Catriona Standfield is in Cyprus. She is casting her fresh eyes on a conflict that has ravaged the island for nearly 28 years – a conflict that has divided an island between north and south, between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey. The conflict resolution process for Cyprus is still at the forefront of peace resolutions in international affairs.
On Monday last week, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias – an advocate for peace – met with the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu in UN-led peace talks for political settlement in Cyprus, but said the meeting was fruitless. It was during his trip to Australia last year that Christofias publicly spoke about wanting to resolve the conflict in Cyprus. He said his “main aim for running as president was to reunite [Cyprus], to end the occupation that violates international law and the principles set by the UN in human rights and any notion of justice”.
Undergraduate student Catriona Standfield has spent her 23-years remote from this issue. Without any connection to Cyprus or Cypriot culture, the student’s first exposure to it was through an internship with the United Nations’ Special Advisor on Cyprus, Alexander Downer. As part of her internship, the relative outsider had to draft a report on ways peace can be achieved in Cyprus. And now, her research and findings have been chosen to be presented in UN-led peace negotiations in Cyprus. Standfield, who travelled to Cyprus with Mr Downer last week, is there to present her research and discuss potential ways she believes may assist in resolving the Cyprus issue.
The key message of Standfield’s findings is that peace in Cyprus needs to be the product of an inclusive process, and that women need to be central to this. Her research states that conflict is not gender neutral and that men and women are affected by it in very different ways. Standfield believes their experiences, concerns and viewpoints need to be taken into consideration to develop and negotiate a peace agreement that works for all Cypriots.
“Women are the key in overcoming intractability and the Cypriot conflict is intractable by anyone’s standards, it’s been going on for a very long time,” says Standfield. “People are very polarised over who’s to blame and I think women can help overcome that.”
In her research, Standfield uses a process called gender mainstreaming which ensures that everyone on board with peace negotiations think about both men’s and women’s needs. She also suggests more women need be involved. “I have found Cypriot women have been very vocal,” explains Standfield.
“They’ve put together some amazing suggestions, and they have been working on this for so long, but there is no space for them in the peace process to be genuinely listened to right now. “So my key findings and recommendations in the research revolve around giving women the airtime they need and getting the negotiators to accept that what the women have to say is a key part in building peace in Cyprus and is not tokenistic.”
Standfield took an evidence based approach to her research and looked at previous negotiations where women were instrumental in a peaceful outcome.
“Women tend to be less aggressive; we tend to be a bit more cooperative in working together. And women are good at reaching across the dividing lines of ethnicity or a particular conflict in realising everyone suffers, and from the recognition of shared suffering they build the bridges and work towards a wider solution.”
Standfield first developed an interest in international affairs through her undergraduate degree at the University of Adelaide. As a student of Development Studies, and French and Indonesian, Standfield sought out extracurricular activities, volunteering with organizations like UN Youth Australia and UN Women Australia. “My interest in women’s empowerment and also peace and conflict has come through the way it interrelates with development through my studies but also with the volunteer work I have done.”
Her volunteering work sees her educate younger people, especially younger women, about international issues and gender issues. Last year, she was selected to represent women at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. But her recent work with conflict resolution and conflict negotiation is where she sees her future, especially the involvement of women.
“To me it is a basic human right, everyone should be a part of decision making in a democratic society,” Standfield says is what she will fight for. “I think that empowerment of women and young people to be able to play an active role in that, is really important and it’s the only way we will be able to build a healthy society.”
As for the Cyprus conflict, Standfield says one of the biggest obstacles the island faces is that people seem to have become accustomed to living on a divided island, however, the hope for a solution lies with people seeing the benefits of a united Cyprus and a reconciliation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
“I think that the peace process will be successful if the people who are willing to challenge the status quo are given a greater voice. In the end, peace in Cyprus depends on much greater community empowerment and involvement.”