S/PV.6411 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, which will be issued as document S/2010/549 and which reads as follows: “I have the honour to request that, in accordance with its previous practice, the Security Council invite the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations to participate in the Security Council open debate that will be held on Tuesday, 26 October 2010, on women and peace and security.” I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite the Permanent Observer of Palestine to participate in the meeting, in accordance with the rules of procedure and the previous practice in this regard. There being no objection, it is so decided. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I invite the following briefers under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure: Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary- General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; Mr. Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; and Mr. Hamidon Ali, President of the Economic and Social Council. It is so decided. I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from His Excellency Mr. Pedro Serrano, acting head of the delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, in which he requests to be invited to participate in the consideration of the item, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Gabon, in which he requests that the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, His Excellency Mr. Ramtane Lamamra, be invited to participate in the consideration of the item in accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Mr. Walter Füllemann, Permanent Observer and head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is so decided. I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Turkey, in which he requests that the NATO Civilian Liaison Officer to the United Nations, Ms. Eirini Lemos- Maniati, be invited to participate in the consideration of the item in accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I shall take it that the Security Council agrees to extend an invitation under rule 39 of its provisional rules of procedure to Ms. Thelma Awori of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the United Nations on Women, Peace and Security. It is so decided. On behalf of the Council, I wish to warmly welcome the Deputy Secretary-General at this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2010/498, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security. I also wish to draw members’ attention to document S/2010/466, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on women’s participation in peacekeeping. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the landmark resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. It was the first Security Council resolution to address women’s issues on the international peace and security agenda. Member States, the United Nations system, civil society and parties to conflict were called upon, among other things, to acknowledge the role and address the plight of women in situations of armed conflict. Resolution 1325 (2000) also sought to protect women and girls from violence, particularly sexual violence, in conflict and post-conflict situations. Uganda recognizes the progress that has been made by the United Nations and the broader international community towards enhancing the participation of women in conflict resolution, peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction. However, there are still situations in which conflict continues to have a devastating impact on women and girls. As we commemorate the tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), Uganda will move beyond the reaffirmation of our common commitment to the implementation of the resolution and make strong, time-bound and measurable commitments to action. It is essential to empower women to enable them to participate effectively in issues of peace, security and development. The Government of Uganda has adopted a deliberate policy for the empowerment of women through affirmative action initiatives. These include providing for one woman representative per district in Parliament and for a third of local council executive positions to be occupied by women, and awarding 1.5 additional points to female candidates for admission to public universities, as well as ensuring universal primary and secondary education for all children. Through these initiatives, women’s participation in governance has been greatly enhanced. Uganda launched its national action plan for resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008), as well as the Goma Declaration in December 2008. The action plan highlights specific commitments and duties of the Government and stakeholders and identifies priority interventions for the short and medium terms. It also apportions institutional responsibilities and establishes a mechanism for coordination, monitoring and reporting. In the next five years, Uganda will be developing a comprehensive national policy on gender-based violence to guide prevention and responsiveness in all situations, including in the humanitarian development context. We shall establish sustainable and integrated systems for collecting data on gender-based violence and improve access to justice for victims and survivors. We are also institutionalizing gender-based violence training in key institutions for training security forces, including those involved in peacekeeping missions. Uganda is already carrying out wide-ranging reforms to address the remaining gender inequalities and violence against women in both the public and the private sectors. We are also working on integrating the principles of resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) into the implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes for our national development plan. At the regional level, through the African Union, the East African Community and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Uganda is committed to strengthening collaboration to enhance women’s participation and empowerment in conflict prevention, mediation and resolution. We are convinced that women have an important role in ensuring durable peace, security and development. The Council has before it the text of a statement by the President on behalf of the Council on the subject of today’s meeting. I thank Council members for their valuable contributions to this statement. In accordance with the understanding reached among the members of the Council, I shall take it that the members of the Security Council agree to the statement, which will be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/PRST/2010/22. It is so decided. I shall now invite the Council to hear a statement by the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who is travelling in Asia and will address this meeting via a videotaped message.

I welcome the opportunity to address this commemorative open debate. I thank the President and members of the Council for allowing me to participate by video. As they know, I am in South-East Asia, en route to Viet Nam to attend the third United Nations-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. I have asked the Deputy Secretary-General to represent me today. The landmark adoption 10 years ago of resolution 1325 (2000) acknowledged the role of women in peace and security, not simply as victims but as agents of change. It opened the way for incorporating gender perspectives into all our work to restore, keep and build peace. The Council has also shown its commitment by following up with three subsequent resolutions and by demanding country-specific reporting on how resolution 1325 (2000) is being implemented. Just two weeks ago, the Council received my report on women’s participation in peacebuilding (S/2010/466), which details a clear seven-point agenda for action. Member States, the United Nations system and civil society have all contributed to implementing resolution 1325 (2000). Twenty countries have adopted national action plans, and women are an increasing influence in national parliaments, including in countries emerging from armed conflict. The proportion of female legislators in Burundi and Rwanda is truly inspiring. Yet the past decade has also been marred by repeated instances of abuse. Many of my reports to the Security Council on the progress of peacekeeping missions have noted widespread rape, physical abuse, extortion and other violations of the rights and physical security of women and children during and after conflict. The recent horrifying mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were just the latest reminder of the challenges we face and of the vital importance of fully implementing resolution 1325 (2000). As my current report (S/2010/498) indicates, progress is difficult to quantify. We lack adequate methods for monitoring our impact. That is why I call on the Council to endorse the comprehensive set of indicators first presented in April (see S/2010/173) and refined since then. The indicators will enable us to identify progress and provide the Council with systematic comparable information for effective monitoring and accountability. As Member States and civil society representatives have repeatedly stated, this comprehensive set of indicators is among the most constructive additions to the 1325 (2000) toolkit. But of course, it is also just a beginning. Resolution 1325 (2000) will never be implemented successfully until we end sexual violence in conflict. We must hold those responsible to account, whether the crimes are committed by State or non-State parties. I call on the Council to take appropriate steps to end impunity. We must intensify efforts to prevent brutality against women and girls. Let us recognize the important role of women in the justice and security sector and support their participation. And let us eliminate stereotypes and ensure women’s meaningful participation in all stages of peace processes and decision-making. The creation of UN Women will enable us to better assist Member States in addressing all issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women, including those related to women and peace and security. To head this effort, we are fortunate to have the dynamism and political skill of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, who will present my report to Council members today. I am determined that the United Nations system should lead by example. That is why I have appointed 11 women Special Representatives or Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General to peacekeeping operations and special political missions. It is why our heads of mission — women and men alike — held 27 open day meetings this year to consult with women’s organizations and receive their insights. And it is why I will continue to push for full accountability in how our own peacekeepers conduct themselves in the field. On this, I trust that I can count on the Council’s full support. I look forward to our continued collaboration in the coming decade. I am committed to working with the Council to ensure the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and its related resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009). Only by acting on our promises can we hope to create change.

I thank the Secretary-General for his statement. I now give the floor to Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Ms. Bachelet: It is an honour for me to address the Security Council for the first time since assuming my position as Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). I would like to express deep gratitude to you, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to address the Council and to present the report of the Secretary- General (S/2010/498). I commend your commitment and leadership in the intense preparations and deliberations leading up to this open debate. I would also like to recognize the unprecedented level of representation by ministers at this historic tenth-anniversary meeting on resolution 1325 (2000). I take inspiration from this presence, which clearly shows that Member States are determined to see accelerated implementation and concrete results in women’s protection and in their full engagement in making, keeping and building peace. The report before the Council presents a comprehensive overview of progress made, as well as the obstacles encountered in the first decade of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in response to a number of mandates of the Security Council. It responds to the Security Council’s request to the Secretary-General in paragraph 18 of resolution 1889 (2009) to present an overview of progress in implementing resolution 1325 (2000). The report also provides an assessment of the processes by which the Security Council receives, analyses and takes action on information pertinent to resolution 1325 (2000), and recommendations on further measures to improve coordination across the United Nations system and with Member States and civil society to deliver implementation. Furthermore, it gives highlights of progress achieved in implementing the 2008-2009 System-wide Action Plan for implementing resolution 1325 (2000), as well as an update on the further development of the set of indicators contained in the April 2010 report of the Secretary-General (S/2010/173), as requested in operative paragraph 17 of resolution 1889 and in the presidential statement contained in document S/PRST/2010/8. The report ends with a number of recommendations for consideration by the Security Council. These recommendations, if accepted, will provide the Council with tools to ensure accelerated implementation. They offer a monitoring framework for the Council’s work on women, peace and security. I am confident that with strong Council leadership, Member State determination, civil society engagement and United Nations commitment and assistance, we will together ensure coherent implementation of the important work on women, peace and security. The report before you presents a mixed picture. It highlights areas in which progress has been made in implementing resolution 1325 (2000) in the last decade, outlining a great number of activities that have been carried out by various stakeholders, including Member States, entities of the United Nations system, civil society and the Security Council itself. United Nations system entities have invested in training and the development of policies, action plans, guidelines and programming to ensure women’s access to resources, justice and opportunities to participate in decision-making. United Nations peacekeeping missions have become more effective in engaging women in peacebuilding. As a result, most reports of the Secretary-General on peacekeeping missions now include information on actions taken to ensure the participation of women in conflict resolution, public decision-making and recovery efforts. They also detail the consequences for women and girls of armed conflict and its aftermath. There has been an effort to develop consistent standards and procedures to guide various aspects of the work of the United Nations on women, peace and security. The need for coordination of the activities on women, peace and security in the United Nations system was recognized and led to a call by the Security Council for the development of a United Nations System-wide Action Plan on implementing Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) across the United Nations system (S/PRST/2004/40). The first evaluation of the performance of this Plan led to its revision and the definition of a new System-wide Action Plan as a results-based programming, monitoring and reporting tool. Within a few years of the resolution’s adoption, a number of Member States were actively working on their own initiatives at the national level, often reaching out to women’s organizations to create partnerships to implement resolution 1325 (2000). Spearheaded by Canada, an informal group of Member States, the Friends of Women and Peace and Security or the Friends of 1325, continues to advocate for and support intergovernmental coordination, the allocation of resources and the acceleration of implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) by United Nations entities. Twenty-two countries have so far developed national action plans on women, peace and security. In a number of post-conflict countries there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women in national politics, in part because of the use of electoral quotas. In Nepal, women hold one third of the seats in the Constituent Assembly. More than half of Burundi’s Senate is female. The Sudan’s general election this year resulted in a National Assembly with women winning over a quarter of the seats. Just this month, 90 female police advisers from Rwanda were deployed to the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to serve as gender-based violence and child protection advisers. Sierra Leone, which only allowed women into its armed forces in 2008, recently sent seven female peacekeepers to the Sudan, including one female Brigadier General, and will shortly send 20 more. In addition to facilitating the gender-responsiveness of UNAMID military and police components, these examples show that post-conflict countries are emerging as the standard bearers of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). There are many other examples of Member States’ commitment to resolution 1325 (2000), which are highlighted in the report. Civil society has played a key role in advocating for accountability in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Within the United Nations, the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security continues to emphasize accountability and the need to establish a monitoring framework for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). In 2010, a high-level civil society advisory group was established and its chair has participated as an observer in a high- level steering committee, chaired by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, to guide preparations for the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000). The involvement of civil society has provided essential guidance and insights from women around the world on their priorities and concerns. On a country-specific level, we have seen important examples of women’s peace activism. This year, women in Afghanistan lobbied consistently and successfully to ensure that an unprecedented number of women participated in the important June Peace Jirga. In Kyrgyzstan, after the ethnic clashes of June 2010, women peace activists struggled to have their voices heard at the high-level donors forum, held on June 27. A persistent campaign reiterating that “women count for peace” and “nothing for us without us”, resulted in the allocation of five seats at the donor conference and an invitation to participate in the peace negotiations committee. Civil society has a crucial role to play in promoting resolution 1325 (2000). This Council itself has continued to play an active role. The role of women in peace and security is now more clearly integrated into the Council’s deliberations. The past year’s heightened activities on the part of the Security Council and the United Nations to achieve coordination and bring sharper attention to the issues of women and peace and security in general, and sexual violence in conflict in particular, are worthy of note. This Council’s adoption of resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009) illustrates the increased commitment of the Council to the issue of women and peace and security. In response to Security Council resolution 1888 (2009), the Secretary-General appointed a Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to bring greater focus to this challenging aspect of the area of women, peace and security. The call of the Security Council in resolution 1889 (2009) for indicators to monitor the implementation of the resolution was a bold and an important step towards the development of a much needed monitoring framework for resolution 1325 (2000). The Council’s persistence in requesting the development and operationalization of those indicators has kept up the pressure needed to transform the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) from just a focus on activities to an output and results-driven endeavour. Despite these activities and implementation successes, there are a number of sobering messages in the report before you that call for our concerted and urgent action. Ten years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), significant achievements are difficult to identify or quantify. Although activities to implement resolution 1325 (2000) have been carried out with increasing intensity over the years, those activities have lacked a clear direction or time-bound goals and targets that could accelerate implementation and ensure accountability. While those discrete activities have indeed contributed to improvements in efforts to address the needs of women and girls in the context of armed conflict, evidence of their cumulative impact is inadequate. Because of design, implementation and resource limitations, the System-wide Action Plan devised to bring greater coherence to the United Nations system implementation efforts has fallen short of its goals. Given the urgent need to accelerate implementation of the resolution and the formidable obstacles to be overcome, the Security Council may wish to consider a range of initiatives and interventions to ensure that the coming years see more determined and effective implementation. The report before you recommends the development of a single comprehensive framework consisting of an agreed set of goals, targets and indicators to guide the implementation of the resolution in the next decade. The Council, in that regard, could convene a review or summit at the ministerial level every five years to assess progress towards the goals and targets and to address the obstacles in their implementation. This framework should build on the comprehensive set of indicators presented in the annex to the report. The comprehensive set of indicators in the present report has been acknowledged as a breakthrough in the architecture for monitoring the implementation of 1325 (2000) and as a crucial building block of stronger accountability. They represent a highly practical new tool to support the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda. I strongly urge the Council to endorse the indicators contained in the annex as a preliminary set and to begin to use them as a basis for the Council’s review, analysis and intervention on issues related to women and peace and security at both the global and the country levels. This would demonstrate a new level of commitment of the Council to act on the information that it receives. As section III of the report before you notes, the effectiveness with which the Security Council processes and takes action on information pertinent to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) will make the difference in achieving its objectives. Actions such as the horrific mass rapes in July and August 2010 in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo cannot be allowed to continue with impunity. These events are an affront to humankind and underline the desperate urgency of accelerating the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) to strengthen the capacity of Member States to resolve conflict and build security and justice systems that protect the human rights of all. Therefore, as indicated in the Secretary-General’s report, the Security Council may wish to instruct that those who abuse women and girls and violate their human rights in conflict and post-conflict situations, including those who commission such abuses, must be brought to justice in accordance with national laws, international law and international humanitarian law. The Council must remain vigilant and relentless in bringing pressure on perpetrators and their supporters. The creation of UN Women in July this year was the result of an exceptional commitment by Member States seeking greater leadership, coordination and coherence from the United Nations on gender equality and women’s empowerment. For my part, I can assure the Council of my determination to work to chart a clear path to achieve that goal. Along with the Secretary-General, I especially recognize the need to identify better ways to achieve progress in addressing the challenges in the area of women and peace and security and in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). What is needed now is determined leadership by all of us working together. UN Women will support existing and new efforts to improve the protection environment for women during and after conflict, to engage women in conflict prevention, and to ensure that peacebuilding processes are guided by women’s perspectives and address their needs. UN Women will be an essential partner to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in building the capacity of the United Nations system to protect women in conflict. UN Women will use the resources at its disposal to work with the entire United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders to enhance coordination and coherence on women and peace and security. I mentioned earlier that the key ingredients are in place for much more determined implementation. The Security Council is better equipped than ever before to ensure that women engage in peace talks and to build a stronger protection environment for women. We all know that women count for peace, but for them to count for peace, they need us all. Let us make this the beginning of a new decade in which women can put their stamp on conflict resolution so that we can have more effective peacemaking and more sustainable peacebuilding throughout the world. I look forward to the support of all here in the next decade of the implementation of that landmark resolution.

