Statement of Spain at the 2016 WPS Debate

At the high-level review of the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), which my country had the honour of presiding over last year, it was made clear that each and every one of us have unavoidable responsibilities in that regard, and that it is up to us all to achieve results. Power and responsibility must be two faces of the same coin. I am proud to say that in the two years that Spain has been a member of the Security Council, one great and long-standing daily priority has been resolution 1325 (2000). I would like to take this opportunity to share two fundamental aspects with this forum. I shall note first what, in our view, has been accomplished in the past two years, and secondly, some improvements that my country has made in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The Security Council has made some very important accomplishments in the course of the last two years.

First, the creation of the Security Council Informal Expert Group on Women and Peace and Security, under the joint chairmanship of Spain and the United Kingdom, is a very innovative mechanism with regard to working methods. It provides Security Council members with the concrete information that we need regarding leadership at the United Nations. It also helps support efforts to broadly integrate gender perspective within peacekeeping missions. The experts have held meetings on Mali, Iraq, whose Ambassador I see here and with whom we have done exceptional work, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan.

Secondly, we have managed to help national administrations to make greater headway in the peace and security agenda. That is why the President of Spain announced the creation of a network of national points of contact for the resolution 1325 (2000). On September 23, Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs presided over the launching of the network. The first conference of the network of national points of contact will be held in Spain in the first trimester of 2017. We thank Germany, which will hold a similar conference the following year. Over 50 States and regional organizations are founding members of the focal points network. Moreover, as I have explained previously and in line with resolution 2242 (2015), my country is committed to a series of obligations that have truly helped advance resolution 1325 (2000) in Spain.

Fifthly, we must all make greater efforts in financing. We have earmarked €1 million of the 2016 budget to support exceptional instruments, such as the Global Acceleration Instrument for Women and Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, and to strengthen certain capabilities, particularly the gender units within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations or the Department of Political Affairs.

Lastly, in the humanitarian sphere, Spain has allocated €1.7 million to specific projects that will be part of the agenda, notably in Palestine, Syria and Jordan. Additionally, during the World Humanitarian Summit, my country committed, among other goals, to set up a gender marker for 100 per cent of humanitarian financing in 2018.

The agenda requires real commitment. We have the tools and we have the resolutions. Now we need to show that there is genuine political will to implement them.

Fourthly, we have welcomed the interesting Canadian initiative to create a network of military and police advisers with regard to women and peace and security. We also attended a ministerial conference of defence ministers in London last month, where we fully committed to uphold the London communiqué adopted there.