official UN side event, sponsored by the Federal Government of Germany, on March 13th, 2015, 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm, at the UN headquarters (conference room 7). The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Ms Elke Ferner, will give some brief welcome remarks. The event is also supported by the German National Commitee for UN Women. In order to attend the session on March 13th, you have to be accredited as a CSW civil society delegate.

Discussion Theme:

In the context of the Beijing +20 Review, the Gunda-Werner Institute at the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) are hosting an event focused on the achievements and remaining gaps with regard to one of the critical areas mentioned in the Beijing Platform for Action: Women in Armed Conflicts. 

Despite some progress, acts of sexual and gender-based violence committed by warring parties still often go unpunished, leaving a tremendous negative effect not only on the victims and survivors, but also on society as a whole. Women and girls, but also men and boys, widely suffer from a lack of accountability and the specific psychological and physical harm inflicted by these crimes. Only very few post-conflict countries have managed to successfully guarantee access to justice in transitional settings.

This event will highlight the importance of developing a gender-sensitive perspective in dealing with conflict and accountability processes. The approach will be exemplified by the long-lasting conflict in Colombia, which has rarely been discussed from a gender perspective. During the session, gender-sensitive proposals for transitional justice mechanisms and ongoing peace negotiations shall be addresses by a variety of experts from Germany and Columbia.