I thank Ms. Bachelet for her briefing. I now give the floor to Mr. Alain Le Roy, Under- Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.

Resolution 1325 (2000) has fundamentally changed the conduct of peacekeeping operations over the past 10 years. As we implemented a wide range of multidimensional mandates to stabilize and support peaceful transitions in every region of the globe, from Afghanistan to Liberia to Timor-Leste, that landmark resolution guided us in our efforts to support women’s participation in peace processes and to improve the protection of women in post-conflict situations. It placed women’s participation at the centre of all efforts for an inclusive and lasting peace. Ten years on, we have made some progress, but not as much as we would have wanted. We still face immense challenges. A few months ago, the Departments of Peacekeeping Operations and of Field Support — DPKO and DFS — launched a joint study to review with our partners our implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in post-conflict situations, the impact of our efforts to date and the implications for our workplan. That exercise has confirmed a certain number of important lessons. Allow me to underscore some of them here. In Afghanistan, Darfur and Timor-Leste, we have seen to what extent the leaders of our peacekeeping operations can use their good offices to facilitate women’s participation in political processes. The experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo clearly shows that forming partnerships with women in post-conflict situations greatly enhances our understanding of the operational environment. It should, therefore, enable us to further increase our ability to protect women and children from sexual violence in those countries, which is clearly vital despite the very difficult circumstances of which we are all aware. We have seen in Liberia and Haiti how effective the links of female peacekeepers with the local population have been, particularly in internally displaced persons camps, as in Haiti, for example. Besides their professional qualities, those women model the principle of gender equality. With regard to police personnel, beyond the presence of a woman — who is seated behind me — at the head of our entire police force around the world, we have set up a plan to enable us to achieve a 20 per cent proportion of our worldwide police personnel being female by 2014. As for our 15 peacekeeping missions, three are now led by women, while none were a few years ago. That is a proportion of 20 per cent — 20 per cent of our peacekeeping operations are led by women. Moreover, our multidimensional operations have greatly benefited from the recruitment of gender advisers in each of our missions. Those advisers have provided valuable technical expertise in the Sudan, on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; in Chad, on prison reform; in Burundi, on election support; and in Afghanistan, on constitutional reform. That helped gain significant percentages of female representation in the parliaments, as Ms. Bachelet said, in particular, 25 per cent in Afghanistan and more than 30 per cent in Burundi. The development of manuals and training tools for the Blue Helmets has promoted gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping missions and in predeployment planning and training of troops and police. Naturally, we know that peacekeeping missions must cooperate closely with other United Nations partners present in the country in order to deliver coherent support that can be sustained when our missions withdraw. Our common response should, of course, demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the rights of women. (spoke in English) In addition to those lessons, we can also cite a number of developments on the broader global and peacekeeping agenda in recent years that will influence our future strategy. In the first instance, there are many more actors engaged in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) at the field level today than was the case 10 years ago. Besides the gender expertise available within peacekeeping missions, many of our United Nations partner entities are also deploying gender experts to post-conflict countries. That requires that we strengthen the coordination of our efforts on the ground. Too often, actual strength on the ground to coordinate and implement is weak. The protection of civilians has assumed central priority in the work of peacekeeping today. We have initiated a broad policy and operational reform effort, including training, guidance and planning. Together with the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Wallström, and other United Nations partners, we are advancing a broad protection agenda. Drawing on lessons and emerging trends, I would like to advance five key elements of our future strategy. First, the necessary financing must be in place to support implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) — which has not always been the case. Secondly, our focus in future must be on building the capacities of women to build and sustain peace in their own countries. We must invest more in facilitating women’s participation in political processes and in newly restructured security sector institutions. We must also work closely with local women to identify and implement protection strategies. That requires us to draw on local women’s perspectives and contributions in the planning and drawdown phases of peacekeeping missions to ensure sustainable outcomes. Thirdly, we will continue to engage closely with troop- and police-contributing countries to help them prepare military and police personnel with the knowledge, skills, expertise and profile to effectively implement resolution 1325 (2000). To ensure that women are included among civilian peacekeepers, we will also press forward with efforts to improve conditions in the field and to realize the goal of harmonized conditions of service across the common system. Fourthly, during the early post-conflict phases, when peacekeeping missions have the largest presence and resources on the ground, we will continue to provide the leadership and coordination of an integrated United Nations response. Like everyone here, I am sure, we welcome the establishment of UN Women and the appointment of Under-Secretary- General Bachelet, and we look forward to the promise of strengthened field coordination to ensure that we deliver as one. Fifthly, we will actively support the strengthening of accountability and monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The recently developed standardized indicators are a welcome development. The specific indicators related to peacekeeping are, in fact, part of our existing reporting templates and guidelines. Our greatest indicator of success must remain, however, the extent to which our collective energies contribute to building a sustainable, nationally owned platform from which local women, working with men, can themselves define, shape and influence the course of peace in their countries.

I thank Mr. Le Roy for his briefing. I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Hamidon Ali, President of the Economic and Social Council. Mr Ali: At the outset, Sir, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to address the Security Council in my capacity as President of the Economic and Social Council on the important issue of women, peace and security. Gender equality and the empowerment of women are cross-cutting issues for all development policies and, indeed, increasingly for all international policies. The Economic and Social Council has taken the full dimension of this requirement and reviews on an annual basis how the United Nations system mainstreams gender perspectives in its activities. This exercise is of much relevance to the activities carried out in the field of peace and security, as many of the issues at stake are multifaceted. Over the years, the Economic and Social Council has promoted a comprehensive approach to peace, stability and development. Its discussions on the transition from relief to development, leading to groundbreaking agreed conclusions in 1998 and an annual follow-up process at the Council’s substantive sessions, are based on the demonstrated need to integrate relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development into a continuum that increases the coherence of international support. Peacebuilding is an additional dimension of international efforts that can now be added to this approach. The Council’s Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti has also formulated specific recommendations on the gender dimension of international support to Haiti. I invite the Security Council to take them into account. Violence against women in conflict and post- conflict situations is both a development and a security challenge that calls for action on a common front by United Nations Charter and other intergovernmental bodies. Violence against women profoundly affects not only the health and safety of women but also the political, economic and social stability of their nations. As such, United Nations intergovernmental bodies — in particular, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and its Commission on the Status of Women, as well as the Peacebuilding Commission — all have a role to play in fostering international action to eliminate this scourge and deliver results. I therefore wish to suggest a sharing of tasks among these various bodies in order to accelerate mutually reinforcing efforts in this crucial field. For example, the Economic and Social Council could ensure follow-up and monitoring of the indicators developed by its Statistical Commission on violence against women. Given its strong experience in reviewing the achievement of development objectives, particularly the Millennium Development Goals, the Council could engage in this task with the real know- how and institutional backup of the United Nations system at large. 2010 has been a very constructive year for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women at the United Nations. The Commission on the Status of Women reviewed the Beijing Platform for Action in March; the Economic and Social Council adopted a ministerial declaration on the matter in July following its annual ministerial review devoted to gender equality and the empowerment of women; and the General Assembly decided on the creation of UN Women in July, a major step forward for the operationalization of United Nations work in this field. 2011 will provide important opportunities to follow up on those events. At its coordination segment in July, the Economic and Social Council will review the coordinated follow-up and implementation of the ministerial declaration adopted this year. In so doing, it will focus on the further mainstreaming of the gender dimension in the work of the system at large and will address the programmatic aspect of the work of UN Women. The specific constituency, institutional weight and networks of the Council, which relate to what is commonly presented as its convening power, will be used to ensure the political significance and broad visibility of this exercise. This opportunity could be used for a joint event with the Peacebuilding Commission in order to review the status of women in peacebuilding settings. It could also be an opportunity for a presentation by the President of the Security Council to the Economic and Social Council. By maintaining close dialogue among our different bodies, we can strengthen the impact of the United Nations voice in our common areas of work. I trust that this meeting today has been a valuable step in this direction.

I thank Mr. Ali for his briefing. I now give the floor to Ms. Thelma Awori of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the United Nations on Women, Peace and Security. Ms. Awori: I am grateful for the honour and privilege of addressing the Council today and of sharing the perspectives of civil society. A full statement has been distributed, and out of respect for the time constraints of this meeting I shall limit myself to reading out a few paragraphs of that statement. I ask members to kindly take the time to read the full statement later. I would like to begin with one clear message from civil society: We can no longer afford to wait. It is time for action, not words. The experiences of women during war are horrendous and their exclusion from peace processes is frustrating. This exclusion is costly not only to women but to the sustainability of peace. Survivors of conflict and millions of women and men around the world are looking to the Security Council today to be bold. Communities rebuilding after conflict cannot afford to omit more than 50 per cent of their population from these efforts. To do so would mean institutionalizing inequality, which is a recipe for further conflict and instability. The Security Council now has at its disposal all the tools it needs to build a pragmatic programme of accelerated implementation of its landmark resolution 1325 (2000). We have no need now to wait another 10 years for action. Indicators are in place, as requested by the Council, and these will provide a system for organizing evidence and an impetus for cooperation within the United Nations and between the United Nations and Member States. We look forward to the Council endorsing these global indicators. We urge the Security Council to endorse the seven-point action plan included in the Secretary- General’s report (S/2010/466). There should be systematic procedures to ensure that mediators consult with women and that negotiators dialogue with women’s groups. We look forward to seeing a greater number of women mediators. We all have our roles to play in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Civil society has been at the forefront of these efforts, bringing to public awareness the scope and breadth of the problem. We have done much, but there is much to be done. Civil society will continue to work to empower women in war-affected regions, and to work on the ground with policymakers to bring about global peace and human security. We urge Member States to commit to powerful and concrete steps to fully implement resolution 1325 (2000) and to support UN Women as a system lead on women, peace and security. We urge Council members to be bold in meeting this challenge. We look forward to the Council taking up its commitments by endorsing the global indicators on women, peace and security; by setting up consistent leadership and action on women, peace and security; and by ensuring that there is accountability for those whose lives have been affected by the conflict. Member States should ensure that UN Women is fully equipped with the resources to become the United Nations system’s guide on women and peace and security. A large portion of such resources should be used to support programmes that allow women to participate directly in all aspects of conflict reconciliation, prevention and reconstruction. Let us look at the past 10 years as years of preparation, of building awareness of the breadth and depth of the problem, of putting in place the structures and the tools. But we must also note that these 10 years of preparation have been costly to women’s health and well-being. Hence the urgency of action. This second decade must be the decade of action on resolution 1325 (2000). We cannot wait another 10 years for action.

I thank Ms. Awori for her briefing. In accordance with the understanding reached among Council members, I wish to remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than five minutes, in order to enable the Council to carry out its work expeditiously. Delegations with lengthy statements are kindly requested to circulate the texts in writing and to deliver a condensed version when speaking in the Chamber. I shall now give the floor to the representatives of Council members. I invite His Excellency Mr. Michael Spindelegger, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, to take the floor.

I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for your initiative to convene this high-level open debate on women and peace and security, marking the tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). Your presence here today shows the support of Uganda for the issue. Let me further congratulate you on the efforts that resulted in the presidential statement issued by Council today (S/PRST/2010/22). I would also like to thank the Secretary-General for joining us from far away, which is testimony to his personal commitment to this subject. It is a particular pleasure to welcome Under- Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet to the Chamber. I would like to congratulate her on her appointment and assure her of Austria’s full support. We are convinced that UN Women will play a central role in further advancing this agenda. We are equally grateful for the valuable input of Ms. Thelma Awori, representing the Civil Society Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security. Civil society has always been a driving force behind this issue, and we look forward to further advancing this agenda in close partnership. When adopting that landmark resolution 10 years ago, the Security Council recognized that equal participation and representation and full involvement of women in all aspects of peacebuilding and security, and the protection of women as a group with specific needs and concerns, as well as the prevention of sexual and other violence, are not only security issues but also vital to sustainable peace and stability. With the adoption of resolutions 1888 (2009), on sexual violence, and 1889 (2009), on women and girls in post-conflict situations, the Council now possesses a strong and well-developed normative framework. Over the past decade, progress on implementation has been slow and uneven. The real impact of resolution 1325 (2000) in many areas is yet to be felt on the ground. All too often, women do not make it to the tables where decisions that have a direct impact on their lives are taken in peace processes or post-conflict reconstruction. There are no issues that are not also women’s issues. Every month, hundreds of women and children fall victim to sexual violence before the eyes of their Governments and the international community. Women and girls with disabilities remain even more vulnerable. Ten years on, our focus must therefore be on how we can ensure better and more coherent implementation of the objectives enshrined in these resolutions and make a real difference for women in conflict and post-conflict situations. The Council has at its disposal a whole range of tools for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). These include measures such as the mandates of peacekeeping and other relevant missions, briefings and reports and commissions of inquiry, as well as targeted measures and sanctions. We have to be ready to use these tools and to translate words into practice in a consistent manner. We have to ensure that those who disregard the Council’s decisions are held accountable. The Arria Formula meeting of the Security Council on 19 October, co-chaired by Austria, Mexico and the United Kingdom, made it clear that we need more information on progress and on what measures have been successful. The comprehensive set of indicators on resolution 1325 (2000), which received the Council’s support today, will finally close this important gap and provide us with qualitative and quantitative data on important areas such as the prevalence of sexual violence and the number of women participating in peace processes. Such information will allow us to better guide and target our actions in the future. We hope that the indicators will now become operational as a matter of urgency. We believe that all Member States should use the indicators relevant to their countries’ situation, including in their national action plans, in order for us to obtain a truly global picture of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). As a next step, we request the Secretary-General to include the information gathered on the basis of the indicators in his country-specific and relevant thematic reports in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Without accurate and timely information, it is difficult for the Council to take appropriate action in areas that need our urgent attention, such as the prevention of sexual violence. We hope the Council will in the future also receive briefings on situations where data gathered through the indicators suggests an outbreak of violence against women or further deterioration of a situation. Early warning and prevention are still the best protection by far. The issue of women and peace and security should be on the agenda of the Council every time the Council considers a country situation or a relevant thematic issue. The establishment of an informal expert group would have further enabled the Council to evaluate information on the situation of women and girls in conflict situations around the globe. We hope that the Council will revert to this question in the near future, once the indicators are fully operational. The Security Council has to show active leadership and shoulder its responsibility for implementing resolution 1325 (2000). The high-level event on resolution 1325 (2000) organized by Canada in the margins of the General Assembly’s general debate has already provided us with an opportunity to make concrete and measurable commitments to implement the resolution. On that occasion I announced some Austrian contributions, and today I would like to add more. Due to limited time, I will highlight only a few commitments; I refer the Council to the written version of my statement for further details. At the national level, Austria will take the tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) as an opportunity to revise our national action plan, incorporate the crimes listed in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, including gender crimes, into the Austrian Criminal Code, improve pre-deployment training of the Austrian armed forces on gender relations and the role and participation of women. At the international level, Austria will provide active support for UN Women, work together with partner countries in the context of a twinning project to support national action plans on resolution 1325 (2000), deploy gender experts and make available immediate response personnel to address women’s and girls’ needs. Finally, let me reiterate my hope that the commitments for action will not be a one-time effort limited to the tenth anniversary. We are ready to follow up on our commitments and review progress in implementation on an annual basis at the open debates on women and peace and security.

