The alarming number of armed conflicts in the world today, and the devastation and gender differential impact caused deserve serious consideration not only in general development but also skills training and employment promotion programmes. Such skills training and employment programmes also constitute an integral part of the comprehensive strategy required for reintegrating the large numbers of conflict-affected groups, reconstructing their societies and building sustainable peace. Taking into account the special gender concerns in the conflict context in designing, implementing and evaluating skills training and employment promotion programmes is a challenging task which requires investment in time, energy and resources.

As a contribution to the required effort and also to supplement the ILO Guidelines for employment and skills training in conflict-affected countries by the ILO Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict (1996/97), the ensuing Gender guidelines for employment and skills training in conflict-affected countrieshave been formulated. They are geared to facilitating the mainstreaming of the complex gender issues in policies and programmes in the specific context of conflict. They, thus, constitute an essential tool for action. The Gender guidelines can be used by themselves or with other materials on the conflict-affected issue. The Gender guidelines are perceived here as dynamic and should be updated at regular intervals and adapted to specific countries and situations. We would thus appreciate receiving feedback from users in different parts of the world. It is hoped that theGender guidelines will also contribute to advance discussion, advocacy and action at different levels with regard to this major problem area of conflict in the current world. They have also been prepared as a contribution to the implementation of the Fourth World Conference's Agenda for Action, especially its Strategic objective E: Women and armed conflict.