Women and Armed Conflict: The International Response to the Beijing Platform for Action

This article calls for increased recognition of the problems facing women in armed conflict. Although the issue of violence against women has gained significant coverage, the authors argue other issues specific to armed conflict and women, like access to health services and problems of dislocation, remain underreported. The authors focus on the responses of the U.N., its agencies, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to this issue following the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995. The authors contend that despite resolutions and expressions of concern in various fora, very little in real terms has been achieved. The authors discuss the need for some form of international legal instrument as an essential component of any strategy designed to address the effects of armed conflict on women.