I invite the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, to take the floor.

Mr. President, I want to thank you and the Government of Uganda in its role as Council President for convening this important meeting on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000). This meeting gives Member States and non-governmental organizations an invaluable opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved over the past decade, but more importantly, to look very honestly at what remains to be done to fulfil the promise we made to women a decade ago. We promised that women would be treated as agents of peace and reconciliation, not just as victims of war and violence. I would like to thank Secretary-General Ban for his leadership. He has defined a vision for women’s empowerment and protection that is guiding the Organization, and he is helping to build the institutions that can advance our collective mission. We are very fortunate to have with us today the United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Michelle Bachelet, the first head of UN Women. I am delighted by her appointment and am very grateful for her commitment and the excellent presentation that she has already delivered. I also want to recognize Special Representative of the Secretary-General Wallström, who is working very hard and needs the support of all of us to implement resolution 1888 (2009) on sexual and gender violence. Those women are both dedicated advocates for women’s rights and participation. I also want to thank Under-Secretary-General Le Roy, whose Department of Peacekeeping Operations has taken groundbreaking steps to implement resolution 1325 (2000). I thank him for increasing protection measures for vulnerable women and children and for integrating gender advisers into all missions. Finally, I would like to honour our colleagues in civil society, many of whom are on the front lines, literally on the battle lines, in the fight for gender equality in conflict zones around the world. In particular, I would like to thank Bineta Diop and Mary Robinson, co-Chairs of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the United Nations on Women, Peace and Security, who have been tireless advocates for peace and for women’s inclusion. So here we are at the tenth anniversary of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). We are here to reaffirm the goals set forth in that historic resolution, but more than that, to put forth specific actions, as my colleague, the Foreign Minister of Austria, just did in such a commendable set of proposals. The only way to achieve our goals, to reduce the number of conflicts around the world, to eliminate rape as a weapon of war, to combat the culture of impunity for sexual violence, to build sustainable peace, is to draw on the full contributions of both women and men in every aspect of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Women’s participation in those activities is not a nice thing to do. It is not as though we are doing a favour for ourselves and them by including women in the work of peace. It is a necessary global security imperative. Including women in the work of peace advances our national security interests and promotes political stability, economic growth and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Just as in the economic sphere we cannot exclude the talents of half of the population, neither, when it comes to matters of life and death, can we afford to ignore, marginalize and dismiss the very direct contributions that women can and have made. President Obama’s national security strategy recognizes that countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and equal rights and opportunity. When those rights and opportunities are denied, countries lag behind. That is also true when it comes to issues of human security, accountability for sexual violence and the trafficking of women and girls, and all of the other characteristics of stable thriving societies that provide maternal and child health care, education and so much else. In defence, diplomacy and development, which we consider to be the three pillars of our foreign policy, we are putting women front and centre, not merely as beneficiaries of our efforts, but as agents of peace, reconciliation, economic growth and stability. In Afghanistan, for example, our diplomatic efforts have been rooted in the notion that respect for the rights of women, as protected in the Afghan Constitution, is an essential element of democracy and stability. The United States has backed women’s inclusion at all levels, including in the recently formed High Peace Council, because we believe the potential for sustainable peace will be subverted if women are silenced or marginalized. Our military has also begun to play an active role. In Namibia, for example, the United States military helped train nearly 600 peacekeepers on women’s issues, who were then deployed to Chad. That type of military-to-military engagement helps ensure that soldiers understand their obligation to protect women and girls in conflict areas and receive the training on how to do that. From Nepal to Guatemala to Uganda, our development agency, USAID, is promoting women’s roles in politics, supporting their participation in local peace committees and helping develop plans to implement resolution 1325 (2000). In fact, in the future, every USAID project on conflict prevention or management will study conflicts’ effects on women and will include them in the planning and implementation of such projects. But neither the United States nor Member States can do this work alone. We need the international community. We certainly need organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross, which trains women to treat landmine victims in Afghanistan, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which works with men and boys to promote support for women’s rights, and the United Nations itself, which is building up new capacities to combat sexual violence. These and other partners are absolutely essential for fulfilling the promise of resolution 1325 (2000). There is no starker reminder of the work still ahead of us than the horrific mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last summer. Those rapes — and our failure as an international community to bring that conflict to an end and protect women and children in the process — stand as a tragic rebuke to our efforts thus far. We all must do more, and we must think creatively. Yes, we may have to challenge some conventional wisdom about how best to end the impunity not only of those who commit those horrible violations of human rights, but also of those who permit them to do so. While visiting Goma last year, I pledged $17 million to help prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence. This money is now flowing to provide medical and legal services for survivors. In addition, the United States military’s Africa Command has trained a battalion of Congolese soldiers to work to prevent sexual violence, help victims and prosecute perpetrators. We know that that is still not happening. And we know that, unfortunately, there is not yet the will either in the Democratic Republic of the Congo itself, in the United Nations, or in the international community to help bring about an end to impunity. Looking ahead, I am pleased to announce two important steps the United States is taking to advance the goals of resolution 1325 (2000). First, the United States will commit nearly $44 million to a set of initiatives designed to empower women; the largest portion of approximately $17 million will support civil society groups that focus on women in Afghanistan. The women of Afghanistan are rightly worried that, in the very legitimate search for peace, their rights will be sacrificed. I have personally stated and I state here again in the Security Council that none of us can permit that to happen. No peace that sacrifices women’s rights is a peace we can afford to support. Some $14 million will also go to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working to make clean water more available in conflict zones because in these areas, when women and girls go looking for water, they are at higher risk of being attacked. Similarly, I had the honour of announcing the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves last month — another initiative that, with our support, can protect women, who will not have to go out seeking firewood or other forms of fuel if we can revolutionize the way they are able to cook food for their families. Another $1.7 million will help fund United Nations activities, including Special Representative Wahlström’s office, and $11 million will help to expand literacy, job training and maternal health services for refugee women and girls. In addition to this new funding, our second step will be to develop our own national action plan to accelerate the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) across our Government and with our partners in civil society. To measure progress on our plan, we will adopt the indicators laid out in the Secretary-General’s report (S/2010/173). We will measure whether women are effectively represented in the full range of peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts, whether they are protected against sexual violence and whether they are the focus of conflict prevention, relief and reconciliation efforts. Measuring our progress will help us to be held accountable and to identify those areas where we need to do more. The national action plan and the new funding I have announced are two important steps and we will pursue them with total commitment, but as several have already said, action plans and funding are only steps towards a larger goal. The draft presidential statement that we hope will be adopted calls for another stocktaking in five years, but we had better have more to report and we had better have accomplished more between now and then. If we have not, there will be those who will lose faith in our international capacity to respond to such an overwhelming need because, ultimately, we measure our progress by the improvement in the daily lives of people around the world. That must be our cause, and empowering women to contribute all their talents to this cause is our calling. I thank the Member States, NGOs and others represented here for joining us in this mission.

I give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Makiko Kikuta, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.

I am very pleased that today’s open debate has been organized under the leadership of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, Mr. Eriya Kategaya, with high-level participants from Member States. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; the Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Ms. Michelle Bachelet; Mr. Hamidon Ali, President of the Economic and Social Council; and Ms. Thelma Awori, on behalf of the Civil Society Advisory Group to the United Nations on Women, Peace and Security, for their insightful presentations. First of all, on this tenth anniversary of the adoption of the landmark resolution 1325 (2000), I would like once again to affirm, together with all present here, the essential message of the resolution that lasting peace can never be achieved without the participation of women. Over the past 10 years, Member States, the United Nations system and civil society have engaged jointly in an effort to achieve peace by enhancing the protection and participation of women. However, when we recall that innocent women and children remain the principal victims of every conflict, we know that there are many challenges yet to be overcome. In order to do so, the international community needs to address in a comprehensive manner the issues of prevention, participation, protection and recovery. One key to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) is monitoring. Japan therefore attaches great importance to using the set of indicators that has been developed to aid us in identifying comprehensively how much needs to be done to make the objectives of the resolution a reality. I believe that the indicators must be applied globally with a view to both preventing conflicts and providing early warning when a conflict is about to erupt. Japan therefore supports the Security Council’s endorsement of the set of indicators and encourages its early use by United Nations entities and Member States. Japan also welcomes the commitments contained in the action plan for gender-responsive peacebuilding, presented by the Secretary-General (see S/2010/466), and hopes that they will be translated into action on the ground with all due speed. In the implementation of peacebuilding strategies, the ways in which the international community, including the United Nations, provides support are of considerable consequence, as the ownership of the countries concerned must be respected. In particular, since we have a different support structure in each country, we need to formulate a country-specific strategy with a gender perspective by enhancing the integration of peacekeeping operations, political missions, the work of United Nations country teams and other efforts. The Government of Japan hopes that when it becomes operational in January 2011, UN Women, led by Ms. Bachelet, will provide leadership in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). For its part, Japan is a candidate to join the first Executive Board of UN Women and is determined to provide all possible support for the activities of the new entity. In April this year, Japan hosted the Security Council ministerial open debate on post-conflict peacebuilding (see S/PV.6299), with then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Okada serving as President. The presidential statement adopted at that meeting pointed out the need for “an integrated approach, which strengthens coherence between political, security, development, human rights and rule of law activities” (S/PRST/2010/7). We believe that the same approach would prove effective in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). When conflicts break out, civilians are always under threat of violence, and the protection of women and girls is therefore an important responsibility the international community must shoulder. To that end, cooperation between peacekeeping operations and humanitarian organizations needs to be strengthened, so that the voices of the people in the area where a conflict is raging may be heard and their problems properly addressed. We must also strengthen governance in such countries, including in the areas of the rule of law and the protection of human rights; promote security sector reform, including in the military and police sector; and ensure that a gender perspective is incorporated into all of those activities in order to protect women and girls. And another point to be borne in mind is that efforts for peace and security must be accompanied by social and economic development. In particular, for achieving stability in post-conflict societies, not only must there be reconstruction at the country level, but it is also essential to rebuild communities and empower people affected by conflicts, employing a bottom-up approach. Women must participate fully and effectively in the reconstruction of society, development, and the formulation of post-conflict strategies. And cooperation with civil society is vital. Those elements constitute the human security approach, to which Japan attaches great importance. In its Initiative on Gender and Development, announced in 2005, Japan stipulated that, in the implementation of official development assistance in countries in or having just emerged from conflict, the needs of women and the vulnerable would have to be properly considered from the perspective of gender in all phases, from emergency humanitarian assistance to post-conflict peacebuilding. Through this initiative, Japan has been contributing to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). In Afghanistan, where many women still face poverty and violence, Japan has been providing a range of support for women, including efforts to promote their economic empowerment and reduce poverty. Now, at this critical moment for the country, Japan is committed to enhancing its assistance for the empowerment of women, with a view to helping Afghan women transform themselves from the victims of conflict to agents of peace. By applying a gender perspective in the fields of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, the Government of Japan has been attempting to create an environment in which more women can play active roles. To cite a few examples of its efforts in this area, Japan has sent female Self-Defence Force personnel to train peacekeepers in Africa, and it has also accepted women from Timor-Leste at its National Defence Academy, who are expected to join their country’s national forces when they finish. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of its assistance to democratize the police sector, it is providing training to a number of women police officers, with a view to protecting and promoting the human rights of women and children. Through its Programme for Human Resource Development in Asia for Peacebuilding, which targets both Japanese and other Asian participants, Japan has also trained 55 women as professional civilian peacebuilders over the last three years, and many are now working in the field. In preparation for the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the resolution, the partnership among all stakeholders was strengthened through the establishment of the high-level steering committee and the Civil Society Advisory Group. Today, however, we need to reaffirm our commitment to implementing that resolution, and to maintaining the momentum generated at this meeting over the next ten years. For its part, Japan would like to reaffirm its commitment to implementing resolution 1325 (2000), both on its own and working with the rest of the international community.

I now give the floor to the Head of the National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women of Mexico, Ms. Laura Carrera.

