Thirteen years after the adoption of the historic resolution 1325 (2000), the...

Thirteen years after the adoption of the historic resolution 1325 (2000), the culmination of a long process concerning women and international peace and security, the Security Council is still considering the issue. Our debates, however, reveal shortcomings in the area of the rights of women, which are being terribly violated, particularly in the Arab world. The Security Council has established several criteria for women's contributions to settling conflicts and their role in conflict and post-conflict situations. Those criteria should be implemented, in conformity with Security Council provisions, in order to achieve the goals of women's participation in conflict resolution and the reconstruction of society in the aftermath of conflict. Women should be integrated into peace negotiations and into social reconstruction. Their participation at every level is still incomplete. Their access to transitional justice systems must be facilitated, including in relation to crimes committed in conflict, especially since women and children are victims of particular types of crime and subject to discrimination, and they face social and cultural impediments that hinder their access to justice mechanisms.