialized_agencies_1001.htm. Accessed 16 June 2020.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
EECC, Partial Award: Civilians Claims, Eritrea’s Claims 15, 16, 23, 27–32, 17 December 2004, PCA Case No. 2001-02, para 91 and EECC, Partial Award: Civilians Claims, Ethiopia’s Claim 5, 17 December 2004, PCA Case No. 2001-02, para 130.
- 9.
- 10.
Haeri and Puechguirbal 2010, p. 108.
- 11.
- 12.
- 13.
- 14.
See in this vein the research on demobilisation and reintegration of female fighters carried out by Veale 2003, p. 32 ff (Ethiopia); Bernal 2001, p. 145 ff; Weber 2011, p. 361 ff; and Mekonnen and van Reisen 2013, p. 63 ff (Eritrea). Veale, however, argues that women’s military experience had an impact on their increasing participation in the political system in Ethiopia (p. 63).
- 15.
- 16.
Kibreab 2017. Members of the Eritrean diaspora recurrently denounce cases of sexual violence in the homeland: see Kidan 2018. According to Bernal 2001, the requirement of compulsory military service and training for women in Eritrea ‘can be interpreted as emphasizing the supreme authority of the government over its female citizens over and above patriarchal and religious authorities’ (pp. 153–154 n 49).
- 17.
Menberu 2019, p. 4.
- 18.
Notably the landmark UNSC Res 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, 31 October 2000, S/RES/1325 called for an increase of the participation of women at decision-making levels in conflict resolution and peace processes (para 2).
- 19.
- 20.
It is reported that only two women (Miriam Coronel Ferrer of the Philippines and Tzipi Livni of Israel) have ever served as chief negotiators, and only the former has signed a final peace accord as chief negotiator. See Council on Foreign Relations 2019.
- 21.
See https://globalwomenmediators.org/. Accessed 27 June 2020. The regional networks are strongly backed by the UN: see UNSC Res 1889 (2009), 5 October 2009, S/RES/1889, preambular para 7, and the Report of the Secretary-General on Women, peace and security, 9 October 2019, S/2019/800, para 13.
- 22.
See https://www.genreenaction.net/Femmes-Africa-Solidarite-F-A-S.html. Accessed 27 June 2020.
- 23.
See https://globalwomenmediators.org/femwise-africa/. Accessed 27 June 2020.
- 24.
George 2001, p. 230.
- 25.
- 26.
See Kidan 2019: ‘there was not a single woman in the high-level delegation that Eritrea sent to Ethiopia for landmark peace talks in June last year.’
- 27.
- 28.
The Khartoum Process is a platform for political cooperation amongst 37 countries along the migration route between the Horn of Africa and Europe aimed at establishing dialogue for enhanced cooperation on migration and mobility, addressing issues such as trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants and protection of women and girls moving from Africa to Europe. See https://www.khartoumprocess.net/initiatives. Accessed 27 June 2020.
- 29.
The NUEW was established in 1979 as one of the mass organisations of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). It shaped a progressive women’s agenda during the first liberation war. See http://www.nuew.org/about-nuew. Accessed 29 June 2020. See also Hale 2001, pp. 167–169.
- 30.
- 31.
Eritrea Constitution, Articles 7(2), 22(2). See http://www.unesco.org/education/edurights/media/docs/fd48fdd5dc073aa0a88273489a13921296394304.pdf and https://eri-platform.org/updates/status-constitution-eritrea-transitional-government/. Accessed 30 June 2020.
- 32.
Human Rights Council, Report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea, 4 June 2015, A/HRC/29/42. The report found that violence against women was being perpetrated in an environment of impunity within the military, in military training camps as well as in society at large. Violations of the right to property, employment and freedom of movement resulted in women being vulnerable to food insecurity, engaging in transactional sex and prostitution and at heightened risk of punishment for non-sanctioned work. The lack of genuine rule of law, credible security agencies and independent and impartial women’s civil society organisations prevented women and girls from seeking recourse to justice or remedy for sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination. See A/HRC/29/42, para 80. See also Addo, Chap. 27, Sect. 27.2.4.3.
