Adopting an intersectional perspective in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda to ensure the security of LBTI+ women in conflicts and broaden the debate on gender in peace-building

Cassiopée Laugier

13/11/2023

On the morning of 25 October, the discussion between the members of the UN Security Council and more than 80 other Member States opened on the occasion of the twenty-third anniversary of Resolution 1325. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, noted that “the participation of women in international peace and security^[1]United Nations. (2023). Il faut agir davantage pour promouvoir le rôle des femmes dans la paix et la sécurité mondiales, plaide l’ONU. https://news.un.org/fr/story/2023/10/11400222.” He pointed out that of the 18 peace agreements signed last year, only one was signed by a representative of a women’s group or organisation. There was only “16 percent of women negotiators or delegates at UN-led, or co-led, peace processes ^[2]United Nations. (2023). Il faut agir davantage pour promouvoir le rôle des femmes dans la paix et la sécurité mondiales, plaide l’ONU. https://news.un.org/fr/story/2023/10/11400222” ; while this participation amounted to “19% in 2021 and 23% in 2020^[3]United Nations. (2023). Il faut agir davantage pour promouvoir le rôle des femmes dans la paix et la sécurité mondiales, plaide l’ONU.https://news.un.org/fr/story/2023/10/11400222”,declared the Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Sami Bahous. The Secretary General forgot to mention that not only are women kept out of peace processes, but those from the LBTI+ community are virtually absent. According to the public database of peace agreements created by the Political Settlements Research Programme, only nine of the more than 1,500 peace agreements concluded between 1990 and 2015 refer to people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities^[4]United States Institute of Peace. (2021). Why Gender and Sexual Minority Inclusion in Peacebuilding Matters. Why Gender and Sexual Minority Inclusion in Peacebuilding Matters | United States … Continue reading. Why are these women excluded from the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, and what can be done to ensure that they become fully involved in building peace and guaranteeing security?

What is the Agenda Women, Peace and Security?

The Agenda emerged from the observation that discriminatory and violent dynamics based on gender and sexuality are always exacerbated in armed conflicts^[5]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading. On 31 October 2000, Resolution 1325 was adopted by all UN Member States, calling for greater participation by women in conflict prevention, and for their specific protection against sexual and gender-based violence^[6]United Nations. (n.d.). Les Femmes, la paix et la sécurité | département des affaires politiques et consolidation de la paix. https://dppa.un.org/fr/women-peace-and-security.On 31 October 2000, Resolution 1325 was adopted by all UN Member States, calling for greater participation by women in conflict prevention, and for their specific protection against sexual and gender-based violence. The resolution requires States and parties to a conflict to “take special measures to protect women and girls from sexual violence and abuse in situations of armed conflict, and in particular to end impunity and prosecute those responsible for sexual violence against women and girls((Français du monde – ADFE. (26 novembre 2022). Webconférence : La place des femmes dans les conflits. [Fichier vidéo]. http : Webconférence : La place des femmes dans les conflits – YouTube)).”

The resolution is based on 4 pillars^[7]United Nations. (n.d.). Les Femmes, la paix et la sécurité | département des affaires politiques et consolidation de la paix. https://dppa.un.org/fr/women-peace-and-security:

• women’s participation in peace processes and in peace and security institutions; 

• the protection of women and girls in situations of armed conflict;
• the prevention of violence against women and girls;
• the need to ensure that post-conflict recovery efforts take gender into account.

Since 2000, the UN Security Council has adopted nine additional resolutions, which together make up the Women, Peace and Security Agenda^[8]United Nations. (n.d.). Les Femmes, la paix et la sécurité | département des affaires politiques et consolidation de la paix. https://dppa.un.org/fr/women-peace-and-security)). They aim to adopt … Continue reading”.This involves improving the inclusion of women in leadership positions within national, regional and international institutions linked to the fields of politics, peace and security^[9]Français du monde – ADFE. (26 novembre 2022). Webconférence : La place des femmes dans les conflits. [Fichier vidéo]. http : Webconférence : La place des femmes dans les conflits – YouTube. It also means making available appropriate human and financial resources to meet the needs of women in times of conflict, including support for women’s leadership roles in these contexts^[10]Français du monde – ADFE. (26 novembre 2022). Webconférence : La place des femmes dans les conflits. [Fichier vidéo]. http : Webconférence : La place des femmes dans les conflits – YouTube.

