The practices of the Israeli occupation in the Arab occupied territories are a clear manifestation of violations of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Arab women and girls under foreign occupation. Egypt stresses the responsibility of the United Nations system, as well as all international organizations concerned with women's issues, towards women under foreign occupation.

The Council's semi-annual open debate to review the implementation of Council resolution 1325 (2000)m, on women and peace and security, is a good opportunity to review the progress made over the past year, share good practices and identify the persistent barriers to the full implementation of the resolution.

Secondly, Egypt is deeply concerned about the increasing rates and patterns of violence against women and girls around the world, particularly sexual violence in armed conflicts and post-conflict situations.

In that context, we highlight the significance of the initiative taken in April by the Group of Eight on preventing sexual violence in conflict, assisting victims of sexual violence in war and preventing further peacekeeping forces and personnel.

Fourthly, the Security Council will hold a high- level meeting in 2015 to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). It will assess progress in implementing that resolution, renew commitments and address obstacles and constraints. In that regard, there is a need to address the existing gap related to quality data collection and analysis in conflict settings.

First, Egypt reaffirms the pivotal role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, as outlined in the resolution 1325 (2000). We also stress the importance of promoting the education and economic empowerment of women as effective tools to achieving sustainable peace and security.

Egypt reiterates its commitment to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), in line with its international obligations, as well as its conviction of the critical and indispensable role that could be played by women in resolving armed conflicts and in post- conflict situations.

The protection of human rights, including the rights of women, belongs to our foreign policy priorities. The Czech Republic takes an active stance in promoting the strengthening and effective realization of the rights of women and in preventing gender-based violence in various multilateral forums. We also raise the issue within the universal periodic review mechanism.

The Czech Republic fully endorses the relevant rules of international criminal law regarding “rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, enforced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity”.

It is our conviction that the international community should put particular focus on preventive efforts, namely in the case of those violations of international law that belong to the core crimes included under the concept of the responsibility to protect. The rich jurisprudence of the international criminal tribunals has recognized rape as a powerful tool of war used to intimidate, persecute and terrorize the enemy.