We appreciate the focus of today's debate — women's rights must be an i...

We appreciate the focus of today's debate — women's rights must be an integral component of efforts to rebuild justice and rule of law in conflict and post- conflict situations. I wish to address three areas. First, with regard to participation, we need to remove the obstacles blocking women's access to justice, which are often rooted in traditional and cultural attitudes, increase the number of women in national and international judiciary bodies and ensure that gender awareness informs their decisions. Secondly, with respect to protection, laws must be gender-sensitive, including by upholding the right of women to own land and by criminalizing sexual and gender-based violence; there should be no amnesty for such crimes. Thirdly, as to reparations, to be effective, they must have the strength to prevent the recurrence of violations and eliminate the root causes of gender inequality.