That and other crises demonstrate the urgent need to act. This morning, we heard an eye-witness account on the Central African Republic. We have heard that the situation is tragic, encompassing sexual violence, forced disappearances, recruitment of child soldiers and, increasingly, religiously motivated violence. The precarious situation of women is shocking. The Council should remain apprised of the issue.

Such improvements have had normative consequences. The adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty revealed the link between the spread of small arms and light weapons and sexual violence. We have given strong support to this part of the Treaty, which France will soon ratify.

Justice remains the cornerstone of stabilization in post-conflict situations. National Governments of course have the primary responsibility for prosecuting and punishing those resposible for sexual violence. However, when States fail to live up to their responsibilities, the International Criminal Court should be able to play its full role.

In that regard, we can refer to the example of Mary Robinson, who brought together women's organizations from the Great Lakes region in July in Bujumbura. We believe that hers is a model of inclusive and early consultation that can be useful to everyone.

In that regard, I call the Council's attention to the letter by the representative of the Syrian National Coalition, which provides a very good description of the sufferings that the Al-Assad regime is inflicting on Syrian women. Those violent acts, I remind members, were reported by the Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry.

In Syria, women were the leading actors of the peaceful revolution against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Their vulnerability is today increasing everywhere, placing them at the forefront of the victims. They are the targets of both the fierce repression of the regime against its own people and, now, of extremist groups. In the refugee camps, their children are often born stateless as a result of unequal citizenship laws.

I thank you, Sir, for organizing this debate. I also thank all those who have spoken. I believe that the statements made by my colleagues have proven, 13 years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), what has become obvious to everyone, namely, that no conflict can be resolved and no transition sustained without the inclusion and participation of half of humankind.

However, we all know that we only are half-way there. Much remains to be done. While women now have a place in most peace negotiations, their situation remains ignored in the ensuing agreements, which too often do not include specific provisions on women, peace and security. Women should be consulted as fully invested stakeholders. The United Nations must be exemplary in that regard.

First, that is obvious to the Council, which in two-thirds of its resolutions makes references to the women, peace and security agenda. It also obvious to the United Nations, where the presence of women in mediation teams and field missions increases year after year, although efforts still need to be made regarding management positions.

In New York, the issue of the participation of women should be included more frequently in briefings made to the Council by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs, whose recommendations for better including women in conflict-resolution processes always prove to be valuable. Informal meetings of the Council with women working in the field should be continued and encouraged.