Ireland's principal pledge at last year's debate on women, peace and security...

Ireland's principal pledge at last year's debate on women, peace and security was to develop, adopt and launch a National Action on Resolution 1325. I am pleased to announce that Ireland has recently adopted a National Action Plan, and that this plan will be officially launched in the coming weeks. The Plan was informed by a cross-learning initiative that brought together women from Timor-Leste, Liberia, Ireland and Northern Ireland to discuss the most critical issues facing women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings. As we implement our National Action Plan, Ireland will continue to listen to the voices of women affected by conflict, to strengthen institutional capacities through comprehensive training of personnel deploying overseas, and to support programmes that promote women's participation. In their Peace Prize citation earlier this month, the Nobel Committee wrote that "we cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society". That is not just a worthy sentiment in a citation – it is a bald statement of reality, and one that demands our full and urgent attention.