Fortunately, as the report of the Secretary- General of 4 September (S/2013/5...

Fortunately, as the report of the Secretary- General of 4 September (S/2013/525) acknowledges, times of transition and flux can present opportunities to strengthen women's leadership, empowerment and rights in the process of restoring the rule of law and governance systems. As his report indicates, the participation of women in peace negotiations and donor conferences has increased over the past year. Active support for such participation, which is being provided by gender experts and women's civil society organizations, is growing, and some peace agreements have included gender-sensitive language. That is encouraging. Yet the progress being made is hard fought and uneven.