I am grateful for the valuable introductory remarks made by the Secretary-General, Michelle Bachelet, Alain Le Roy, Ambassador Hamidon Ali and Thelma Awori. I also thank Mr. Eriya Kategaya, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, for having convened this very important debate. I should like to convey to Ms. Bachelet the most heartfelt congratulations from the Government of Mexico upon her appointment as head of UN Women. As she carries out her important mandate, she can rest assured that in Mexico she has an ally committed to gender equality. The women of the world and the women of Latin America in particular are very proud of her appointment. Ten years ago, when it adopted resolution 1325 (2000), the Council acknowledged that women and girls suffered disproportionately from the effects of armed conflicts and were frequently the specific and deliberate victims of various forms of violence. The Security Council took an important step in incorporating the agenda of women and peace and security into its work and in recognizing the importance of the participation of women in all stages of armed conflict, post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Women are part of the solution to the structural problems of conflict and one of the driving forces behind reconstruction. However, unless we provide effective tools and mechanisms to ensure their participation, we are perpetuating inequality, maintaining the spiral of violence and delaying the very solution of these conflicts. The international community has developed a robust legal framework for the protection of women in armed conflicts. The challenge now is to achieve its full implementation, given the lack of respect for the standards of international law by parties to conflicts. My delegation reiterates the importance of having a comprehensive strategy for compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law as an essential component in conflict situations. The establishment of the International Criminal Court represented an important step forward in the fight against sexual violence and gender-related violence. Mexico is fully convinced that we cannot achieve lasting peace without guaranteeing the delivery of justice, promoting accountability and fighting impunity. We therefore support the decision of the Secretary-General to carry out or support impartial and independent investigations into cases of sexual violence against women in the Republic of Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to mention only a few cases. The number of women appointed as Special Representatives or to other senior positions has increased since 2000, and gender advisors have been deployed in almost half of the political and peacekeeping missions. Furthermore, we have seen an increase in the participation of women in decision- making, as well as in the operational functions in peacekeeping operations. Despite some progress, much remains to be done for us to meet our responsibility to effectively address the needs of women and to ensure that they do not suffer the effects of violence inherent to armed conflict. Mexico believes it is crucial that the Security Council adopt a systematic gender approach in its activities and resolutions as a central element for international peace and security and not as something marginal or separate. Incorporating the gender perspective in peacekeeping requires close cooperation and coordination in the following areas: first, clear and consistent decisions; complementary efforts with other political bodies of the United Nations within their respective mandates; support from the various programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations and cooperation with regional organizations; strengthening of the activities of strategic partners such as civil society and humanitarian agencies; and, lastly, timely action by States at the national level. That is why we welcome the indicators introduced by the Secretary-General in his report, as they can serve as a valuable instrument for planning and decision-making and can be used as a diagnostic tool and road map. The most important thing is that we be able, in coming years, to assess with certainty that we are heading in the right direction. The indicators could lay the foundations for a coherent and coordinated approach for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). To achieve this, we need additional efforts in order to ensure its effective implementation and, above all, to change the reality on the ground. The Council must begin by implementing the indicators in its own work and decisions. The empowerment of women and gender equality are our common responsibility. Every State must take the necessary measures, in the light of its own particular situation. Mexico understands that the provisions of resolution 1325 (2000) are also relevant for countries that are not facing a situation of armed conflict. Under a violence-prevention approach, my country has highlighted the need for a discussion on the implementation of that resolution. Mexico is not a stranger to the phenomenon of violence and its consequences for women and girls. We have sought to adopt a comprehensive approach for the social prevention of violence, together with efforts to strengthen protection measures. While my country faces challenges, the institutions in charge of ensuring security and law enforcement — the federal police and the armed forces — are receiving gender training, and increasing numbers of women are joining this important effort. Furthermore, as we know that women must take part in all aspects of public life, we have promoted the legislative changes necessary to ensure their equal inclusion in decision-making processes in the areas of public security and the prevention of violence. My country is pleased with the tireless efforts carried out by civil society as the engine for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), as it is a force for change on the ground. We draw the attention of the Security Council to the importance of the gender perspective and to reprehensible acts of gender related and sexual violence against women. The recent Arria Formula meeting drew our attention to the importance of broadening the involvement of women in peace processes, as well as addressing the needs of particularly vulnerable groups, such as women with disabilities. The scope of resolution 1325 (2000) has not been exhausted, as has often been said in this forum. On the contrary, much remains to be done to ensure the implementation of the four resolutions that have been adopted on the subject. Today we can say that we are on the right track. Mexico believes that this joint discussion is bringing us closer to the goal of eliminating the effect of conflict on women and ensuring their involvement on an equal footing in all aspects of international peace and security. The decisions that we have adopted to protect women’s rights and to ensure their participation will be our best investment in a future of peace and stability. Today we have this opportunity, as well as the responsibility that goes with it towards the women and girls of the world. I would like to conclude by expressing Mexico’s support for the presidential statement that the Council adopted at this meeting.

I now give the floor to the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes and greatly appreciates the convening of this meeting to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). We view this anniversary as an opportunity to look back on our achievements while also assessing what remains to be done in the next decade in order to fully implement the resolution’s provisions and advance women’s participation in peace and security. We would like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General Alain Le Roy, the President of the Economic and Social Council His Excellency Datuk Hamidon Ali and Ms. Thelma Awori for their comprehensive briefings. We extend our warm welcome to the ministers from Austria, the United States and Uganda, the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Ms. Laura Carrera of Mexico, as well as the other ministers present here today. At the outset, I would like to emphasize that Bosnia and Herzegovina fully supports the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), the provisions of which have been incorporated into the Bosnia and Herzegovina gender action plan and the action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2010-2013. The establishment of UN Women, the appointment of its head and the appointment of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict are important recent developments. We believe they will ensure that the United Nations is working in a concerted and coordinated manner and will strengthen the capacity of the United Nations system to match the commitment to gender equality with the leadership, resources and expertise needed to deliver changes on the ground. The further development of indicators to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) will be a significant step in broadening this agenda. Contemporary conflicts create situations in which women and children are most affected by the deterioration of living conditions and fundamental rights. Deprivation of rights and violence often go hand in hand with conflict. We emphasize that rape as a weapon of war is unacceptable. Efforts to fight impunity, provide assistance to victims and hold perpetrators accountable must be intensified and better coordinated. Regrettably, sexual and gender-based violence often continue after peace deals are reached, due to insufficient investment in protection and prevention strategies or weak security and justice institutions. We are aware of the fact that peace cannot be sustained unless women play a critical role in the process. We therefore underscore the importance of full and effective participation of women at all stages of peace processes, giving them an equal role in the prevention and resolution of conflicts as well as in early peacebuilding. Women must be fully engaged in peace talks, post-conflict needs assessments and planning frameworks. This is particularly relevant with regard to financial allocations to address their specific needs and improve gender equality. Bosnia and Herzegovina has taken significant steps to integrate the gender perspective into national policies. We are among the first countries in the Western Balkans region to have adopted a national action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Goals in the plan include increasing the participation of women in decision-making positions at all levels of public administration, increasing the number of women in leadership positions within police and military forces, increasing the participation of women in peacekeeping operations and introducing a gender perspective in the training of personnel for peacekeeping missions. The goals also include increasing the knowledge and capacity of State services to apply resolution 1325 (2000) and improving cooperation with non-governmental and international organizations in the implementation of the resolution. Each goal in the national action plan has a timeline and indicators for monitoring implementation. Bosnia and Herzegovina has also adopted a gender action plan. The two documents link activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and international activities by addressing a broader concept of women and peace and security, translating them into genuine political commitments and mainstreaming 1325 issues across the relevant Government and non-government sectors. We are convinced that these activities will certainly accelerate the implementation of the resolution in Bosnia and Herzegovina and contribute to the common goal of empowerment and protection of women. Indeed, much has been accomplished in the past decade. But much remains to be done to obtain real results for women on the ground. To that end, it is of vital importance for the Security Council to continue to use all tools at its disposal for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), as appropriate. At the same time, Member States need to take decisive action, accompanied with clear goals, baselines and indicators to monitor and assess its implementation. The goals for the future have been identified. Now we must have the will and persistence to achieve them. I can assure the Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s full cooperation in that endeavour.

I now give the floor to the representative of France.

France aligns itself with the statement that will be made on behalf of the European Union. Implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) remains imperfect. Sexual violence continues at an intolerable level, and only 7 per cent of peace negotiating teams are women. Hence, a great deal remains to be done. This tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) should mark the start of fresh efforts by the international community. France is fully playing its role in these efforts, as reflected in its adoption of a national action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The national action plan sets out four strategic goals: protecting women from violence and mobilizing efforts to ensure respect for their basic rights; ensuring the participation of women in the management of conflict and post-conflict situations by promoting the direct participation of women in peacekeeping missions and supporting civil society efforts; increasing awareness of women’s rights through training programmes; and developing political and diplomatic action to promote the women and peace and security agenda, particularly in the European Union and in the Security Council. France was instrumental in recasting operational documents of the European Security and Defence Policy to include protection of women in conflict situations and promotion of their role with respect to emerging from crisis. In that regard, France believes that the United Nations should in the future focus on three priorities: combating sexual violence; employing indicators to monitor implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) by the United Nations system; and increasing the contribution of women to conflict resolution. With respect to combating sexual violence, France supports the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and calls for accelerated appointment of women’s protection advisers in peacekeeping missions. We look forward to specific proposals in the next report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 1820 (2008), which is due in December. In more general terms, France will continue its efforts to integrate into peacekeeping operations the approach recommended in resolution 1325 (2000) and to convince parties to conflict themselves to do the same in their peace processes. The fight against impunity is integral to our approach. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, following the mass rapes that took place in Walikale last summer, we call upon the Council to remain vigilant in monitoring compliance with the recommendations set out its presidential statement of 17 September (S/PRST/2010/17) with a view to punishing the perpetrators and to preventing such horrors from happening again. Also, indicators to monitor the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) are a useful tool for Member States and the United Nations system in monitoring progress and, when necessary, in noting setbacks. They can also provide early warning, making it possible to anticipate crises and prevent them from degenerating into armed conflict. We call on the Secretary-General to operationalize these indicators as quickly as possible. This would help improve the monitoring of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). In that regard, let me once again draw attention to the situation in Guinea, where the announced postponement of the presidential election and the incidents of recent days are cause for concern, including as regards women if we bear in mind what happened during the massacre of 28 September 2009 and the ensuing days. Finally, with respect to the participation of women in conflict resolution, France welcomes the progress that has been made. This has been outlined by Ms. Bachelet and Mr. Le Roy, and I shall not return to it now. In closing, I commend the establishment of UN Women and the appointment of Ms. Bachelet as its Executive Director. Beyond the contribution of the Security Council, the entire United Nations system needs to intensify its action to free women from the scourge of war.

I now give the floor to the representative of Turkey.

At the outset, Mr. President, let me thank you for organizing this high-level open debate. I commend the efforts of the Ugandan delegation in the preparation of the presidential statement we adopted earlier today. We also welcome the presence of ministers from Austria, the United States and Japan, as well as of other ministers and high officials and representatives of civil society organizations. I wish also to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive report (S/2010/498), which contains valuable recommendations on addressing the challenges regarding women and peace and security. I take this opportunity to welcome Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet and to assure her of my country’s full support and cooperation. As we mark the tenth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), Turkey is strongly committed to the full implementation of that resolution and three subsequent resolutions on women and peace and security. Since the adoption of the landmark resolution 1325 (2000), there has been progress across a broad range of issues with regard to the protection and promotion of women’s and girls’ rights in conflict- affected situations. Thanks to the efforts of the international community, a strong understanding of the need for gender equality and women’s empowerment as a prerequisite for international peace and security is taking hold. In that context, I should like to commend the efforts by various United Nations entities and those of non-governmental organizations and women’s organizations that are working selflessly to achieve the goals of resolution 1325 (2000). However, despite the progress achieved so far, we cannot fail to note that much remains to be done, particularly in the area of implementation. As today’s debate and the report of the Secretary-General have shown us, many structural and institutional impediments remain, which we should overcome in order to meet the challenges before us. We believe that urgent action is needed to protect and empower women. Likewise, equally strong measures are needed to increase the participation of women in the work of peace, including post-conflict recovery efforts, as that will increase the effectiveness of such efforts. Indeed, we should not forget that women in post-conflict countries are not merely victims of war. As underlined by the Secretary-General today, they are also agents of change towards modernization and transformation. We have to redouble our efforts in the fight against impunity. Targeted and graduated measures should be imposed against the perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence and rape. We believe that in tackling the issue of women’s security, we should move from ad hoc approaches towards a systematic one. To that end, the calls of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009) should all become a regular part of the work of the Council. The comprehensive set of indicators set out in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General is extremely useful in helping the United Nations and Member States to assess the status of implementation and determine the actions needed to overcome implementation challenges. We are confident that the newly established UN Women will further strengthen our work by helping the United Nations pursue its efforts in a more systemized and coordinated manner in areas related to women, peace and security. We believe that gender equality and the empowerment of women should be at the core of our efforts. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular Goal 3 — promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women — will no doubt reinforce the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The international community should regularly review the implementation of MDG3, including its commitments in that regard. In our opinion, the United Nations should develop and adopt a comprehensive framework that includes agreed goals and time-bound targets and guidelines for the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of women. I wish to conclude by underlining my country’s commitment to the human rights of women all around the world. We wish to see women take their rightful place in the economic, social and political life of their societies. In Turkey we are committed to that goal. We will therefore continue our support for the implementation of the resolutions on women and peace and security.

I give the floor to the representative of Nigeria.

My first words must be to commend you, Mr. President, for convening this auspicious debate to mark a decade since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). I must also thank the Secretary-General for his report in document S/2010/498 and indeed for his earlier report in document S/2010/466, on women’s participation in peacebuilding. We believe that both reports exhaustively consider how we can together better the situation of women at every stage of the conflict cycle. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the presence of several ministers, Economic and Social Council President Hamidon Ali and others who have joined us to mark the anniversary. I congratulate and welcome in particular Ms. Michelle Bachelet in her new role as Executive Director of UN Women. Nigeria recognizes the value of pooling the efforts of the various United Nations actors in this area. We are certain that Ms. Bachelet and her team will make a major contribution to mainstreaming gender perspectives in the area of women, peace and security. It is a well-known fact that women rarely initiate violent conflicts, yet they suffer its worst consequences on multiple fronts: physically, psychologically, economically, socially and politically. Too often, women fall victim to predatory warlords, who systematically use rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. Their suffering is compounded by their exclusion from key decision-making processes that might lead to peace and stability. As sombre as that background may be, there is reason to celebrate the modest progress made in the first decade of resolution 1325 (2000). At the global level, the Council has devoted more attention to the issue of on women and peace and security, leading to the adoption of resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009). The appointments of Ms. Wallström as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and of Ms. Bachelet to head the newly created UN Women combine to give greater impetus to the efforts to place women at the top of the global agenda. Taking into account the work of other United Nations actors, the Organization’s collective effort on resolution 1325 (2000) this past decade has been very significant. Nigeria is pleased to count its achievements as part of that modest progress. Our priorities on women can be summed up in four words: empower, prevent, protect and promote. We acknowledge the pivotal role that women play in conflict prevention, and we pay particular attention to their unique vulnerabilities in time of conflict. In all aspects of Government, including our military and policing strategies, we have worked to ensure that women are adequately represented. We have eight female ministers in the Federal Executive Council, eight female senators and 280 female judges, including three on the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The highest-ranking police officer in Nigeria’s centralized police force is a woman. In 2007, a Nigerian woman was elected for the first time in Africa as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nigeria’s fourth highest political office. As a signatory the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dakar Declaration of last month, Nigeria has committed to accelerate the national and regional implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The Declaration calls for a regional action plan within ECOWAS to support national action plans. ECOWAS will coordinate and collaborate with the United Nations Office for West Africa and with UN Women in this process. With 373 female peacekeepers, Nigeria ranks first among troop-contributing countries in the number of women among its military and police personnel wearing the Blue Helmet in ongoing peacekeeping operations. We believe that female peacekeepers have a comparative advantage when liaising with local communities on matters such as sexual exploitation, abuse and violence. In this regard, we applaud the production this year of the analytical inventory of good practices used by military peacekeepers to prevent sexual violence against women and girls, and the overall increase in the number of women police officers and gender advisers in United Nations peacekeeping operations and political missions. In spite of the hard work and oft-expressed commitments of the international community to the principles of resolution 1325 (2000), serious challenges remain. The Secretary-General observes in his report that “10 years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), significant achievements are difficult to identify or quantify” (S/2010/498, para. 3). The July mass rapes in the Walikale region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reminds us of how ineffective our efforts in combating sexual violence still are. This is a failure not of one country or organization, but of our collective international response. Nowhere is this failure more pronounced than in many of our decision-making structures, which underrepresent women in conflict prevention and peacemaking processes. Not only do we lose out on the unique contribution that women can make to peace and stability, but we also render ourselves complicit in their marginalization. It is little wonder that these omissions have contributed to poor social cohesion, fragile social value systems and the culture of impunity. The Secretary-General’s report highlights areas of strength and weakness in our current approach. His recommendations, if supported, can enhance coordination and effectiveness. The problem of fragmentation and overlap in the United Nations system demands a framework for implementation and accountability. Given that the System-wide Action Plan has not resulted in measurable improvements in that contribution of the United Nations system to the empowerment of women in conflict situations, it is not a model for replication at the country level. We recognize the need for the further elaboration of the envisaged reporting template and guidance for data collection in order to ensure that the indicators contained in the Secretary-General’s report can be applied in order to truly monitor and appraise the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) worldwide. The members of the entire United Nations family are accountable for the change that we all seek today. It is therefore vital that the Security Council take forward the indicators and remain apprised of the ongoing challenges in implementing the resolution. I would encourage countries that are yet to do so to develop and deploy their national action plans in line and in consonance with resolution 1325 (2000), and indeed make efforts to infuse gender perspectives into policymaking at all stages of the conflict cycle. We believe that true peace can be sustained only when each individual human being achieves freedom, secures dignity and leads a fulfilled life. This is the ultimate aim of resolution 1325 (2000).