LBTI+ women are largely absent from this Agenda; they are not mentioned in it and are not included in the peace processes. Of the 26 indicators currently proposed by the United Nations Technical Working Group on Global Indicators for Resolution 1325, none specifically mentions the LBTI+ population^[11]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading.  In addition, attention to the needs of LBTI+ people is lacking in the eight UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security, as well as in the whole formal architecture of resolution 1325^[12]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading.  As a result, given the under-representation of these groups in political decision-making processes and the risks to which they are exposed in conflict situations, the number of LBTI+ women involved in conflict prevention and peace negotiations remains low. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN’s independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, has stated that the exclusion of these minorities from the peace agenda and programmes that are put in place has a clear impact on planning, resource allocation and the collection of data for monitoring and evaluation^[13]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading. This is problematic because ignoring their experiences and perspectives has an impact on conflict resolution processes. A sustainable and effective solution can only be proposed if the gender dynamics of conflict are taken into account. Ignoring the fact thattoxic masculinity leads to violence and armed struggle ultimately means that society will be rebuilt on unequal and discriminatory foundations, perpetuating a heteronormative LBTIphobic patriarchal model that is based on a society that is unequal and discriminatory, maintaining power relationships. The exclusion of a whole section of the population from the peace negotiations and the post-conflict reconstruction process perpetuates these damaging models. 

The experience of LBTI+ women in times of conflict

Violence against cis heterosexual women and those belonging to LBTI+ groups is exacerbated during periods of conflict, but it is also part of the everyday experience of these groups in times of peace. During these periods, they face different forms of vulnerability. There are practical similarities in the problems faced by heterosexual cis girls and women and LBTI+ people in times of conflict, particularly in relation to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), which encompasses “any act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and is based on gender norms and unequal power relationships^[14]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading.” In several conflict situations, individuals from security forces such as the army, the police, border guards or members of the family and civil society have targeted LBTI+ people by committing sexual assaults, exploitation, humiliation, blackmail and extortion^[15]United Nations. (n.d.). Les Femmes, la paix et la sécurité | département des affaires politiques et de la consolidation de la paix. https://dppa.un.org/fr/women-peace-and-security. 

In countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Lebanon and Nepal, the women victims of the conflict interviewed also reported cases of blackmail and situations where they had to offer sexual services to buy protection from the security services or armed groups^[16]Trithart, A. (2020). The women, peace, and security agenda is not just for straight, cisgender women. IPI Global … Continue reading. Female respondents from Syria, in the context of the Islamic State attacks in 2014, reported being pressured by security forces (police, military and border guards) under threat of revealing their sexual orientation, in order to obtain bribes or sexual services^[17]Outright International. (2022). LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis – A Queer Agenda for Peace Security and Accountability. LGBTQLivesConflictCrisis-2.pdf(outrightinternational.org). In Iraq, lesbian women have been killed because of their sexual orientation by Islamic State forces^[18]Outright International. (2022). LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis – A Queer Agenda for Peace Security and Accountability. LGBTQLivesConflictCrisis-2.pdf (outrightinternational.org). In Yemen, during the conflict that began in 2014 when Houthi insurgents took control of Sanaa, “women’s independence and queer people’s sexual and gender diversity were both conjured as threats to Houthi ascendancy. Violence, including sexual violence, was justified as a means to both purify the society and eliminate dissent ^[19] Outright International. (2022). LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis – A Queer Agenda for Peace Security and Accountability. LGBTQLivesConflictCrisis-2.pdf (outrightinternational.org) .” Similarly, as a result of the civil war in Nepal (2006-2016), “20 percent of lesbians in a survey reported exclusion from family events and 25 percent had changed accommodation to escape prejudice in their neighbourhoods^[20]Daigle, M & Myrttinen, H. (2018). “Bringing diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into peacebuilding policy and practice”. Gender and Development, 26, 1: 103 … Continue reading.

