Allow me at this point, Mr. President, to refer to one more issue that we bel...

Allow me at this point, Mr. President, to refer to one more issue that we believe is important also in the framework of today's debate. The OSCE is a leader in a key peace and security issue that is not discussed enough from a “Women, Peace and Security” perspective: integrating a gender perspective in combating violent extremism and radicalization that leads to terrorism. This is an issue of serious concern to OSCE participating States. Both national authorities and international and regional organizations increasingly recognize that a better understanding of the dynamics of this issue is central to formulating and implementing effective strategies that will increase stability and security. The OSCE will undertake a new initiative in 2014 in partnership with the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum that aims to promote gender-sensitive strategies, policies and measures to counter violent extremism and radicalization that leads to terrorism, with an emphasis on empowering women to contribute to these efforts in different roles and capacities.