3.0 GOVERNANCE, GENDER AND PEACEBUILDING: GORDIAN KNOTS? The riddle of the legendary Greek gordian knot connotes complex problems that are intricately tied together and yet not unresolvable with innovative approaches. Governance, gender and peacebuilding are an interwoven tapestry that together depict the complexities around conflict. While the desirable standards is to integrate the concepts closely in order to build sustainable peace and inclusive societies and democracies, they are more commonly loosely linked or and often governments often display disconnected and incoherent approaches. As a core tenet of governance, the equality of status and opportunities between men and women in all spheres of public life impacts on their ability to influence peace outcomes. This includes equal rights to preventing, managing and resolving conflict. Violence against women is structural, rooted in unequal power relations as defined in the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against women. Equality is prescribed as the ‘antidote’ to gender based violence.48 Governance The award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her struggle to attain women’s rights to full participation in peacebuilding work was significant, in part due to fact that it was framed in the context of UNSCR 1325. In awarding the prize, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee stated that ‘we cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.’49 At the heart of violent conflict is the struggle against political exclusion, inequality, discrimination, social injustice, poverty and socio-economic deterioration. All these governance concerns are reflected in various African Union instruments of the heads of states and governments and have been flagged as key drivers of conflict. In its various resolutions, the UN Security Council acknowledges the linkages between 48 Wilton Park Conference 816 ‘Peace and Security: Implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325’ 30 May – 02 June 2006. Available at https://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/wp816-report.pdf 49 The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011. Available at https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2011/press-release/ 26