Armenia joins previous speakers in reiterating the need for the equal and effective participation of women at all stages of the peace process and their involvement in conflict prevention and resolution and the transition from conflict to peace. Female peacekeepers act as role models in the local environment, improving, inter alia, access and support for local women and contributing to empowering women in the community.
Argentina supports peacekeeping operations taking on a multidimensional character when specific circumstances justify it, as long as their mandates include support and assistance for Governments of the countries in which missions are operating.
Particular attention should be given to the fact that, as a result of developments over the past decade, the mandates of new, multidimensional missions can include—as in the case of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti –references to mission support for national Governments and local human rights groups in their efforts to promote and protect human rights, in particular those of women and children.
Argentina welcomes the fact that the draft resolution reaffirms the commitment to address the particular impact of armed conflicts on women and children, underlining what is contained in resolution 1325 (2000) and all subsequent resolutions.
The work of resolution 1325 (2000) is a national responsibility. Less than year ago, President Obama issued the first-ever United States national action plan on women, peace and security. Based on wide-ranging consultations with American civil society and with other Governments, our action plan lays out how the United States will help empower half the world's population as equal partners in preventing conflict and building peace.
The United States remains deeply concerned about violence targeted at women and girls, especially sexual violence. Not only is it horrific for the victims, but it tears apart the fabric of societies. As Secretary Clinton has said, these acts are not cultural but criminal.
The United Nations has made important strides in advancing women's roles in security, governance and civic life. We support the Secretary-General's recommendation that greater attention should be devoted to women's empowerment and rights when establishing or renewing mission mandates. And we commend him for placing more women in leadership positions and increasing the number of gender advisers in the field.
The participation of women in peace and political processes is central to long-term peace and stability. We see that more than half of all peace agreements fail within five years. While the reasons for failure are complex and unique to each conflict, there is one common thread, historically: a lack of women's participation.
It is encouraging, moreover, to see that more women parliamentarians are elected to office during transitional periods where there is United Nations assistance. Libya's landmark elections on 7 July had record levels of women's participation, with over six hundred women candidates running for the national congress.
