Human Rights, Democracy and Governance from the Gender Perspective
February 2 – February 20, 2004
Professor Alda Facio (Costa Rica)

This course on human rights, democracy and governance is given from the standpoint of a feminist human rights activist who is committed to the idea of human rights for a better world. To talk about human rights is to talk about democracy, governance, justice, state responsibility, the duty to protect, participation, human security and substantive equality, all of which are pre-requisites for peace. The course will therefore develop from the idea that human rights are the basis for peace, justice and democracy and that there can be no peace without justice and no justice without human rights from a gender perspective. Human Rights will be defined as a code of conduct, an agenda for development, a guide for good governance, based on the principles of equality, accountability, participation and legally binding instruments. They will also be discussed as a challenge to cultural diversity, national security and sovereignty. Because human rights theory, as most man created theories, is androcentric, the course will discuss the androcentric bias in the theory and practice of human rights and the process by which human rights have slowly acquired a gender perspective. The course will also teach different methodologies for incorporating a gender perspective into human rights theory and practice as well as how to develop a human rights framework for any peace building activity or policy.

The Ethics of War and Peace and Human Security from the Gender Perspective
March 1 – March 19, 2004
Professor Indai Sajor (Philippines)

The international short course on the Ethics of War and Peace and Human Security is meant to give an overview of the theory and practices of war, its causes and consequences, the definition of the meaning of peace and an interrogation of human security. Students will be introduced to different forms of war and armed conflict – ethnic conflicts, communal violence, resourced based conflicts, religious based conflicts, terrorism and other conflicts that have recently erupted in other countries. The subject will also look at gender roles during war and peacetime and how these shifts before, during and after the conflict. The role of state and non-state actors as perpetrators during armed conflicts will be discussed along with justice and accountability to survivors and victims of war.

An assessment of human security in the context of governance in failed states or collapsed state will also be made. This will be linked to the protection of civilians, refugees, internally displaced persons, human rights field operations and humanitarian intervention. Additionally, participants will question the nature of a quasi-governmental entity and how it defers from the centric notion of centralized government.

A Gender Analysis of the Environment and Sustainable Development
April 12 – April 30, 2004
Professor Lorena Aguilar (Costa Rica)

The three-week international course “A Gender Analysis of the Environment and Sustainable Development” is designed to provide technical, methodological and practical inputs that facilitate an understanding of the importance of gender issues for the environmental sector. Throughout the three weeks, students will be exposed to the major trends that have been used for the incorporation of gender in the environmental sector. Also, practical skills will be gained in order to mainstream gender in the project cycle (elaboration of proposals, planning, monitoring and evaluation, indicators), specific ecosystem analysis from a gender perspective (coastal zones, forest, watersheds, semiarid and arid zones, protected areas and biodiversity) and elaboration of gender policies for the environmental sector.