I now give the floor to the representative of the United Kingdom. Sir Mark Lyall Grant (United Kingdom): I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his introduction this morning and to congratulate Ms. Bachelet, Alain Le Roy, Ambassador Ali, Thelma Awori and the participating ministers for their important interventions. I would also like to thank you, Sir, and Uganda for leading the Council’s efforts to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). This Council has adopted many resolutions over the decades, but few have changed the way in which we look at conflict. Resolution 1325 (2000) did just that. In many respects, it opened the Council’s eyes to what now seems obvious — that women are not only the principal victims of many conflicts, but also that they are essential to preventing and resolving conflict. British Foreign Secretary William Hague regrets that he is not able to be here, but he has today issued a statement to mark this debate, from which I shall now quote. “Countless women have dedicated their lives, and in some cases sacrificed their lives in order to bring peace to societies ravaged by war and to stand up for human rights. “Today … we pay tribute to these women and reaffirm our commitment to work for the protection of women in armed conflict and for their active involvement in conflict resolution. “No society can address its problems by drawing solely on the talents of only half of the population. Lasting peace cannot be … achieved … unless there is justice for the female victims of war and unless they are actively involved in rebuilding societies in which their rights are respected and their voices are heard.” Today is first an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). At the United Nations, we now have a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to tackle violence against women in conflict, a new agency in the form of UN Women, and a greater number of women in leadership roles. Outside the United Nations, 22 Member States have adopted national action plans. Partnerships between Governments and women’s organizations and the integration of gender perspectives into development, political and defence policies are increasingly common. We should pay particular tribute to the role that is being played by women’s groups and civil society to build awareness and strengthen the argument for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) on the ground. But recent events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo serve as a sobering reminder of the scale of the challenges we still face. We welcome the two high-profile arrests for the mass rapes that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this summer as the first sign that impunity will not be tolerated. As the Security Council witnessed on our recent mission to the Sudan, devastating sexual violence continues to destroy the lives of women trying to rebuild communities in Darfur. And yet, during that visit we also had the chance to hear how inspiring women leaders are striving to rebuild inclusive and democratic societies in southern Sudan. Overall, as the Secretary-General’s latest report (S/2010/498) confirms, the burden of conflict still falls primarily on the very part of society that we rely on to rebuild families and communities. Looking forward, there are three main challenges on which we shall need to focus in the coming years. First, we still lack effective methods for understanding the problem and monitoring the impact of our work. The adoption today of indicators represents an important step forward. We will, for the first time, be able to understand the scale of the challenges we face, evaluate the progress we are making and target our approaches more effectively. We encourage the Secretary-General to operationalize these indicators as widely as possible. Secondly, women remain acutely underrepresented in peace negotiations, and they are often marginalized in efforts to build sustainable peace. As others have said, fewer than one in five peace agreements contain specific provisions on women’s rights and needs. We need to ensure that women are included in conflict resolution and post-conflict peacebuilding as a matter of course. We welcome the Secretary-General’s report on women’s participation in peacebuilding (S/2010/466) as an important step in that direction. Thirdly, we must ensure that the entire international community takes responsibility for implementing resolution 1325 (2000). This requires more than just warm words; it requires meaningful actions that will ultimately make a difference to the situation of women on the ground. Making this difference, i.e. protecting women and supporting their participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, is a global challenge that requires action by all Member States. The tenth anniversary has brought new momentum to this Council’s work on women, peace and security. The challenge now is to translate that momentum into concrete action on the ground. The United Kingdom stands ready to play its part. The British Government has just approved a new action plan that sets out our future commitments, including specific strategies for supporting women in priority countries, such as Afghanistan, Nepal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of us, the United Nations, Member States and regional organizations, must seize the opportunity and take forward this ambitious agenda.

I give the floor to the representative of Brazil.

I wish to thank the Secretary-General for his statement to us this morning. I would also like to extend a special greeting to Under- Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet, who joins us today for the first time in her capacity as head of UN Women. We are delighted at her appointment and pledge our full support to her. I welcome the contributions of several ministers and high-level officials. I also recognize the presence of Ms. Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. I am grateful to Ambassador Hamidon Ali, to Under- Secretary-General Alain Le Roy and to Ms. Thelma Awori for their remarks. Since its adoption 10 years ago, resolution 1325 (2000) has sparked a revolution of ideas. It has placed the role of women as agents of peace at the forefront of the multilateral agenda. It has made the case for the appointment of women to positions of decision-making related to peace and security. It has galvanized civil society and transformed the way it interacts with the Council. It has helped us to understand the importance of women in peacekeeping missions and induced many Governments to deploy more female troops and police officers and, in some cases, all-female units. Yet much remains to be done. Sexual violence continues to be used as a weapon of war, and peacekeeping missions still struggle to protect women. The participation by women and the representation of women still represent small fractions of what those rates should be. But, at least today we have a much better understanding of the challenges we face and the goals we must meet. This is no small achievement and it should be celebrated and built upon. In the discussions of ways to enhance implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), the role of indicators has become a focus of our attention. Indicators are an important tool to improve information on the impact of armed conflict on women and on the role they can play in peacebuilding. They will enable us to respond more effectively and improve our action in protecting women and involving them in peace processes. Brazil welcomes such efforts and will closely follow the Secretariat’s endeavours to render them operational. Like much of resolution 1325 (2000), most of the indicators apply only to countries in conflict or emerging from it. Nevertheless, some indicators have a much wider applicability, such as the ones pertaining to United Nations field missions or investigation of allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers. This gives the set of indicators a truly global character. In this context we note with appreciation the wide-ranging consultations undertaken by the Secretariat with regional groups while preparing the indicators. Valuable as they may be, indicators are not enough. They are but a means to an end. We must work harder to effect concrete changes through action. It is important to increase engagement by the Governments concerned. National action plans are important vehicles in this regard, especially if they also involve a broad range of actors, including civil society. It is also important that action plans be supported by adequate funding. If women’s concerns and needs in conflict situations are to be properly addressed and if women are to play an equal part in maintaining peace, they must be politically and economically empowered. Representation at all levels of decision-making and access to economic opportunities are key in this regard. In post-conflict situations, where institutions are rebuilt and gradually consolidated, there is often a window of opportunity to surmount historical gender inequalities. In that context, it is essential that constitutional, political and educational reform processes, as well as programmes aimed at economic revitalization, give special attention to the role of women. Peacekeeping and peacebuilding are important ways by which the United Nations can strengthen the role of women as agents of peace; so much so that empowering women and protecting their rights should not be the exclusive task of gender advisers in peacekeeping operations, but rather a responsibility shared by all mission components. Mission-wide strategies, encompassing United Nations country-teams and other actors whenever possible, can develop protection plans, ensure that the voices of women are heard, facilitate women’s participation in peace negotiations, foster women’s leadership and organization, and promote capacity-building that will support women’s empowerment. We commend the Department of Peacekeeping Operations for the progress it has made in this regard and welcome the suggestions just offered by Under-Secretary-General Alain Le Roy to further strengthen women’s role in peacekeeping. In my own country there has been compelling evidence that, when women are empowered, they can act successfully to change their lives and the lives of those around them. Under “Bolsa Familia”, a conditional cash transfer programme that has lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty, women are the preferred recipients of transfers. As a result, their bargaining power in family relations has increased, and their influence has become stronger on issues such as family planning, education of children and use of the family’s income. Although Brazil’s reality differs greatly from those of post-conflict countries, we feel that our experience validates a principle that is essential to the promotion of women’s role in such societies. That is why we are actively seeking to ensure that women and their needs are taken into account in our cooperation with post-conflict countries. Two examples come to mind, both regarding Haiti: our collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and with OXFAM to support the implementation of Haiti’s National Plan for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, through capacity-building and awareness- raising; and our support to establish a trades and services vocational training centre, which will have programmes especially geared towards women. In conclusion, resolution 1325 (2000) has enabled us to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the transformative role women can play in conflict and post-conflict situations. We must strive to ensure that its goals are fully realized.

My delegation would like to begin by thanking you, Sir, for taking the initiative to organize this debate to assess the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) on its tenth anniversary, which the Council is celebrating today. We would also like to pay tribute to your country, Uganda, for the efforts made to organize this important meeting. My delegation also thanks the Secretary-General for his important communication. We welcome the presence here of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and thank her for introducing the annual report of the Secretary-General on women, peace and security (S/2010/498). Lastly, we would like to welcome the participation of the Ministers who have come here to lead their delegations; Mrs. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General; His Excellency Mr. Hamidon Ali, President of the Economic and Social Council; Mr. Alain Le Roy, Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; and Ms. Thelma Awori. We thank them for their respective contributions. In your concept paper, Mr. President, you invite us to review the progress made ten years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) by the Council. We would like to speak on two points — the progress we have made and the challenges that remain ahead as we seek to achieve the effective implementation of this major resolution. The adoption of this resolution has marked a historic step in the United Nations consideration of the participation of women in the peace process and the strengthening of protection for women and girls from violence in conflict and post-conflict situations. Council resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009) have made it possible to better coordinate the efforts of the international community aimed at ensuring a greater involvement of women in seeking solutions to problems of peace and security. As the report of the Secretary-General rightly points out, this issue is now an integral part of the Security Council’s agenda. Similarly, many reports of the Secretary-General on peacekeeping operations contain information on actions that are aimed at guaranteeing the participation of women in conflict prevention, management and peacebuilding. At the national level, many countries have taken the issue on by adopting action plans that seek to give effect to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. For its part, Gabon has taken concrete measures that make it possible today for many women to assume important responsibilities, including at the highest levels in all branches of the army and the police force. Their role in seeking solutions to security problems in our country is crucial. The President of the Republic, His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, has given expression to this important endeavour by promoting a woman of great experience to the high-level functions of the Minister of Defence. She now has the onerous responsibility of steering government action in the areas of defence and security. Within the framework of the United Nations, we must welcome the efforts of the Secretary-General aimed at ensuring an increasing participation of women in positions of responsibility in peace missions. That has been the case in the Central African Republic, Liberia, Timor-Leste, Nepal and Cyprus. Operationally, the important contribution of women in the various areas of peacekeeping operations is an achievement that deserves to be noted, as Ms. Bachelet and Mr. Le Roy have done so well. I would like to reaffirm here that the readiness of Gabon to continue to work closely with the United Nations and other Member States in order to assume its share of the responsibility in strengthening the progress achieved thus far. While we are pleased with those important achievements, we are forced to acknowledge that much remains to be done in order to reach the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). This leads me to my second point. Everyone agrees that women and children are the main targets of armed conflict. They make up the majority of refugees and displaced persons in the world. Violence against women and girls is a flagrant violation of human rights. Those responsible for such heinous crimes should be prosecuted and brought to justice. In this area, the Security Council must ensure, through its sanctions committees, a scrupulous respect for international humanitarian law in armed conflict situations and promote capacity-building for States in the area of criminal justice in order to bring an end to impunity. Therefore, peace missions must be equipped with greater operational capabilities for the protection of women and girls. Indeed, the real challenge here is to transform the strategic vision expressed in resolution 1325 (2000) into a tangible reality. From this point of view, the recommendations contained in the Secretary-General’s report warrant our consideration. As for the indicators, the Secretary- General’s report points out that many of them will not be operational until two years from now. We therefore encourage the Secretary-General to continue his consultations with Member States and regional groups on the practical modalities of those indicators. In conclusion, my delegation would like to provide its full support to the presidential statement (S/PRST/2010/22) that was adopted at the beginning of this discussion. We express the wish that, under the leadership of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, whose appointment we once again welcome, the new entity, UN Women, will enable better coordination and more effective action by the United Nations in implementing resolution 1325 (2000) throughout the upcoming decade. We are convinced that it is with the essential contribution of women that we will manage to achieve our aspirations for more peace and security in an international environment characterized by recurring conflict.

I now call on the representative of Lebanon.

Allow me first to thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this important and timely debate. Allow me also to thank His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Mrs. Asha-Rose Migiro, Deputy Secretary-General; Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; Mr. Alain Le Roy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; His Excellency Mr. Hamidon Ali, President of the Economic and Social Council; and Ms. Thelma Awori for their briefings. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the Ministers participating in our debate today. As we mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), let us take this opportunity to examine the progress that has been achieved, as well as the challenges that persist. Over the past decade, the United Nations system, Member States and civil society have made significant efforts to implement resolution 1325 (2000) through a wide spectrum of measures and initiatives. Considerable progress has been made in increasing awareness of the threat that sexual violence constitutes to peace and security and of the cost of excluding women from peace processes. In the 10 years since the adoption of the resolution, many steps have been taken on the ground, including increasing the number of gender advisers, the adoption of guidelines for field action and the elaboration of a System-wide Action Plan. Member States have organized consultations and developed national action plans, and civil society organizations have stepped up their activities to support the role of women in areas of conflict and post-conflict. The creation of a new United Nations gender entity and the appointment of President Michelle Bachelet as its head, the appointment of Ms. Margot Wallström as the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the creation of a High-Level Steering Committee for Women, Peace and Security have generated unique momentum within the United Nations and beyond. However, despite these important efforts, the conditions that women and girls face in situations of armed conflict continue to be abhorrent, and effective methods for monitoring the impact of the measures put in place to protect them are lacking, as pointed out by the Secretary-General in his report (S/2010/498). Rape continues to be used unabated as a weapon of war, as the events of July 2010 in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo shockingly reminded us. Out of 300 peace agreements negotiated since 1989, only 18 contain even a passing reference to sexual violence, which remains the least-condemned war crime. Of particular concern is the problem of sexual violence against displaced women, a phenomenon that is widespread and growing. One way to ensure prevention and a more effective response to such acts of violence is through the dissemination of the guidelines established by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. As they care for their families and raise their children, women play a crucial role in restoring the fabric of society and overcoming war wounds. Yet, their own wounds are still not being properly remedied. In that regard, reforming the security sector and ensuring respect for the rule of law in a gender- responsive manner is of crucial importance. Conflict and post-conflict societies should be assisted in those areas at the earliest possible moment in order to ensure that the police and military do not abuse the very population whom they are supposed to be protecting. In recent peace negotiations, women represented less than 8 per cent of the participants and less than 3 per cent of the signatories. That endangers the prospects for long-lasting peace since women are crucial partners in shoring up three of its pillars: economic recovery, social cohesion and political legitimacy, as affirmed by the Secretary-General in his recent report (S/2010/466). Including women in peace talks is not enough by itself. In some post-conflict societies, women who have been victims of sexual violence, widows and orphan girls are ostracized, exacerbating the challenges that they must overcome and compromising the prospects for enduring peace. Hence, more concerted efforts must be made in order to raise awareness among men and sensitize them to the importance of safeguarding women’s rights for durable peace and the well-being of society as a whole. A shortfall in the financing of women’s needs in post-conflict recovery plans persists. Donors could play a very constructive role in that regard by supporting women’s and girls’ education. Donors should also help women to attain economic independence through land ownership, micro-enterprise and skills training. As pointed out by the Secretary-General, Member States must ensure that their support for women’s engagement in peacebuilding is consistent. While Governments have the primary responsibility to take action in their countries, when need be, they must be able to count on the predictable support of United Nations partners. Despite the increase in female participation in United Nations missions, only 3 per cent of uniformed peacekeepers and 8 per cent of United Nations police are women. Increasing their numbers would help improve the sense of security of women in vulnerable situations. Finally, efforts to implement resolution 1325 (2000) should be more coherent. There is, therefore, a need for a strategic framework that includes well-defined targets and indicators. The preliminary set of indicators annexed to the Secretary-General’s report (S/2010/498), is an important tool for taking stock of the progress achieved and for tracking the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in conflict and post-conflict situations. The indicators should not be seen as a reporting obligation, but rather as a means to facilitate Member States’ engagement. Progress should not be measured exclusively through data and figures, and each indicator should be read in its specific context. Over the next decade, our success in protecting women in conflict situations will be measured by the real impact that our actions have on the ground. The framework and tools are there. Let us make sure that we back them with the necessary political will.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation.