During the armed conflict in Colombia opposing FARC and government between 1998 and 2008, many LBTI+ people have been targeted and persecuted because of their gender identity or sexual orientation^[21]Caribe Afirmativo (n. d.). The Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Repetition presents the Volume of experiences of women and LGBTIQ+ people in the Colombian armed … Continue reading. The 2022 report of the United Nations, Colombia’s Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition Commission, is the first to recognise differentiated violence, its impact, and the survival mechanisms of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions^[22]Daigle, M & Myrttinen, H. (2018). “Bringing diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into peacebuilding policy and practice”. Gender and Development, 26, 1: … Continue reading. For instance, it found that 26% of victims were lesbian women^[23]Caribe Afirmativo (n. d.). The Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Repetition presents the Volume of experiences of women and LGBTIQ+ people in the Colombian armed … Continue reading.

These numerous examples illustrate the abuses committed against this community during conflicts. Whether refugees or internally displaced, LBTI+ women are exposed to stigmatisation, sexual and gender-based violence, abuse and a lack of protection from the security forces^[24]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading. They face arbitrary detention and exclusion from access to essential basic services. During these detentions, acts such as forced nudity, rape and torture are perpetrated. Often they are forced to flee to countries that are LBTIphobic to them, or are forcibly displaced within their own country. For example, the FARC and the far-right Colombian paramilitaries mentioned earlier, “acted as arbiters of gender relations, causing many to flee their homes following threats and harassment as well as public humiliation^[25]Daigle, M & Myrttinen, H. (2018). Bringing diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into peacebuilding policy and practice. Gender and Development, 26, 1: 103-120 … Continue reading.”

There are many reasons for this violence. It can be committed in order to achieve ethnic cleansing and impose homogeneity within societies, as was the case in Colombia^[26]Outright International. (2022). LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis – A Queer Agenda for Peace Security and Accountability.LGBTQLivesConflictCrisis-2.pdf (outrightinternational.org). Sexual violence is a means of establishing control over a population and frightening them into submission. Existing laws criminalising and stigmatising LGBTI+ people allow actors in armed conflict to detain them and subject them to torture and other human rights violations in prison^[27]Outright International. (2022). LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis – A Queer Agenda for Peace Security and Accountability.LGBTQLivesConflictCrisis-2.pdf (outrightinternational.org).

In most cases, the perpetrators of these crimes go unpunished as the state collapses during such periods of violence, not to mention the many states that refuse to consider sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories under international law. To date, only the Colombian and Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commissions include a section on violence against LBTI+ individuals in their reports^[28]United Nations. (n.d.). Les Femmes, la paix et la sécurité | département des affaires politiques et consolidation de la paix. https://dppa.un.org/fr/women-peace-and-security. Progress has been noted in the prosecution of these crimes, notably by the UN Secretary-General in his speech on 26 October, who congratulated Iraq, the Central African Republic and Syria, where the perpetrators of sexual violence are being brought to justice^[29]United Nations. (n.d.). Les Femmes, la paix et la sécurité | département des affaires politiques et consolidation de la paix. https://dppa.un.org/fr/women-peace-and-security. This should be seen in the context of the fact that, despite everything, the legal and political status of women in these countries remains devalued^[30]Beilouny, E. (2022). Assad’s Post-conflict Narratives: an Obstacle to Women’s Rights in Syria. Institut du Genre en Géopolitique. Assad’s Post-conflict Narratives: an Obstacle to Women’s … Continue reading). 

