Statement of Morocco at the 2016 WPS Debate

Despite signs of progress, we are forced to note that the overall result is far from being satisfactory. Evaluations of the achievements of the 15 past years clearly show that the participation of women in negotiation processes has remained low. Between 1992 and 2011, only 9 per cent of negotiators were women. Only 27 per cent of peace agreements signed between 2000 and 2015 referred to women’s gender equality and the needs of women. Women make up just 3 per cent of the positions of authority throughout the world. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, today only 2 per cent of foreign funds invested in reviving the economies of post-conflict countries are allocated to promoting the equality of women, their empowerment or the satisfaction of their specific needs for a period of time.

And yet, women constitute half of the world’s population. Their involvement in peacebuilding remains not only a right, but also, given the disproportionate impact of conflict on their lives, an obligation. They can make an undeniably valuable contribution to peace negotiations. It is therefore necessary to change the paradigm so as to change the status quo and give women more power so as to shake up the established order. Indeed, the participation of women in negotiating processes increases the chances of a settlement of conflict and the sustainability of peace. That fact was confirmed by a global study undertaken by UN-Women in 2015, which revealed that the presence of women in peace negotiations promoted the sustainability of peace agreements, and that 35 per cent of agreements negotiated by women lasted more than 15 years.

It is in that context that in 2012 Morocco launched, in partnership with Spain, an initiative on the promotion of the role women in the mediation process in the Mediterranean. That initiative has enabled us to give mediation training to a number of Mediterranean women so as to ensure that they are available to the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations.

In addition, on 7 September Morocco organized an international conference on the topic of women and peace and security. The conference contributed to the international debate on the role of women in peace processes and the implementation of national plans of action to promote collective action on implementing resolution 1325 (2000). It was an occasion to reaffirm the international community’s consensus on the need to strengthen the participation of women in negotiations and agreements concerning the settlement of conflicts and peacebuilding, as well as to renew the commitment of the United Nations to the question of the inclusion of women and

gender equality in all strategies aimed at restoring peace and preventing conflict. A number of questions were debated at the conference, including the role of women in mediation and conflict-prevention processes, the role of women in deradicalization, lessons learned and best practices in the prevention of sexual violence in conflict.

At the conference, my country announced the creation in Rabat of an independent regional centre dedicated to studying the role of women in peacekeeping operations and their contribution to the achievement of sustainable development. The centre could serve as a space for reflection, a reservoir of ideas and a source of independent thought regarding the role and place of women in peacekeeping operations, as well as peacebuilding in conflict zones. It is in keeping with the priorities of the Security Council. in terms of the promotion and empowerment of women, gender equality, the building of peace and international security, the dissemination of the culture of peace, ensuring access to justice and the protection of civil rights.