We are grateful to all those who opened today’s debate for their assessments and information. In particular, we would like to welcome Ms. Michelle Bachelet in her new post as Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Executive Director of UN Women. We anticipate that the activities of that entity will help to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations on gender issues. In the 10 years since the Security Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000), that instrument has become an effective reference for protecting women in conflict and enhancing the role of women in the prevention and settlement of conflict and in post-conflict recovery. Regrettably, women and children continue to be victims of deliberate attacks, including terrorist acts and other violations of international humanitarian law. Recent developments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have demonstrated how tragic the problem of sexual violence continues to be. At the same time, the diverse nature of violence means that due attention must be paid to all its categories. The theme of women and peace and security should not be reduced to individual manifestations alone. Just such a balanced approach formed the basis for resolution 1325 (2000). We are gravely concerned at the killing or wounding of women and children, including through the indiscriminate and excessive use of force. Frequently, such crimes go unpunished. We believe that the Council should without question review such cases. The manifold crisis situations in which women suffer require that they be addressed not only by the Security Council, but also by the General Assembly, the Peacebuilding Commission, the Human Rights Council and the Commission on the Status of Women, within their respective mandates. We believe in this context that it is important to avoid duplication and to seek complementarity among the relevant functions of those bodies. Given their range, limiting gender issues exclusively to the Security Council would create imbalances from the standpoint of system-wide coherence and would undermine the effective implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). We are grateful to the Secretary-General for preparing the report before the Council (S/2010/498). At the same time, we believe that the indicators that it sets out still need to be verified against the realities and practice in terms of their effectiveness vis-à-vis full realization of the potential of resolution 1325 (2000). The effectiveness of the indicators should be considered again after they have been validated by the United Nations system and following the relevant report of the Secretary-General. While they are being validated, the indicators should be used in a measured way and only in situations relating to the implementation of 1325 (2000), as provided for by the presidential statement adopted today (S/PRST/2010/22). In commemorating today 10 years since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), we should emphasize that much still needs to be done. Our partners in the Council and the relevant agencies and mechanisms of the United Nations system should give greater attention to how to involve women in implementation by enhancing gender equality when establishing peacekeeping contingents and in other relevant issues in mission mandates. Clearly, such issues will need to be approached on the basis of the characteristics of each specific situation. We are convinced that clear efforts by the Security Council, within its mandate, to implement resolution 1325 (2000) will ensure that the resolution’s effectiveness is preserved and enhanced in coming decades. Russia intends to actively contribute to that.

I now give the floor to the representative of China.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and the fifteenth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing. Today’s open Security Council debate on women and peace and security has special significance. Resolution 1325 (2000) focused the international community’s attention on women in conflict and provides the basis for the international community to cooperate in helping countries in post-conflict situations to protect women’s rights and interests. The international community has much to do for the comprehensive implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Here, I wish to emphasize the following four points. First, to ensure that women are protected from harm in armed conflict, efforts must be made to remove the root causes of conflict. Enabling women to play a full role in the peace and security sphere will make a positive contribution to the prevention and reduction of conflicts. Also, preventing the outbreak of conflicts and protecting the rights and interests of women depend on efforts by the international community to engage in preventive diplomacy and peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation and through the elimination of the root causes of conflict. Secondly, Governments in conflict or post-conflict situations bear primary responsibility for the protection of women in their own countries. The international community should provide assistance to the countries concerned and obtain their understanding and cooperation in order to help them in capacity- building, including promotion of security sector reform, strengthening the rule of law and improving judicial and relief mechanisms. China supports the Secretary-General appointing more women as special representatives to provide good offices and political mediation. China condemns the use of sexual violence as a means of war. The international community shares a common responsibility to prevent sexual violence in conflicts. China supports the relevant United Nations agencies in their active efforts to provide the needed support to the victims of sexual violence. Thirdly, ensuring women’s participation in political processes, recovery and reconstruction is an important part of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The effective participation of women in political processes, national reconstruction and national reconciliation will contribute to the maintenance of social stability and the consolidation of peace in post-conflict countries. In the process of post-conflict reconstruction, women should be given a greater voice and a larger role in decision-making. Their special needs and concerns should be taken care of and employment should be provided to ensure a livelihood for them. Fourthly, there should be a division of labour among the relevant United Nations organs; they should work together on the basis of their respective mandates to address the question of women and peace and security. While the Security Council should be concerned with situations that constitute a threat to international peace and security, other United Nations entities, such as the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council and UN Women, should all have a full role to play so as to achieve synergy.

I now invite Her Excellency Ms. Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation of Canada, to take the floor.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I wish to thank the Ugandan presidency for convening this open debate on women and peace and security, in time to mark the tenth anniversary of the landmark resolution 1325 (2000). Let me first say a few words on behalf of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security, an informal network of over 40 interested Member States, chaired by Canada. The Group of Friends has played an active role in the effective implementation of the Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security. On 25 September, Canada, as Chair of the Friends, co-hosted a ministerial event with the Secretary-General, ministers from Austria, Bangladesh, Chile, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom, and the Civil Society Advisory Group. The event demonstrated the international community’s intention to take concrete, time-bound and measurable actions on women and peace and security. We hope to see that come to fruition today. The Group of Friends welcomes the recommendations set out in the Secretary-General’s report on women and peace and security (S/2010/498), including the global set of indicators on resolution 1325 (2000). The Friends call on the Security Council to endorse those indicators and put them into use. We urge the Council to establish a framework of accountability to ensure that it systematically addresses gaps and challenges and accelerates progress in implementing resolution 1325 (2000). And we call on the Security Council to ensure leadership on women and peace and security within the Council. The Friends congratulate Ms. Michelle Bachelet on her appointment as head of UN Women and strongly support the role of UN Women to provide support and leadership on women, peace and security within the United Nations system. Speaking in my capacity as representative of Canada, I can assure the Council that Canada strongly supports the Secretary-General’s recommendation for the establishment of an agreed set of goals, targets and indicators to guide implementation of the resolution over the next decade. In addition to calling for the endorsement of the global set of indicators, Canada calls on the Security Council to ensure that those indicators are piloted in the field as soon as possible. Canada looks forward to the Security Council reviewing the data collected by the indicators in the future. Such information would be very helpful in our efforts to protect civilian populations in armed conflict. For example, that information should assist in the development of clearer mandates for United Nations peace operations, which would thereby assist peacekeepers on the ground in implementing targeted protection strategies. The data would also assist in the development of targeted predeployment and in-mission training for peacekeepers. Canada notes that the Secretary-General’s report points to an ongoing need to enhance the meaningful participation of women in peace processes. Canada is pleased to support the work of the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the Department of Political Affairs as they work together to ensure that peace processes benefit from the direct participation of women at all levels, that mediators exhibit better understanding of gender-specific implications of various aspects of peace agreements and that agreements provide remedy for the experiences of women and girls in conflict and enable them to participate fully in post-conflict recovery. As we said in the open debate on 13 October (see S/PV.6396), Canada is pleased with the Secretary- General’s concrete efforts to redress the disparity in women’s participation in peacebuilding efforts, and we support the Secretary-General’s seven-point action plan. Canada reiterates the concerns raised in the review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture. We encourage the United Nations and Member States to ensure that the voices and concerns of women are integrated across the work of the Peacebuilding Commission, through the country- specific configurations and at the field level. Canada supports the efforts of Ms. Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the Secretary- General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to provide strategic leadership and strengthen United Nations coordination mechanisms in order to address sexual violence in armed conflict. The recent systematic acts of sexual violence perpetrated in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo demonstrate the necessity of Ms. Wallström’s work. Canada calls on the United Nations system to ensure that her Office is adequately resourced and capable of timely action. More broadly, we strongly support the Secretary- General’s recognition of the need to take effective measures to address sexual violence in conflict. In this regard, we welcome the jurisprudence of the international courts and tribunals, recognizing that rape and sexual violence can be war crimes and crimes against humanity. Individuals responsible for those crimes must be brought to justice. This includes those responsible by virtue of command responsibility. Canada continues to call on States to investigate and prosecute those crimes and to cooperate with international prosecutions where necessary. To assist in bringing perpetrators to justice, Canada supports the Justice Rapid Response Initiative. This multilateral standby facility gives United Nations entities and Member States access to a roster of rapidly deployable criminal justice professionals, who conduct human rights and international criminal justice investigations, and undertake special political and fact-finding commissions and commissions of inquiry, as well as security sector reform assessments. Today’s open debate is an opportunity to focus on what remains to be done to implement the women and peace and security agenda. In that spirit, Canada’s action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security was launched on 5 October. Canada’s action plan includes comprehensive and consistent whole-of-Government action supported by clear national objectives and performance indicators. The implementation of the plan will enhance the effectiveness and accountability of Canadian and United Nations peace operations, and will help build peace that respects the fundamental equality of men and women. I would like to share some activities that we will carry out in implementing Canada’s action plan. We will ensure that our non-governmental partners delivering Canadian humanitarian assistance have codes of conduct concerning sexual exploitation and abuse. We will develop training modules that address prevention and protection issues on the women, peace and security agenda for Government of Canada personnel deployed to peace operations, fragile States or conflict-affected situations. We will also identify Canadian specialists with expertise in issues related to women and peace and security who may be called on to support future peace operations, including peace processes. Much has been achieved in the 10 years since resolution 1325 (2000) was adopted. However, much remains to be done. Through our commitment to acting and to being accountable for our actions, we can move forward together to ensure that all members of the international community — women and men, girls and boys — participate equally and benefit from our work.

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Maria Rosaria Carfagna, Minister of Equal Opportunities of Italy.

Italy aligns itself with the statement to be delivered by the representative of the European Union. First, allow me to congratulate you, Mr. President, on organizing this open debate of the Security Council on an issue of the utmost importance to the international community. I would also like to thank the Secretary- General and all previous speakers for their insightful presentations. I take this opportunity to express Italy’s strong support for Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet as she undertakes her new, important endeavour. The anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) provides a unique opportunity for Member States and the United Nations system to take concrete steps to enhance its implementation. In this regard, allow me to express my appreciation for the Council’s decision to take forward the set of indicators developed by the Secretary-General to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). We consider this to be a first step, and we now call on the Council to ensure the indicators’ swift operationalization. In this spirit, I will focus my statement on one of the most effective tools for strengthening the resolution: the adoption of national action plans by Member States. Let me start by reiterating Italy’s full commitment to adopting a national action plan. An inter-ministerial committee of committed administrations and departments has been working on a draft action plan, which is now at an advanced stage, and I am pleased to announce that it is expected to be finalized and adopted by the end of this year. One of the main objectives of the Italian action plan is to strengthen the participation of women in peacekeeping missions and their decision-making bodies. Italy has long honoured its pledge to avoid gender discrimination, enrolling women in all its national armed forces. This has resulted in an increase in the number of women in that field and in their participation at all levels and stages of peacekeeping operations. In 1999, a consultative committee of the Defence Chief of Staff and the Financial Police General Command on voluntary military service for women was set up to monitor the correct implementation of the law in this regard. According to the data provided by the committee, women have been recruited in all segments of the military. However, their presence is still sparse and almost non-existent in top positions. This is mainly due to the fact that Italy is new to the conscription of women, compared to other countries where female participation is a long-standing tradition and thus significantly higher. Adopting a gender perspective for all peacebuilding activities is another essential priority of the action plan. In my capacity as Minister of Equal Opportunities, I can only stress the importance of adopting a gender-oriented approach to all peacebuilding operations, conducting gender-sensitive surveys, collecting statistics with gender-disaggregated data and carrying out specific studies on other discriminatory factors. Moreover, the plan focuses on the protection of human rights in post-conflict areas, particularly women’s rights. The staff of peacekeeping missions should be trained to deal with these situations, where women are the most affected and most vulnerable. Specific training is required in the following areas: equal opportunities, international humanitarian law, resolution 1325 (2000) and human rights, with particular reference to issues relating to gender-based violence, sexual violence and human trafficking. Another priority of the plan is cooperation with countries beset by conflict and with their institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and civil society to enhance their invaluable work. One possible example of such cooperation would be opening ad hoc local facilities to accommodate and rehabilitate women who fall victim to violence and sexual abuse. Lastly, the plan addresses the issue of providing women with greater opportunities to voice their views and show their capabilities. It seeks to strengthen their presence in post-conflict processes, where they are often at a disadvantage in competing for resources, such as access to microcredit. These are the most significant elements of Italy’s national action plan. We are convinced that it will enhance our efforts to promote peace and strengthen human rights in conflict areas.

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Fatou Mass Jobe-Njie, Minister of Tourism and Culture of the Gambia.