For the inclusion of LBTI+ women, their needs, perspectives and priorities in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

It is necessary to opt for approaches that highlight LBTI+ women and the organisations that defend their rights as peace-builders and producers of knowledge about peace. Adopting “gender-sensitive^[31]OECD. (2018). OECD toolkit for mainstreaming and implementing gender equality: 4.https://www.oecd.org/gov/toolkit-for-mainstreaming-and-implementing-gender-equality.pdf” and “gender-transformative^[32]CFFP and Berghof Foundation. (2023). Towards Meaningful Inclusion of LGBTQI+ Groups in the Women, Peace, and Security Architecture – A Practical Guidebook. Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, … Continue reading” approaches in the Agenda make it possible to put in place legislation and government action plans that take into account the specific needs and challenges faced by LBTI+ women when designing and implementing interventions aimed at preventing the perpetuation of norms and practices that reinforce gender inequality. This would prevent the perpetuation of norms and practices that reinforce gender inequalities.

To be more participatory, inclusive and effective, the Agenda must address the causes of gender inequality. The UN should adopt an intersectional approach to analysing the experiences of LBTI+ people in times of conflict in order to better understand the obstacles and violence they face and to combat their invisibilisation and marginalisation. To recognise women’s active and diverse participation and leadership in decision-making roles, it is essential to acknowledge that “women face many and varied forms of discrimination including being a member of religious, cultural, ethnic, LGBTQI+ and migrant communities and as a result of experiencing a disability^[33]Outright International. (2022). LGBTQ Lives in Conflict and Crisis – A Queer Agenda for Peace Security and Accountability. LGBTQLivesConflictCrisis-2.pdf (outrightinternational.org). ”Adopting this perspective allows us to shake up the original conception of the Agenda, which sees a woman only as “homogenous category, who are not also affected and involved in allied structural inequalities^[34]Ullah, S. R. (2021). (rep.). A LANGUAGE THAT MATTERS – Viewing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through an intersectional lens (pp. 1–71):12. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/69203. ” For Sara Razi Ullah, a master’s student, “using intersectionality in conflict studies is a pragmatic way of detecting silences about the realities of women’s lives, and the injustice of ignoring their deaths^[35]Ullah, S. R. (2021). (rep.). A LANGUAGE THAT MATTERS – Viewing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through an intersectional lens: 13. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/69203. ”

Recommendations 

Adopting an intersectional approach and changing the name of the Agenda to make it more inclusive

To go further in adopting an intersectional perspective, the name of the Agenda could be changed from Women, Peace and Security to Gender, Peace and Security. Some NGOs such as Conciliation Resources and International Alert have adopted this name to express their opposition to the imposition of a gender binarity that excludes people who do not identify with one of these two categories^[36]Conciliation Resources. (2021). Women, gender, peace and security. https://www.c-r.org/programme/women-gender-peace-and-security. According to the ONG Conciliation Resources, “unequal power relations, harmful norms, exclusionary systems and gender-based violence are associated with increased vulnerability to conflict and the use of more severe forms of violence. Understanding these dynamics allows us to uncover more transformational and sustainable pathways to peace^[37]Conciliation Resources. (2021). Women, gender, peace and security. https://www.c-r.org/programme/women-gender-peace-and-security.” 

Centralising the notion of gender in the Agenda would serve to promote the creation of models capable of modifying attitudes and behaviours associated with masculine norms, while at the same time advocating the examination of societal structures that maintain gender norms. Feminist researchers and activists are proposing to put the intersectional perspective on the agenda by advocating changes to what is considered to be “to be masculine, and/or eradicating hierarchies of value between and among masculinities and femininities^[38]Wright, H. (2019).“Masculinities perspectives”: Advancing a radical women, peace and security agenda? International Feminist Journal of Politics, 22(5), … Continue reading.” A range of decolonial, Marxist, post-modern and empirical perspectives are presented for an alternative feminist approach to international politics based on “on equality, empathy and solidarity^[39]Wright, H. (2019). “Masculinities perspectives”: Advancing a radical women, peace and security agenda? International Feminist Journal of Politics, 22(5), … Continue reading.” 

