The inclusion of gender units within peacekeeping missions should become a systematic practice for all missions. In East Timor, the UNTAET Gender Affairs Unit made a difference. Women told us that it "set the tone" so that the transitional Government could not ignore the importance of creating a national machinery for women in the new Government structures. Women in Kosovo, as you would have noticed during your visit earlier this year, did not feel that they were taken seriously enough by UNMIK. This needs to be remedied. In the DRC, women are counting the days when they will have a counterpart within MONUC to cooperate with them. I urge you to deploy a Gender Adviser in MONUC without delay. The women need your support and the Governments need to see that the UN is setting an example by taking gender seriously. If the UN does not have women in prominent posts, we lose our credibility. A gender focal point is essential but not enough. There are perfectly qualified women out there. It just seems that the criteria for selecting candidates are not appropriate and do not correspond to the realities on the ground.

Women and girls have been exposed to the most brutal forms of sexual violence, including rape. This has resulted in their vulnerability to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Due to difficult economic conditions, women and young girls prostitute themselves in order to make a living or even to buy food for the family. In the DRC, for example, I met one female soldier who, in addition to her military duties, was forced to become a sex worker at night. We have also seen how conflict and the subsequent political and security vacuum provide a breeding ground for other forms of sexual exploitation such as trafficking. There also seems to exist a clear link between the end of conflict and a rise in domestic violence — the energies used during fighting are channeled against women and children at home in its aftermath. Just as the national judiciaries need to be strengthened to combat impunity and bring perpetrators to justice — which you are doing in your important work in establishing the Special Court for Sierra Leone — the UN system also needs to ensure that appropriate procedures and adequate disciplinary measures are in place for those individuals within the system who are involved in the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women. Troop contributors need to cooperate with you and DPKO in ending impunity. UN peacekeepers must respect their mandate to protect civilians from physical violence, including women and girls at risk of abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence. In order to do so, UN peacekeepers need to be fully trained in international human rights and humanitarian standards and the gender implications of their work.

Women’s rate of HIV/AIDS infection increases at an alarming rate in conflict situations. Women and girls are faced with the threat of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, at home, in communities and refugee camps, following the mobilization of troops, both national and international. Women in Rwanda and in parts of the DRC told us of HIV/AIDS being used as a weapon of war. The number of women with AIDS dying on a daily basis without access to treatment, many of whom are single heads of households, is beyond imagination. Peacekeepers need to be protected but they also need to protect women. As you have recognized, HIV/AIDS poses a great threat to international peace and security in many regions of the world.

Women’s role in war efforts worldwide, including in the DRC, East Timor and Cambodia, must be recognized. They cannot simply be sent back to the kitchen after the fight is over. DDR programmes must take into account the special needs of female combatants but also of women or girls who often accompany ex-combatants into the camps. DDR programmes need to recognize women who were part of the war effort but might not have been active fighters. Conditions must be put into place to enable those women and girls who were forced, either as fighters or as forced "wives", as is the case in Sierra Leone, to leave the demobilized combatants, if they so wish.

Women in all countries we visited want to participate in rebuilding their country and be part of decision-making. They call for education and for leadership training. They need to be encouraged by the international community. But often they had to literally fight their way to the peace table. In Burundi, Guatemala and Somalia, they made an important contribution to discussions on peace settlements. When women are at the table, the whole peace process benefits. And we hope that they will be able to do so also in the ongoing negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I urge you to support the efforts already undertaken by the Facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in this respect and to ensure that he has a gender adviser by his side at the peace table.

Following peace negotiations and in the crucial period of transition to building a lasting peace in formerly war-torn countries, the United Nations and you need to encourage gender-sensitive measures in constitutional, legislative and electoral reforms. Quotas and proportional representation with closed party lists helped women in Bosnia and Herzegovina win18,5% of seats in parliament and women in Somalia gained 12,5% of seats in the transitional national assembly. In East Timor, women achieved a remarkable result of 28% women in parliament, despite the fact that their lobby for a quota in the electoral regulations was turned down. And yet, women’s successes in elections are not sufficient - still more needs to be done to ensure that women are also adequately represented in the governments and administrations of these and other post-conflict countries.

Yet political encouragement alone is not enough. The international community needs to ensure that funding, especially in the areas of democratization and in protection, reaches women and benefits women’s groups equally.