Incorporating Climate Change into the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

Year 2024, Volume: 16 Issue: 1, 31 - 61, 23.02.2024

Ayşegül Gökalp Kutlu

https://doi.org/10.53376/ap.2024.02

Abstract

Climate change did not seem as a priority of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda until the adoption of the first and only document on the issue, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2242 in 2015. Even though it was seen as irrelevant in the discussions on peace and security initially, it has been widely accepted for some time that climate change has a profound impact on women and girls in many parts of the world. Climate change is a rising security threat, contributing to insecurity both through direct effects on state security via armed conflicts and wars, as well as a human security threat causing loss of livelihoods, political instability, forced displacement, and poverty. Coupled with the existing unequal gender roles within many communities, these threats may worsen the already existing socio-economic burden on women and gender-based violence. This article aims to introduce the burgeoning relationship between climate change and the KBG agenda, a connection increasingly emerging in international literature, into the Turkish context. Methodologically, by leveraging insights from existing research and international reports, the article establishes connections between climate change and the “protection” and “participation” pillars of the WPS agenda. It first questions the place of climate change as a security threat in the international relations discipline. In the second part, it firstly delves into the insecurity perceived by women due to climate change, and then it focuses on peacebuilding as a common ground between climate peace and the WPS Agenda. The article emphasizes that addressing the effects of climate change, whether perceived as a threat to traditional security or human security, involves a solution found within the WPS agenda. This solution focuses on a peacebuilding process that engages women, mitigates the impact of gender inequality, and enhances resilience against climate change.

Keywords

WPS, Climate Change, Human Security, Gender Equality, Peace-Making

İklim Değişikliğini Kadın, Barış ve Güvenlik Bağlamında Ele Almak

Abstract

İklim değişikliği, konuyla ilgili ilk ve tek belge olan 2242 sayılı Birleşmiş Milletler Güvenlik Konseyi kararının 2015 yılında kabul edilmesine kadar Kadın, Barış ve Güvenlik (KBG) gündeminin bir önceliği olarak görülmemiştir. Oysa iklim değişikliği, hem silahlı çatışmalar ve savaşlar yoluyla devlet güvenliği üzerinde doğrudan etkiler doğuran hem de geçim kaynaklarının kaybına, siyasi istikrarsızlığa, zorla yerinden edilmeye ve yoksulluğa neden olan bir insan güvenliği sorunudur. Bu tehditler eşitsiz toplumsal cinsiyet rolleriyle birleştiğinde, pek çok toplumda kadınlar üzerinde halihazırda var olan sosyoekonomik yük ve toplumsal cinsiyete dayalı şiddet daha da artmaktadır. Bu makale, son yıllarda iklim değişikliği ve KBG gündemi arasında uluslararası literatürde kurulmaya başlayan ilişkiyi Türkçe literatüre kazandırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Makale, metodolojik olarak, mevcut araştırmalar ve uluslararası raporların bulgularından yola çıkarak iklim değişikliğini KBG gündeminin “koruma” ve “katılım” sütunları ile ilişkilendirmektedir. Bu amaçla makalede öncelikle uluslararası ilişkiler disiplininde bir güvenlik tehdidi olarak iklim değişikliğinin yeri sorgulanmaktadır. İkinci bölümde, ilk olarak kadınların iklim değişikliği nedeniyle algıladıkları güvensizlik ele alınmakta, daha sonra iklim barışı ile KBG gündeminin ortak noktası olan barış inşasına değinilmektir. Makale, ister geleneksel güvenliğe ister insan güvenliğine bir tehdit olarak ele alınsın, iklim değişikliğinin etkilerinin üstesinden gelmeyi sağlayacak çözümün KBG gündeminin içinde, kadınların dahil edildiği ve toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğinin etkilerinin hafifletildiği bir barış inşasında olduğunu vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Kadın, Barış ve Güvenlik Gündemi, İklim Değişikliği, İnsan Güvenliği, Toplumsal Cinsiyet Eşitliği, Barış İnşası

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