Assisting LGBTI+ organisations to become key players in the WPS Agenda at UN level

Civil society, and LGBTI+ organisations in particular, are finding it difficult to obtain a consultative role at the UN^[40]Trithart, A. (2020). The women, peace, and security agenda is not just for straight, cisgender women. IPI Global … Continue reading. It was only in 2018 that the first LGBTI+ organisation, OutRight Action International, was able to join the NGO working group on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda^[41]Trithart, A. (2020). The women, peace, and security agenda is not just for straight, cisgender women. IPI Global … Continue reading. As a result, the 2017 and 2018 reports on the implementation of the Agenda included sections dedicated to LGBTI+ people for the first time. In August 2020, OutRight also published a guide for civil society organisations wishing to become more involved in promoting the LGBTI+ inclusive Women, Peace and Security Agenda^[42]Trithart, A. (2020). The women, peace, and security agenda is not just for straight, cisgender women. IPI Global … Continue reading.

Enabling LGBTI+ organisations to participate meaningfully in the evaluation of existing Agenda resolutions is therefore essential to shed light on our current situation in terms of taking into account the perspectives and lived realities of LBTI+ women. This contribute to the collection of data relating to these people in order to improve the application of the Agenda. These organisations hold a great deal of data and information about the experiences of LBTI+ people, so they need to be provided with adequate technical, financial and material support to feed this data collection^[43]Trithart, A. (2020). The women, peace, and security agenda is not just for straight, cisgender women. IPI Global … Continue reading.

Governments should actively advocate for the inclusion of LGBTI+ organisations in these existing resolution processes, including by offering flexible core funding and the necessary assistance to enable them to navigate these highly technical and formal bodies at UN level^[44]Trithart, A. (2020). The women, peace, and security agenda is not just for straight, cisgender women. IPI Global … Continue reading. This would make it possible to build a strategic and sustainable feminist movement.

Enable LGBTI+ rights organisations to participate in the implementation and monitoring of national action plans

Governments could set up advisory and monitoring boards to oversee processes, share decision-making power and ensure that LGBTI+ groups are able to shape and participate meaningfully in the policy processes of national action plans. This collaboration with government would be achieved by outlining objectives, monitoring consultations and setting targets^[45]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, … Continue reading. It must also facilitate the networking of these organisations so that they can become a real force and no longer progress on the sidelines.

The national action plans would be easier to understand if they adopted “approaches should be framed by critical analysis that uncovers who are the women and what are the specifics of gendered insecurity for them that processes of development, peace, and security should be tailored to in this social context^[46]Ullah, S. R. (2021). (rep.). A LANGUAGE THAT MATTERS – Viewing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through an intersectional lens: 14 http://hdl.handle.net/2077/69203 ?”

In addition to the UN, at least seven countries have included references to LGBTI+ people in their national action plans relating to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. Sweden in particular, through the SENAP, which views women through the prism of intersectionality, taking LBTI+ women into account : “additional factors other than gender must also be considered in Sweden’s work, such as age, geographic location, socio-economic status, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnic affiliation, disability, education level, faith and religion^[47] Ullah, S. R. (2021).(rep.). A LANGUAGE THAT MATTERS – Viewing the Women, Peace and Security agenda through an intersectional lens: 4. http://hdl.handle.net/2077/69203 .”

Raising society’s awareness to put an end to LGBTIphobia

It is essential that they raise awareness in society and combat prejudice against LGBTI+ people.This preventive work is necessary and is an essential step towards the participation of LGBTI+ rights organisations in peace resolution processes.

Apart from national action plans, what can governments do at national level?

In the interests of representation, governments must include LGBTI+ people of different ages, races/ethnicities, religions, classes, living with disabilities etc, in consultative processes.

To enable the creation of safe spaces for dialogue for civil society organisations, governments must provide security by ensuring that impunity for human rights violations is tackled, as they place the protection of human rights defenders and civil society organisations at the forefront of their agenda^[48]CFFP and Berghof Foundation. (2023). Towards Meaningful Inclusion of LGBTQI+ Groups in the Women, Peace, and Security Architecture – A Practical Guidebook. Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, … Continue reading.

It is also necessary that in cases of conflict and harm caused to LBTI+ women, governments put in place transitional justice processes and ensure that victims have access to justice, reparations and medical care (mental and physical)^[49]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, ONU. … Continue reading.