I am deeply honoured and humbled to address the Security Council on the issue of women and peace and security, and resolution 1325 (2000), on behalf of the Vice-President and Minister of Women’s Affairs of the Republic of the Gambia, Ms. Isatou Njie-Saidy. First and foremost, my delegation would like to take this opportunity to thank the Secretary-General for his explicit report and the practical recommendations therein on resolution 1325 (2000) (S/2010/498). We also align ourselves with the statement that will be delivered on behalf of the Group of African States. Allow me at this juncture to recognize and acknowledge the United Nations for taking bold steps towards the reforms that gave birth to the new entity, UN Women, inter alia, holistically providing for improved collaboration and greater efficiency in order to achieve a speedy and positive impact. In that regard, we join other Member States in congratulating and applauding the appointment of the dynamic lady sitting next to me right now as head of UN Women, Ms. Michelle Bachelet. We have no doubt that her level of experience and dynamism will help to usher in a new impetus, enhancing existing efforts of the United Nations to promote gender equality, increase opportunity for women and girls and tackle discrimination and gender-based violence around the world. Those efforts are being made in tandem with commitments that were made at the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century” (see A/S-23/10/Rev.1), in particular the commitments concerning women and armed conflict. The Government of the Gambia, having recognized the prevailing poor indicators for the social, economic and health status of women and girls in developing countries, has joined the rest of the international community as signatory to several relevant treaties and resolutions, including the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the 2000 Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals, the 2006 Maputo Plan of Action, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, as well as Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). The various Security Council resolutions on women and peace and security allude to the necessity of ensuring the active participation of women in peace processes, particularly in conflict prevention and the protection of women from gender-based violence and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, as well as the promotion of women’s and girls’ rights during and after conflicts and in post-war rehabilitation and reconstruction. Furthermore, resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1889 (2009) also call for the elevation of women to leadership positions, while resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009) emphasize the importance of prevention and protection from sexual violence as a weapon of war. As it seeks to fulfil the vital commitments contained in these resolutions, the Government of the Gambia, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, has embarked on a series of actions and has been guided by the slogan “From commitment to action”. Key among these actions are the following. First, the Gambia is actively participating in conflict prevention, peace negotiations and peacebuilding in affected countries in our subregion and beyond. The Gambia has also maintained a central role in peacekeeping missions at the subregional, regional and international levels, and more than ever before, the outstanding performance of our female contingent has been widely recognized and applauded by recipient countries. Secondly, the Gambia has adopted, ratified and enacted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Union Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Trafficking in Persons Act in 2007, the Children’s Act in 2005 and the Women’s Act in 2010. Thirdly, the Gambia’s validated Gender and Women Empowerment Policy 2010-2020 has been submitted to the Cabinet for approval before submission to the National Assembly — our Parliament — for enactment. Fourthly, in line with relevant provisions contained in Chapter IV, Section 3, of the Gambia’s Constitution of 1997, women have been proactively involved in all spheres of national development, both from the peaceful transition to the second Republic and to date. The Gambia has the longest serving woman Vice-President in Africa. Women have assumed key ministerial posts in such areas as finance, justice, education, health, tourism and culture — which is my Ministry — and energy. The Speaker of our National Assembly is also a woman. Suffice it to mention that the Gambia, popularly known as the smiling coast of Africa, has — knock on wood — enjoyed relative peace and stability since independence in 1965. As a result, it has served as a safe haven to brothers and sisters from the subregion fleeing from conflict. The Government of the Gambia, together with its partners in its proactive efforts to build the capacity of women, continues to sponsor women counsellors from the National Women’s Council, the advisory organ of the Government on women’s issues, to attend international meetings on gender and women’s affairs, including on resolution 1325 (2000), in order to broaden their knowledge base. It is worth mentioning, however, that no country is immune to threats to absolute peace and that no country is an island. In that regard, the Gambia continues to use various traditional mechanisms, such as the Council of Elders and religious and community organizations, to enhance peace and participation, prevent conflicts, support refugees, and continue to promote and nurture peace and stability. We are happy to inform the Council that the Gambia is in the process of finalizing its national action plan and is grateful to both the Economic Community of West African States Gender Development Centre and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women for their support in that regard. We call on other organizations, in particular other United Nations agencies, to partner with us in our efforts to realize the implementation of landmark resolution 1325 (2000). In conclusion, allow me to mention some challenges that we expect to encounter on our way forward. There is still a low level of awareness at all levels of the existence and content of resolution 1325 (2000), which explains why the Gambia has yet to attain a 50 per cent involvement of women in peacebuilding and negotiation processes undertaken pursuant to the resolution. Secondly, as women attempt to take on new political roles, they continue to be challenged by traditional beliefs and values, certain sociocultural factors and misguided religious interpretations. They are further constrained by the limited nature of their skills as they try to influence peacebuilding processes in an effective manner, and sometimes they feel threatened, reluctant to participate, especially if they were victims of sexual violence. But there is a way forward. National Governments, as far as the Gambia is concerned, must sustain the political will and momentum now being given to women’s empowerment and must satisfy the need to establish gender-responsive budgeting, where it is nonexistent, or strengthen it, where it does exist,. Governments must strengthen donor coordination in order to enhance funding for the implementation of the action plan under resolution 1325 (2000). All Member States are urged to conduct aggressive campaigns to raise awareness at all levels on the content and meaning of resolution 1325 (2000) and associated resolutions. Because setting indicators is crucial to monitor progress and aid reporting, Member States should receive assistance in the country assessments or situational analyses they are conducting to obtain baseline information with a view to developing, inter alia, evidence-based policies, planning and target setting. Standardized and functional coordination mechanisms need also to be put in place, and common strategies and indicators to facilitate subregional collaboration and reporting on progress are also crucial.

I now invite the Minister of Gender and Development of Liberia, Her Excellency Ms. Vabah Gayflor, to take the floor.

Liberia is pleased to be participating in this open debate on women and peace and security. We commend the delegation of Uganda for convening this discussion in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the landmark United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) during its presidency of the Council. We are heartened and very encouraged by the increasing global recognition of the important role of women in all facets of national life, from peacebuilding to recovery and development. We have also utilized resolution 1325 (2000) as a tool for promoting the involvement of Liberian women in all sectors of society. The Liberian national action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) is a response by the President, Ms. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and the Government of Liberia, to the Secretary-General’s call for the development and implementation of action plans. The plan complements initiatives such as the poverty reduction strategy and the joint programmes of the Government of Liberia and the United Nations already in place, focusing on additional and specific actions needed to promote and advance gender mainstreaming and ultimately to promote sustainable development. The Liberian national action plan strengthens efforts to advance gender equality, including Millennium Development Goal 3. Liberia has made significant efforts with great impact in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), including the national action plan. We Liberians are proud to have been among the first to develop a national plan through a collaborative effort of the Government, United Nations agencies, local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations and other partners. Our plan was launched in 2009 during the International Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security. We would like to thank our partners, who were very supportive of us in this endeavour. In particular, I would like to thank the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and, of course, the United Nations family in Liberia and other partners from the international community. We have also set up a national steering committee on the Liberian national action plan, comprising the Ministers of Gender, Justice, Defence and Foreign Affairs, United Nations agencies, civil society, and local and international NGOs to guide the implementation of the plan and provide oversight and accountability. The implementation of the plan is not limited to the actions included therein; additional activities and measures can be initiated as necessary, bearing in mind the need for coherence. Discussions with different stakeholders in Liberia highlighted the importance of implementing the Liberian national action plan at the local, national and subregional levels over four years. The implementation periods are thus designed as short term, lasting 18 months; medium term, lasting 30 months; and long term, lasting 36 months. The plan also acknowledges that the roles and responsibilities for its full implementation must be clear and involve all relevant actors. Further, the plan identifies the roles and responsibilities of the Government of Liberia, United Nations partners, civil society, and international and national NGOs, donors, the private sector and beneficiaries. It places lead responsibility for the promotion and implementation of the plan on the Government. To make specific roles and responsibilities clear, the Liberian national action plan delineates a lead agency and collaborators for each activity, in addition to ensuring coordination for the implementation of the activities. A secretariat has been established, county steering committees have been set up in five counties, and a civil society observatory group is being set up to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the plan and to prepare a shadow report. The Government has also taken measures at the institutional, political and legal levels to ensure the plan’s implementation, including an amendment to the penal code extending the legal definition of rape, making it a non-bailable offence, and increasing its penalty to life imprisonment. We have also established a criminal court to specifically adjudicate sexual offence cases, and established a sex crimes unit at the Ministry of Justice to prosecute sexual offence cases. In addition, and among others, a national commission on disabilities has been established and a national gender policy has been launched and is being implemented. We also have undertaken the training of border security officials in handling gender-based violence issues, including sexual exploitation and abuse, and the development and current implementation of a national gender-based violence plan of action to prevent and respond to gender-based violence issues. Presently, the action plan is under review to ensure that those emerging issues are captured. A gender equity in politics bill, designed to increase women’s participation in governance, political parties and other institutions, has been introduced in Parliament and is awaiting approval for passage into law. A civil service code of conduct — proposing that all public institutions establish an environment conducive to the meaningful participation and advancement of women through the adoption of policies and procedures to address gender inequalities, including language on sexual harassment — has been developed and is currently under review. We have also established a national rural women’s structure to ensure that rural women’s participation in the development and reconstruction process is part of the development agenda. We also held a conference on women in cross-border trade to recognize the role women play across borders as they help to sustain our economies. We have also established community policing forums nationwide, mainly headed by women, to improve citizen-police relations. However, some challenges remain, and I will name a few that militate against the effective implementation of the plan. These include the challenges of harmonizing international, regional and subregional instruments with national laws; capacity- building and training; recruiting and retaining women in the security sector, particularly in the armed forces; the passage into law of the gender in politics bill; weak traditional peacebuilding structures and mechanisms; a high maternal mortality rate due to inadequately trained health practitioners and limited health care facilities; and women’s limited access to microcredit and control over resources. However, we have taken some concrete steps, and the plans for the next two years include the development of a strategy to ensure 20 per cent participation of women in the security sector by 2011. Presently, women constitute 30 per cent of immigration officers and 15 per cent of the national police. We also plan to earmark funding for long-term plans and the sustainability of the programmes; develop a fund-raising exercise and strategy and a donor roundtable to raise funds for the effective implementation of the plan; develop and implement a comprehensive communications strategy; initiate affirmative action processes that will address the gaps in women’s participation at all levels; and promote strong partnerships and strategic linkages. We have also taken steps to work with UNIFEM to develop indicators. We note that this is an important subject here, and we support the recommendation contained in the presidential statement (S/PRST/2010/22) to incorporate the indicators as a measurement of progress. Furthermore, this positive experience has led us to support the indicators annexed to the Secretary-General’s report on women and peace and security (S/2010/498). We believe that these indicators constitute a work in progress and that the Secretary-General should be requested to continue to support the development of a comprehensive framework that can be used as a yardstick for assessment of global progress. Liberia would further support the elaboration of guidelines for data collection and analysis, as well as for a reporting template involving appropriate training opportunities. We would also like to commend the Under- Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, and thank her for her presence here today. We pledge our full commitment to the process and ask Governments to wish us well as we strive to improve the condition to women around the world.

I now invite Her Excellency Ms. Anne Holmlund, Minister of the Interior of Finland, to take the floor.

Ten years ago, the Council recognized that conflicts have a differing impact on the lives of women and men, and that women and men alike have a valuable contribution to offer in advancing peace. In short, the Council recognized gender equality and the promotion and protection of women’s rights as central issues of its mandate of maintaining international peace and security. We congratulate the Council, the United Nations, regional organizations and all Member States for the work done over the past decade, and we thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this anniversary meeting. Despite substantial efforts, there is no place for complacency. We hope that the next decade will be one of more strategic and systematic action, improved accountability and measurable progress. The recommendations and the comprehensive set of indicators in the Secretary-General’s report on women and peace and security (S/2010/498) provide a tool for accountability. The seven-point action plan presented in the Secretary-General’s report on women’s participation in peacebuilding (S/2010/466) is a very good framework for systematic action. We encourage the Council and the United Nations as a whole to put them to full use, and we stand ready to do our part. Finland aligns itself with the statement of the European Union to be delivered later today. In addition, I wish to offer some insights into what Finland has done and learned during the past decade, and to commit ourselves to future action with regard to the participation of women at all stages and all levels of peace processes, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery; national action plans; and working to combat impunity, including paying due attention to victims. Finland believes that conflict prevention, mediation, and the peaceful settlement of disputes should occupy a more central place in the peace and security agenda of the United Nations. Equal and effective participation of women at all stages and at all levels of peace processes is an integral part of our policies. For example, Finland supports the African Union in strengthening its mediation capacities. We recently carried out a very successful training exercise on the participation of women in preventive diplomacy and mediation. As we mentioned in this Chamber a few weeks ago when speaking on peacebuilding, even if outside actors cannot dictate the composition of the negotiating delegations, there is a lot that can be done (see S/PV.6396). Peace mediators and their supporting teams can always ensure that sufficient gender- expertise is provided to the parties and can organize parallel consultations with women’s groups if they do not have a seat at the table. Those measures should help us change the currently dismal record of women’s participation in peace processes. The participation of both women and men in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction is crucial for the sustainability of their ultimate objective: peace. Let me be clear. Full and equal participation is important for the delivery of the mandates that this Council has provided. A recent study from Afghanistan showed that women’s participation in provincial reconstruction teams was beneficial to the operational effectiveness of those teams. That is why one of the goals of Finland’s National Action Plan has been to increase the numbers of women in both military and civilian positions in peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations. It can be done. Before we initiated our Plan in September 2007, women represented 19 per cent of our seconded experts deployed in civilian positions in peace operations. Through consistent efforts, we have increased that proportion to a high of 34 per cent last August. We also believe that understanding gender aspects is important for all members of peace operations, and we have therefore supported the work of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in developing gender training for all United Nations peacekeepers. Increasing the number of women in the highest positions can wait no longer. The United Nations and regional organizations have a responsibility to set examples and to promote gender equality, while Member States have a responsibility to provide and support female candidates. Accordingly, Finland commits itself to nominating an increasing number of female candidates. National action plans on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) have proved to be the primary tool in strategic and systematic implementation. Finland’s National Action Plan was jointly drafted by five ministries and civil society partners, which are also actively engaged in its implementation and follow- up. As we look forward to the Council supporting the comprehensive set of indicators today, we commit to including the indicators in our own National Action Plan when it is revised next year. Including civil society in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) is vital. For its part, Finland actively seeks advice from and forms partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in implementing its National Action Plan. For example, in our national Anniversary Seminar, held in Helsinki last Friday, our President, our Foreign Minister and I were honoured to hear from Special Representative Margot Wallström and representatives of civil society. Many ideas for improved concrete action and new best practices emerged from that exchange, including a proposal to include medical professionals in our crisis- management teams in order to better respond to victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Finland also gives financial support to several NGOs working in the area of women, peace and security. One example is Femmes Africa Solidarité. Among other invaluable activities, it supports drafting of national action plans and a regional action plan for the Great Lakes region in Africa. We are willing to share our lessons learned and experiences with other countries engaged in the preparation and implementation of their own national action plans. At the moment, Finland is cooperating with Kenya in drafting its national action plan through a twinning project. Should the experiences from that programme be successful, we remain open to considering twinning with another partner country in the future. Finally, I shall say a few words on the centrality of the work against impunity and due attention to the victims of human rights violations and serious crimes. Justice for victims is essential in restoring the confidence of people in their Government and in promoting sustainable peace. There should never be amnesties for the most serious crimes, including sexual and gender-based violence, which can constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. Finland fully supports the efforts of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the ad hoc tribunals in that regard. As an additional tool, I wish to highlight the potential of the Justice Rapid Response mechanism, a multilateral stand-by facility to rapidly deploy criminal justice and related professionals, trained for international investigations and at the service of States and international institutions. While still in its first year of operations, the Justice Rapid Response mechanism has already successfully completed three deployments and trained over 80 experts, thus proving its value. We are convinced that participation in the Justice Rapid Response mechanism is yet another example of concrete action for realizing the women, peace and security agenda. Justice is not only prosecutions. It includes the reform and strengthening of the security sector and the rule of law structures and, very importantly, addressing the needs of victims and their right to reparations. Among other things, Finland continues to provide financial contributions to the ICC Trust Fund for Victims and to United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict. In closing, let me repeat our hope that the next decade will be one of strategic and systematic action, accountability and measurable progress. We look to the Council for continued leadership and to the newly established UN Women and the whole of the United Nations system for enhanced action. You have our full support.

