STATEMENT OF PORTUGAL ON THE SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY, OCTOBER, 2015
STATEMENT OF PORTUGAL, October, 2015
From the outset, Portugal has been a strong and consistent supporter of the women and peace and security agenda in order to address the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and girls and enhance their participation in peace processes. We were therefore very pleased to co-sponsor resolution 2242 (2015), adopted by the Council yesterday.
STATEMENT OF PORTUGAL, October, 2015
In 2009, Portugal adopted its first national action plan on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and a second edition of the plan for 2014-2018 was approved last year. During our term in the Security Council in 2011-2012, the women and peace and security agenda ranked high among our priorities. We were then and remain now firm supporters of mainstreaming the women and peace and security agenda in all Security Council resolutions, as we are very convinced that women should be involved in all aspects of conflict prevention, conf lict resolution and post-conf lict processes. We also joined other Security Council members in organizing Arria Formula meetings whose purpose was to give voice to women’s organizations and raise awareness among Security Council members on women’s specific needs in conflict-affected settings.
STATEMENT OF PORTUGAL, October, 2015
In that regard, and to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), Portugal commits to promoting increased participation by women in international missions for the strengthening and maintenance of peace and security, and for humanitarian aid and crisis management; to continuing to actively promote the women and peace and security agenda in the main multilateral forums to which Portugal is a party, such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Community of Portuguese- speaking Countries, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO; to raising awareness in all the relevant international forums of the importance of establishing national actions plans for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000); to providing information for the United Nations indicators in order to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and for relevant documents on the implementation of the resolution; to conducting training programmes on gender equality and violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, gender-based violence and trafficking in human beings, for national personnel in the field of justice and for members of the armed and security forces assigned to international peacekeeping missions; to including the women and peace and security agenda in Portuguese development aid programmes; and, finally, to continuing to engage with civil society organizations on women and peace and security agenda issues.