United Nations Remains Fully Committed to Ensuring Women Overcome Obstacles

 

to Engagement at All Levels of Peace Processes, Secretary-General Says

 

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks at the “Women Count for Peace” event on Open Days for Women, Peace and Security, in New York today, 21 October:

I am excited to be here with you today.

Thank you for this report, and for the petition.

There is little that is more important — or more rewarding — than our ongoing task to empower women.

Whether we are discussing sustainable development, public health, or peace, women are at the core.

Over the past few months, senior United Nations staff in conflict and post-conflict countries have held 27 Open Day meetings with women peace activists.

The meetings shed light on women’s perspectives.

They helped to identify issues of common concern and areas of divergence.

They are a sign of our commitment to engaging more closely and more regularly with women peace leaders.

I thank all the women who participated in the Open Day events for being so candid and so active.

They have helped us to move towards ensuring that women are heard and that they are able to guide the work of the United Nations in peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding.

This report represents the depth of your commitment to the UN’s work for peace.

It also shows that we have a long way to go.

In 1995, the Beijing Platform for Action recognized that women’s full participation is essential to preventing and resolving conflict, and maintaining peace.

Five years later, the Security Council passed resolution 1325 (2000) – linking women, peace and security, and establishing a framework to guide the UN’s actions and policies.

These were landmark steps.

But today we must admit that we have failed to build sufficiently on these conceptual foundations.

Women still face obstacles to engagement at all stages of the peace process.

Sexual violence remains an all-too-common tactic of war and often continues well after the guns fall silent.

My Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, has been working hard to raise awareness and generate action on this issue, and I will continue to speak out strongly against these appalling crimes.

But, on this tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), even as we acknowledge where we are falling short, let us also recognize where we have moved forward.

The architecture for women, peace and security has been enhanced by the appointment of nine women as Special Representatives or Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General.

The United Nations is developing tools to improve the implementation of 1325 (2000).  A comprehensive set of indicators was presented to the Security Council earlier this year.

To date, 22 countries have adopted National Action Plans on women, peace and security.

In many post-conflict countries, women have moved into national decision-making in unprecedented numbers.  The ratio of women’s representation in Burundi’s Senate is now the highest in Africa and the second highest in the world.

And – last but not least – we have the newly formed United Nations entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.  I am pleased that Michelle Bachelet is now with us, working as Executive Director of UN Women.  We are working hard to make this new entity fully responsible from 1 January next year.  I am very grateful for her leadership, and for her willingness to work for this very important agenda after her retirement from the Presidency of Chile.

UN Women will, I am sure, help us to accelerate the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) through better coordination and strengthened activities in the field.

I am fully committed to this goal, and to ensuring that the UN system better responds to women’s needs.

This includes following through on the seven-point agenda for action in my report on Women’s Participation in Peacebuilding and the action points in my report on 1325 (2000).

Advancing the cause of women, peace and security must be integral to our peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts, not an afterthought.

Today’s commemoration of the anniversary of 1325 (2000) is our chance to say, loud and clear:  “Women Count for Peace”.

I thank all of you for being here today – my many senior colleagues and all our outstanding panellists.

I am humbled by the courage you have shown in standing up for your communities and committing your lives to this effort.

We have made a commitment to support you.  We will hold ourselves accountable to you.

Women Count for Peace.  You count for peace.

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For information media • not an official record