Limits 

Limited UN coercive mechanism and the responsibility of countries that violate human rights in times of conflict

LThe example of the silencing of sexual violence during the conflict that has been going on in Myanmar since 1948^[50]Olivius, E., Hedström, J., & Mar Phyo, Z. (2022). Feminist peace or state co-optation? the women, peace and security agenda in Myanmar. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 5(1), … Continue reading llustrates the failure of governments to bring violence to justice, highlighting systemic impunity. The abuses committed against women in the region are hushed up by the government, which seeks to minimise the consequences of the armed conflict for other countries in order to preserve its international reputation. Local feminist organisations have reported that they have been forced into silence because maintaining good relations with the government is crucial to their work^[51]Olivius, E., Hedström, J., & Mar Phyo, Z. (2022). Feminist peace or state co-optation? the women, peace and security agenda in Myanmar. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 5(1), 25–43. … Continue reading.

The same applies to the UN agencies, which did not want to go against the government in order to continue working in the country, “that means they have to make a choice whether to speak the truth in a very strong manner, or not speaking about the whole truth so that they can continue to operate^[52]Olivius, E., Hedström, J., & Mar Phyo, Z. (2022). Feminist peace or state co-optation? the women, peace and security agenda in Myanmar. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 5(1), 25–43: … Continue reading”, reveals an activist from one of these feminist associations. So if the UN cannot hold governments in conflict accountable, how can it ensure that the rights of women and LBTI+ people are guaranteed worldwide?

The violation and invisibilization of the rights of LGBTI+ people in many countries

This non-recognition of LGBTI+ people in some countries and the discrimination they face is a barrier to their inclusion in the WPS Agenda. Multilateral institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe are hindering the realisation of the rights of LGBTI+ people under the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, “«as anti-gender forces such as Russia, the Vatican, and other powerful lobbying powers would leverage their power to block the process in any capacity they can^[53]CFFP and Berghof Foundation. (2023). Towards Meaningful Inclusion of LGBTQI+ Groups in the Women, Peace, and Security Architecture – A Practical Guidebook. Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, … Continue reading.” Efforts to transform the Agenda could therefore be rendered obsolete.

Despite this, progress has been made, notably with the report by the UN Independent Expert on Protection from Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity conducted in 2016 on Women, Peace and Security “Report on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (A/75/235)^[54]Madrigal-Borloz, V. (2022). Protection contre la violence et la discrimination liées à l’orientation sexuelle et à l’identité de genre, A/77/235, … Continue reading.”For the first time, mention was made of LBTI+ women and the disproportionate and discriminatory violence they experience during conflicts. This report created a space for dialogue between UN members on the need to protect these vulnerable groups.  

Revisiting the notion of security in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda to prevent conflict

The security of a state should not be reduced to the threat of armed conflict hanging over a country. Insecurity should also be seen in terms of social, economic and environmental instabilities, as these impact on people’s experiences and inequalities. LBTI+ women are particularly vulnerable as their lives are often conditioned by socio-economic marginalisation and prejudice, which are exacerbated in times of conflict. It is imperative that these insecurities and discriminations are integrated into the National Action Plans^[55]Daigle, M & Myrttinen, H. (2018). “Bringing diverse sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) into peacebuilding policy and practice”. Gender and Development, 26, 1: 103-120. … Continue reading.his means targeting women who are unable to participate in development processes and identifying the local structures that prevent them from doing so, in order to design effective national action plans^[56]Olivius, E., Hedström, J., & Mar Phyo, Z. (2022). Feminist peace or state co-optation? the women, peace and security agenda in Myanmar. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 5(1), 25–43. … Continue reading.

Incorporating these issues into the Agenda would make it easier to prevent conflicts rather than manage them in times of crisis.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone.

To cite this article : Cassiopée Laugier. (2023). Adopter une perspective intersectionnelle dans l’Agenda Femmes, Paix et Sécurité pourassurer la sécurité des femmes LBTI+ dans les conflits et élargir le débat sur le genre dans la construction de la paix. Institut du Genre en Géopolitique. https://igg-geo.org/?p=16133