In his presentation, Minister Nicholson alluded to numerous reports which attest to the fact that women and girls disproportionately suffer serious human rights violations during armed conflict and wars, which also leads to the displacement of families. He noted that “Jamaica and countries in the CARICOM region are not affected by armed conflict but oftentimes face insurmountable challenges as it relates to armed violence.” According to CARICOM IMPACS, approximately 70% of the homicides committed in the region feature the use of a firearm despite the fact that weapons and ammunition are not manufactured in Jamaica, or the region. Minister Nicholson pointed out that “while most of the men are often the victims of gun crimes, women are often left to become the sole breadwinner for families and to deal with the resulting emotional and mental trauma.”
The Minister highlighted the fact that “our geographic location and our porous borders make us highly susceptible to the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons; and the nexus between illegal trade in arms and the illegal drug trade further compounds the situation. It takes a significant toll both on the economy and the human and social fabric of the society.” He stated that Jamaica is committed to tackling the scourge but recognizes that a multifaceted approach is required. Against that background, the Minister updated the meeting on action in Jamaica to strategies to address crime and violence including, legislative amendments, firearm regulation and social intervention mechanisms, such as gender based violence, and violence against women.
Minister Nicholson encouraged States to give renewed attention to including women in the decision making process on the issue of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.
Minister Nicholson emphasized Jamaica’s hope that an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will be adopted in the near future, that will seek to regulate the global arms trade with a view to preventing the diversion of weapons from the legal market to the illicit trade. The Minister mentioned Jamaica’s disappointment that the international community was not able to adopt a legally binding ATT at the Diplomatic Conference held from 2-27th July 2012.
Jamaica was one of several co-sponsors of General Assembly Resolution 65/69 on “Women, disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control,” in December 2010, which was introduced by Trinidad and Tobago.
In October 2000, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security which allowed the Council for the first time, to formally highlight the importance of women’s participation at all levels of decision-making in the area of peace and security. Resolution 1325 recognizes that women are disproportionately affected by conflict and calls for their active participation at all levels of decision-making in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peace processes, post-conflict peacebuilding and governance. The resolution further calls for the effective protection of women from sexual and gender-based violence in conflict settings, for the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in all aspects of peace operations, and for the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality.
The move by the UNSC to adopt this resolution was due in part to Jamaica’s efforts during its presidency of the Security Council some three months earlier in July 2000 to highlight the role of women in conflict prevention and peace building in its Presidential Statement.
