Women's full participation — including in peacekeeping operations, national reconciliation processes and mediation — enhances the effectiveness and sustainability of development efforts and contributes to the prevention of conflict. But women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of decision-making. Their interests are often not, or insufficiently, reflected in peace agreements.

Women and children continue to be disproportionately affected by armed conflicts and their aftermath. We have witnessed, in particular, an alarming increase in sexual violence, which is often used as a method of warfare. It has disastrous long-term consequences, not only for the victim, but also for the affected communities.

We believe that it is important that the United Nations lead by example to advance this agenda. The appointment of Mary Robinson as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa is therefore a very important step in that respect. We welcome the Special Envoy's active engagement to involve women and ensure their participation in mediation efforts.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has significantly contributed to ending impunity for gender-based crimes, and its Prosecutor has declared the issue of sexual violence to be one of the priorities of her work. Indeed, 18 of the persons currently accused in the Court's cases are charged with sexual crimes.

The need to protect women and girls must not overshadow the participation pillar of the women, peace and security agenda. My delegation is therefore pleased to see that resolution 2122 (2013), adopted earlier today, builds on the core elements of resolution 1325 (2000) and contains key commitments for several stakeholders to the full participation of women.

As in other areas, we have noted a lack of consistency when it comes to the inclusion of concerns raised by the issue of women and peace and security in the Security Council's work. It is important that the Council consistently implement the provisions of resolution 1325 (2000) and the follow-up resolutions in all its resolutions on country situations.

A pervasive culture of impunity continues to be a major challenge in the area of women, peace and security. Accountability, human rights and the rule of law are recognized preconditions for successful political transition and development, but women are too often denied full and equal access to justice. States must offer effective and universally accessible national judicial systems and provide all victims with support, protection and redress.

We fully agree that, in order to effectively address threats to the security of women and girls, the links between the United Nations work in political, human rights and development fields should be strengthened. Moreover, better coordination should be ensured among all organizations on the ground.

Turning to the first topic, let me emphasize that women should be involved and participate in the whole crisis cycle, from the prevention and resolution of conflict to reinstating justice and the rule of law in post-conflict settings. Women play a particular role in voicing women's rights and concerns early on and in preventing backsliding on women's rights in post-conflict governance.

There can be no real impact on women's rights on the ground if the United Nations and other international partners are not leading by example. Women should be adequately represented at different levels in peacekeeping and special political missions. Appropriate training on gender-specific issues should be provided for military, police and civilian personnel deployed to international peace operations.