We also agree with the Secretary-General's conclusions in his 2010 report on women's participation in peacebuilding (S/2010/466) that their participation is not only a matter of women's and girls' rights but of their status as core partners in strengthening the three pillars of durable peace, namely, economic recovery, social cohesion and political legitimacy.

The unfortunate and sobering reality today is that women are still part of the battleground. They are marginalized, harassed, raped, abducted, humiliated, killed and forced to endure unwanted pregnancies, sexual abuse and slavery. Women are also still largely excluded from formal decision-making processes concerning peace and security.

The focus of this debate is to address the obstacles to women's participation in conflict mediation, peace talks, national dialogue and donor conferences.

Insofar as civil society efforts to promote issues relating to women, peace and security in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific islands region are concerned, they are increasing as a result of the groundswell of advocacy work on fostering women's and girls' development issues, including the important role they play in fostering peace and security in our communities and country.

In the context of my own country, Papua New Guinea, I would like to share our experience with regard to women and peace and security in the framework of the civil conflict we experienced in Bougainville, which ended more than a decade ago.

In that regard, we acknowledge the leadership of Ms. Bachelet and the work of UN-Women in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, as reflected in her attendance at our Pacific Leaders' Summit — to represent the Secretary-General — held in the Cooks Islands last year.

Importantly, it is worth recalling that the efforts of the women of Bougainville in pushing for peace during the conflict, which culminated in the Bougainville Peace Agreement, attest to and confirm the notion that women are agents of change, including in peace and security. Fortunately, there is growing recognition of that fact, but, as always, more needs to be done to maintain the momentum.

I would also commend the support and cooperation that Papua New Guinea continues to receive from our bilateral development partners, including Australia, the United States, New Zealand, the European Union and others, on mainstreaming gender issues that contribute to peace, security and national development.

At the regional level, the launch of the 2012-2015 Pacific Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, in 2012, has provided a strong framework from which national and regional actions can be better and more effectively developed and coordinated.

Apart from the United Nations, we continue to have strong support from our development partners — Australia and New Zealand, along with other partners such as the European Union — which are prioritizing gender empowerment and equality by providing capacity-building programmes for our women and girls in the area of peace and security.