All this has taken place with arming, support and financing from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and France. Those States have spent countless sums on influential media and invidious sectarian incitement to halt Syria's socioeconomic, security and judicial development. They work to undermine its independence, its national decision-making and its rejection of those who exploit religion.

Germany welcomes the detailed analysis of the Secretary-General's report (S/2013/525), which identifies many achievements in the women, peace and security agenda in the past years. We also share the concerns addressed in the report, such as an increasing focus of the international community on women as victims of armed conflict, instead of on their role as actors in peace processes and agents of change in all spheres of society.

Women's role in Georgia, including the political and military fields, has significantly grown. Women represent 5.4 per cent of the armed forces and 50 per cent of the civilian personnel of the Ministry of Defense, among whom 20 per cent hold decision-making positions. Women take part in the Georgian contingent of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

While the Government of Georgia spares no effort in ensuring women's liberties in the country and to strengthen women's role in areas related to security and peacebuilding, we face major challenges in the occupied regions of Georgia.

While discussing the successful developments in advancing women's rights and freedoms, I would like to emphasize the fruitful cooperation that the Government enjoys with UN Women. We appreciate its support in facilitating consultations and information-sharing meetings among representatives of Georgian women's non- governmental organizations and women participants of the Geneva international discussions.

Regular training programmes are conducted to enhance the skills and capacities of women police officers. After the adoption of the national action plan, female police officers from various regions of Georgia participated in training programmes to enhance the skills and role of female officers, with the aim of becoming leaders and mentors in Georgian law enforcement.

In June 2013, the Georgia Parliament adopted amendments to the labour code to introduce regulations that are more liberal with respect to women's employment.

In conclusion, I would like to, once again, reiterate the firm commitment of my Government to strengthening cooperation with the relevant United Nations agencies in order to defend the interests of women who are suffering from gender bias, violence and other inhuman or degrading treatment.

Despite numerous calls by the international community, up to a half million internally displaced persons and refugees, among them several hundred thousand women, continue to be deprived of their fundamental right to a safe and dignified return. We remain hopeful that the international community will adequately react to the illegal activities in the occupied regions of Georgia and the ongoing violations of human rights.

To make the fight against impunity tangible, access for women to the justice system is essential. Since 2011, in cooperation with UN Women, France has had in place a programme for strengthening women's access to justice in Afghanistan. In the framework of its plan of action, France has committed to a cooperation programme in Africa and in the Arab world, working in partnership with UN Women.