WOMEN FROM AFGHANISTAN, KOSOVO AND EAST TIMOR ASK FOR INCREASED PROTECTION FROM ABUSES DURING WAR

November 3, 2001 - (UN) Women peace leaders from Afghanistan, Kosovo and East Timor today spoke to Security Council Members about violations committed against women during and after war and women's role in peace negotiations and peace-keeping efforts. International experts Elisabeth Rehn, former UN Under-Secretary General, and Maha Muna from the NGO Working Group on Women, International Peace and Security also addressed Council Members at the meeting in New York.

The briefing by women leaders to Council Members occurs exactly one year after the Security Council passed Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. The groundbreaking Resolution linked gender equality to global security and committed governments to include women's voices in peace negotiations while protecting them from the abuses of war.

"The entire peace process benefits when women are at the table," said Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). "Recognizing and supporting women's contributions can prevent many lifetimes of untold sorrow. This is especially poignant for Afghanistan. Any UN response for Afghanistan must include women and their concerns."

"We have to challenge the world's silence about the situation of women in war. Their protection is glaringly neglected. Their contributions to peace-building are often marginalized, and no one is picking up the pieces," said Elisabeth Rehn. Ms. Rehn is one of two independent experts appointed by UNIFEM to carry out a global assessment of the impact of conflict on women and women's role in peace-building.