I now invite Her Excellency Ms. Grete Faremo, Minister of Defence of Norway, to take the floor.

Ten years ago, atrocities in Somalia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia made even the hardliners soft — or at least softer. For the first time, they let this Council discuss and agree on key questions for sustainable peace: What do women want? What do women need? How can women contribute? Thus resolution 1325 (2000) came about. At least on paper, this resolution gives women a voice and better protection. Mr. President, I thank you and the Council for convening this open ministerial meeting to remind us all of what a long way we still have to go to make the good intentions of resolution 1325 (2000) a reality. Ten years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), at the NATO Ministerial Council meeting earlier this month, I called for including resolution 1325 (2000) in the NATO concept of operations. We obviously have a job to do to make the military men take this seriously. As Minister of Defence, I note that all of the United Nations force commanders are men. It is high time to rectify this. I call on the United Nations to start searching for women commanders while we continue to improve the gender ratio of our forces. We must get better at explaining that resolution 1325 (2000) is not about political correctness. The better protection and more equal participation of women in social, economic and political life — including in peace processes and security services — improve the quality of the process and the service, making the result more sustainable. We simply cannot afford to ignore half of society’s talent and capacity. We must also ensure greater accountability. I call on the Security Council to show leadership by maintaining its focus on the full implementation of all resolutions on women and peace and security; by endorsing today the indicators proposed by the Secretary-General for this purpose; and by making the prosecution of perpetrators a political priority. I commend the work of Special Representative of the Secretary-General Wallström in this regard. We must provide the United Nations with resources, including financing, to follow up on the ground. I welcome the establishment of UN Women, and I congratulate its first Executive Director, Under- Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet. I trust that she will monitor and support Member States and the United Nations in ensuring the full implementation of all the resolutions on women and peace and security. Beyond what we have already done, I hereby announce that Norway will immediately take on the following commitments. We will continue to increase the number of female soldiers and officers, both in standing military forces and in our contributions to international operations. The next two commanders of Norway’s national command in Afghanistan will be women. Recognizing that we also have a long way to go, I will now make sure our military operations rest on a gender analysis and adjust our operational demands accordingly. We will strengthen the gender education of our armed forces and our police, and we will introduce a new system of reporting on gender and the role of women in field missions, starting in December with the Norwegian-led provincial reconstruction team in Meymaneh, Afghanistan. We will contribute experts on gender and gender- based violence to international peacekeeping operations. Last week, we deployed a team of such experts from Norway’s national police to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Norway will further strengthen our support to the United Nations work to promote and protect gender equality and the empowerment of women. Our proposed allocation for 2011 is more than $30 million. Finally, we will also act urgently to boost the work of UN Women and will support its new and welcome strategic partnership with the Department of Political Affairs, specifically the project to increase women’s participation in peace processes and to improve the gender balance at all levels of mediation. The Norwegian Government will immediately provide $1 million to this project. Norway supports the women and peace and security agenda because we know that it is the only way to achieve sustainable peace and to free millions of women and children from the appalling suffering we have seen in too many current conflicts. This suffering and humiliation is a scar on humanity’s face. We cannot tolerate this.

I now invite Her Excellency Ms. Mary White, Minister of State for Equality, Integration and Human Rights of Ireland, to take the floor.

Ireland aligns itself with the statement to be delivered later today by the representative of the European Union. Ireland welcomes the opportunity to address the Security Council during this open debate, which marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. Ireland is deeply committed to the principles enshrined in this groundbreaking resolution and will continue to strive for its full implementation, both in Ireland and internationally. Ireland has been very active on resolution 1325 (2000) and has long been reflecting the spirit of the resolution in its external actions. In order to formalize this commitment, my department is working closely with other Government departments, as well as with members of civil society and academia, towards the development of an effective national action plan, which we hope to launch early next year. This is our principal pledge here today. Ireland has also appointed a special envoy and launched a cross-learning initiative on resolution 1325 (2000) in 2009. Yesterday afternoon, I had the honour to present the findings of this initiative to the head of UN Women, Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet. This innovative initiative involved participants from Timor-Leste, Liberia, Ireland and Northern Ireland, and was designed to draw upon the experiences of those directly affected by conflict in order to discuss the most critical issues facing women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings. The participants, experts in their field, met three times, in Belfast, Dili and Monrovia. Each meeting focused on one of the “three p’s” of resolution 1325 (2000) — participation, protection and incorporating gender perspectives in policymaking — and addressed issues such as transitional justice, mediation, gender-based violence and the application of international human rights and international humanitarian law. While the outcome of the cross-learning initiative may not easily be quantified, it is our hope that the recommendations included in the final report will have a direct and immediate impact on women experiencing conflict, and that this impact will continue to resonate for years to come. One important issue highlighted throughout the cross-learning initiative was the urgent need to fight the culture of impunity in relation to sexual violence. Impunity and justice are mutually exclusive. To let perpetrators of sexual violence roam free is to tell their victims that the world is not listening. But we must listen, and we must act. Effective mechanisms must be put in place to bring perpetrators to justice and to send a clear message that such acts will no longer be tolerated. Crimes of a sexual nature must not be included in amnesties. Impunity must no longer be allowed to flourish. We have talked about a policy of zero tolerance; it is now time to stand together and demand that this policy be taken seriously. Another central idea arising from the cross-learning initiative was the need to engage with men. Women, peace and security is not just a women’s issue. In order to achieve true gender equality, men and women must work side by side. We had several male gender champions involved in the initiative, and their contribution to the process was invaluable. Resolution 1325 (2000) permeates all facets of conflict prevention and resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. Men involved in those processes must be convinced of the relevance of the resolution to their work. Given the patriarchal nature of many societies, men can and should become positive role models to younger boys. In that way, resolution 1325 (2000) will become a global normative issue, as opposed to a women’s issue. Peace is not sustainable, nor can it be sustained, without the support of all members of society. I would also like to take this opportunity to note Ireland’s warm support for Michelle Bachelet and the recently established UN Women. I am confident that that body’s core work will benefit the lives of women and girls who experience, or who have experienced, the atrocities of conflict, in particular the atrocities that target them specifically. International support for it will be integral to its success. I am delighted to confirm Ireland’s pledge to commit $1 million to UN Women this year. We look forward to hearing of its progress. I would also like to pay tribute to the excellent work of Margot Wallström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. She has focused the world’s attention on the recent unacceptable spate of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In doing so, she is ensuring that action is being taken to bring the perpetrators to justice. Her commitment and determination in her role as Special Representative of the Secretary-General will be vital in transforming the current landscape of impunity into a legacy of zero tolerance. Ireland also welcomes the recent report of the Secretary-General on women, peace and security (S/2010/498). We note in particular the comprehensive recommendations and the update on the set of indicators that will be used to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) at the global level. We also warmly welcome the Secretary-General’s recent report on women’s participation in peacebuilding (S/2010/466), in particular its resolute and forward- looking seven-point action plan. The commitment to allocate 15 per cent of United Nations-managed funds in support of peacebuilding to projects whose principal objective is to address women’s specific needs, advance gender equality and empower women is especially laudable. The tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) is an important milestone in the evolution of the women, peace and security agenda. Events marking this anniversary, both here in New York and worldwide, highlight the significant progress that has been achieved, but also the long road yet to be travelled. Women are more visible in many areas, including peacekeeping, mediation and post-conflict recovery. There is, however, no room for complacency. Recent events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone highlight that much more remains to be done. The objectives and principles of resolution 1325 (2000) underpin the core tenets of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations itself. The protection of women and girls from sexual violence in armed conflict and their participation in conflict resolution and post-conflict peacebuilding are integral to the maintenance of international peace and security. Let us not forget that. In that context, Ireland commends the Council’s continued attention to resolution 1325 (2000).

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Andraz Zidar, Director-General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia.

I would like to thank Uganda for the initiative to convene this important open debate on women, peace and security. I also thank the Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Bachelet and other distinguished guests for their presentations today. Slovenia fully aligns itself with the statements to be delivered by the representative of the European Union and by the representative of Costa Rica on behalf of the Human Security Network. Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security acknowledged that women are not just victims of armed conflict and that their equal and full participation is of vital importance in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery. In the past 10 years, many activities have been carried out to strengthen the role of women during and after conflict. However, this anniversary reminds us that despite those efforts, much needs to be done in the protection of women and in the promotion of the participation of women at the decision-making level, in conflict resolution and in peace processes. Violence against women, especially sexual and gender-based violence, persists in conflicts. Recent events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have shown that women continue to be deliberate targets of injustice and sexual violence in the conflict and its aftermath. In his report (S/2010/498), the Secretary-General takes up United Nations activities in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The report shows that a vast range of activities has been carried out in the past 10 years. However, the fragmentation of those activities demonstrates the need to streamline and coordinate the action of all members of the international community. Slovenia supports the Secretary-General’s recommendation to develop a single comprehensive framework that consists of an agreed set of goals, targets and indicators to guide the implementation of the resolution in its second decade. We are of the opinion that the issue of women, peace and security needs to be addressed in a holistic and comprehensive manner. We welcome the Security Council’s decision to take forward the set of indicators developed by the Secretary-General to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in situations of armed conflict as well as post-conflict and other situations. We hope that the indicators will now become operational. Slovenia also supports the recommendation to establish a dedicated working group to review progress in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and to make recommendations to the Security Council on how to address gaps and challenges to accelerate progress in the implementation of the resolution. Stronger steps should be taken to address accountability and to end impunity for perpetrators of violations. The Security Council should impose targeted and graduated measures against all parties to a conflict responsible for grave violations of women’s rights, including sexual violence. Sexual violence should be a priority element in all Council resolutions mandating the sanctions committees. We all have a responsibility to implement resolution 1325 (2000). The development of national action plans is a key means by which Member States commit themselves to fulfilling that responsibility. I would like to report that Slovenia is about to finalize and adopt such an action plan. The goal is to interconnect existing national and international activities addressing a broader concept of women, peace and security in order to translate them into genuine political commitments, and thus accelerate the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and contribute to the empowerment and protection of women. In Slovenia, gender equality is a priority not only in the field of human rights and development cooperation but also in security and defence policy. Since 2008, much has been done to promote gender equality in the security and defence sector. Those activities range from awareness-raising and training to the adoption and modification of legislation and other measures, including codes of conduct. The recently adopted strategy on the participation of the Republic of Slovenia in international operations and missions promotes equal opportunities with regard to such efforts at all levels, irrespective of gender. Lastly, let me take this opportunity to encourage the Security Council to continue to address the issue of women, peace and security and to seek the most effective means to improve the situation of women in armed conflict. With a comprehensive United Nations approach and increased ownership by Member States over their activities, the plight of women in situations of armed conflict and its aftermath can be eliminated.

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Bathabile Dlamini, Deputy Minister for Social Development of South Africa.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you, Sir, for organizing this important debate. We also thank the Secretary-General for his report on the subject under consideration (S/2010/498). My delegation aligns itself with the statements to be delivered by the representative of Namibia on behalf of the Southern Africa Development Community and Mr. Ramtane Lamamra, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. My delegation would like to take this opportunity to welcome the appointment of Ms. Bachelet. This move was a demonstration of the firm commitment of United Nations Member States and the Secretary- General to achieving the objectives and goals of advancing the equal participation and full involvement of women in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. We would like to assure Ms. Bachelet of our full cooperation and support in the fulfilment of her mandate. We appreciate the Security Council’s invitation to UN Women to contribute regularly to its work on women, peace and security. We are convinced that the new entity will be very strategic in coordinating women’s efforts in peacebuilding and the prevention of sexual violence in conflicts. It has been 10 years since the Security Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000), following the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Resolution 1325 (2000) reaffirms the need to implement the obligations of these instruments, aimed at addressing the situation of women in armed conflict. The adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) at the dawn of the twenty-first century and the new millennium was a significant milestone in the recognition of the role that women played and continue to play in the maintenance of international peace and security. In South Africa, women played a critical role in the struggle for liberation, the transition to democracy, and post-conflict reconstruction and development. As we commemorate the tenth year of resolution 1325 (2000), South Africa believes that, while progress has been made in the implementation of its provisions, a lot remains to be done in achieving its objectives. Today’s meeting presents a perfect opportunity to review the impact of interventions and to assess progress in order to identify gaps and consolidate new perspectives towards streamlining and accelerating the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). In Africa, the African Union and subregional organizations, as well as civil society, play a pivotal and strategic role in the prevention and resolution of conflict. Women are always ready to play a role in conflict resolution initiatives, such as the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law, both of which are vital to peace, security, stability and prosperity. Consistent with these efforts, and in order to promote the effective participation of women in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and security, the African Union in February 2009 declared 2010-2020 as the African Women’s Decade. It further committed its subregional organizations and member States to use the frameworks of resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) to integrate gender policies, programmes and activities on conflict and peace, and to create regional consultative platforms on peace for the sharing of knowledge and information and the harmonization of strategies. The South African Women in Dialogue forum has initiated dialogue between South African women and women in conflict countries, in particular Burundi, on how best to mainstream gender in peace missions in Africa and beyond. The African Women’s Peace Table was established in 2007; it is another South African initiative whereby female soldiers and civil society define the peace agenda and discuss strategies for peacebuilding in the continent. South Africa today stands as one of the top troop-contributing countries in the world, with the largest women’s contingent deployed in peace support missions. Currently, 19 per cent of South African National Defence Force personnel deployed in peace support operations are female. It is a shame that sexual violence against women, particularly in armed conflicts, still exists and has not yet been fully resolved. Sexual violence is one of the major tragedies in conflict and post-conflict situations, where women and girls bear the brunt and often become casualties. Sexual violence constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity when committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population by State and non-State actors. It was for this reason that, when the International Criminal Court was created, South Africa recommended that sexual violence be among the crimes referred to the Court, which is a tool against impunity. It is also for this very reason that South Africa condemns in the strongest terms possible the mass rapes committed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the past two months. We call for the urgent identification of the perpetrators of these war crimes so that they may be brought to justice. The days of impunity at the expense of women and children are over. My delegation believes that the full participation of women in the prevention and resolution of conflict has become a critical element in adequately addressing such tragedies. Placing women in leadership positions, at senior levels, as decision makers in peace consolidation processes, in public life and in transitional Governments could provide space for gender perspectives in order to resolve conflict and achieve stability. In conclusion, we support the set of indicators contained in the Secretary-General’s report (S/2010/498) and trust that their application will go a long way towards speeding the implementation of 1325 (2000). The United Nations has come a long way and played a critical part in defining the role of women, particularly in conflict situations. Nonetheless, a lot of support to these women is still required. My delegation supports the presidential statement on women, peace and security (S/PRST/2010/22) and welcomes its adoption.

There are still a number of speakers remaining on my list for this meeting. I intend, with the concurrence of the members of the Council, to suspend the meeting until 3.15 p.m.