- 33.
Human Rights Council, Situation of human rights in Eritrea. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, 16 May 2019, A/HRC/41/53. The Report also points out the negative impact that participating in the national/military service has on the lives of women and girls, in particular regarding their access to education and dignified employment and their exposure to violence and early marriage. Women continue to face obstacles in gaining access to justice, remain underrepresented in senior cabinet positions, in the senior ranks of the military and in the judiciary and they are not allowed to independently organise to advocate for their interests. See A/HRC/41/53, paras 45–49.
- 34.
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2020, Eritrea. Events of 2019, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/eritrea. Accessed 28 June 2020.
- 35.
Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Articles 13(2), 34, 35, 42 and 89. See https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/et/et007en.pdf. Accessed 30 June 2020.
- 36.
Human Rights Council, Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, 18 September 2009, A/HRC/WG.6/6/ETH/2, paras 18–20.
- 37.
Ibid., paras 30–31; see also Monzani et al. 2016, p. 9.
- 38.
See Allo A K (2018) The power of Ethiopia’s gender-balanced cabinet, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/power-ethiopia-gender-balanced-cabinet-181019110930577.html. Accessed 28 June 2020. The 2019 Report of the UN Secretary-General on Women, peace and security (above n 21) praises the appointment of women as ministers, including a woman as Minister of Peace, as well as speakers of both parliamentary chambers (para 57).
- 39.
See Duncanson 2016, p. 19 ff, 21 ff, and Shepherd and Hamilton 2016, p. 474 ff discussing the institutional architecture supporting gender-sensitive peacebuilding. See also https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/women-peacekeeping and https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/female-military. Accessed 30 June 2020. The critical role of women peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa was reiterated in the statements made at the UNSC 8657th Meeting, see Meetings coverage, 4 November 2019, SC/14010, https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sc14010.doc.htm. Accessed 30 June 2020.
- 40.
See https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/troop-and-police-contributors; ENA 2019 Ethiopia Vows to Enhance Women’s Participation in Peacekeeping Mission, https://www.ena.et/en/?p=5767. Accessed 30 June 2020.
- 41.
A study on the participation of Ethiopian women peacekeepers in the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) found that the majority of female peacekeepers are assigned to patrol/guard duties and do not have intensive interaction with the local community; Ethiopian women working as observers are few due to inadequate skills for this assignment, such as computer knowhow, language and driving skills. See Menberu 2019, p. 7.
- 42.
See https://www.peacewomen.org/node/103695. Accessed 30 June 2020.
- 43.
See The World Bank 2019, pp. 10–16. After analysing in detail the constraints suffered by women the Report provides policy makers with a number of programming options and priorities based on gender innovation (pp. 47–49).
- 44.
See International Monetary Fund 2018, pp. 3–7.
- 45.
See Brixiová et al. 2001, pp. 8–21.
- 46.
An IMF team carried out a mission in Asmara from 13 to 22 May 2019 on the Article IV Consultation with Eritrea to assess economic and financial developments and discuss the country’s economic and financial policies. See https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/05/22/pr19179-eritrea-imf-staff-completes-2019-article-iv-mission. Accessed 30 June 2020.
- 47.
See UNDP Eritrea, In-depth: Women’s Empowerment, https://www.er.undp.org/content/eritrea/en/home/ourwork/womenempowerment/in_depth/. Accessed 30 June 2020.
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Venturini, G. (2021). Women in Eritrea and Ethiopia Between Armed Conflict and Peace. In: de Guttry, A., Post, H.H.G., Venturini, G. (eds) The 1998–2000 Eritrea-Ethiopia War and Its Aftermath in International Legal Perspective. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-439-6_31
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