Justice in Transitional Societies: has gender become a central issue?
times lead to positive results, such as gender-sensitive police units and
domestic violence courts for women. However ultimately the inclusion
of women in peace agreements is more of a cosmetic variation which
does not significantly impact upon tackling the underlying inequalities
that exist prior to conflict. An example of this can be seen in the Dayton
Accords which drew the conflict in Bosnia to an end in 1995 (Cousens
and Cater 2001: 9).
Chinkin and Paradine (2001: 127) have stated that “[i]ssues of political
participation and representation, and the sexual division of labor [sic]…
were not addressed by the GFA [Dayton Accords]. This silence ensures
that long-entrenched assumptions will continue.” This argument therefore posits that in order for institutional reform to effectively challenge
the inequalities women face prior to conflict, the inclusion of women has
to go beyond the ‘add women and stir’ approach. It has to effectively involve women and men on an equal basis, transforming the role of women
from pawns of peace to equal participants in decision-making. Chinkin
and Paradine use paragraph 118 of the Beijing Platform for Action to
highlight this argument (2001: 151),
Women’s equal participation in decision-making… can also be seen
as a necessary condition for women’s interests to be taken into account. Achieving the goal of equal participation of women and men
in decision-making will provide a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society an