Required technical assistance, on request, must be provided to concerned states for reforming and rebuilding judicial, legislative and electoral sectors as well as economic, social and political empowerment of women, within a culturally sensitive framework.

Pakistan is also grateful to Madam Bachelet for an insightful presentation. We commend the valuable role UN Women plays in promoting the wider goal of gender equality in general and Women Peace and Security in particular. Pakistan will continue to play its part in strengthening UN Women.

Pakistan attaches highest importance to the participation of women in all walks of life and has taken concrete steps to that end.

As one of the biggest troop contributors, Pakistan supports efforts to mainstream a gender perspective in peacekeeping operations. Appointment of gender advisors in the field has served a useful purpose. This practice must be strengthened. Conscious of the importance of gender sensitization of peacekeeping troops, Pakistan has incorporated two UN Standard Gender Training Modules.

We remain committed to improving the status of women in all parts of Nigeria and to enhancing their vital and meaningful participation in conflict resolution. Nigeria has over the years proved its consistent commitment to the achievement of women's empowerment and gender equality. Gender equity and equality have gained a high degree of prominence in Nigeria's national development agenda.

We look forward to the high-level review to be held in 2015 on the progress made in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and will remain confident that this and future initiatives of the Council will play pivotal roles in national, regional and global strategies on the women and peace and security agenda.

We believe that more needs to be done to create an enabling environment for the participation of women in all stages of the peace process. Such efforts to create the right conditions for ensuring women's full participation should include increasing their participation and representation in preventive diplomacy and in conflict resolution and peacebuilding initiatives.

Today's discussion affords us the distinct opportunity to reflect on our achievements so far, but more importantly to make an assessment of outstanding requirements to realize those objectives. As the Council strives to ensure that the provisions of the women and peace and security agenda are integrated into its work, it stands to benefit from the unique grass-roots perspectives that women's civil society organizations could provide.

The Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000), which was a milestone achievement towards the recognition of the importance of women's equal participation and full involvement in the maintenance of peace and security, including conflict management, peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding. It is particularly significant that this debate is breaking new ground by focusing on the specific role layed

Promoting women's equality and empowerment is, in our view, one of the best ways to address the root causes of conflicts and thereby prevent them. We recognize the relevance of and relationship between the Council's preventive diplomacy initiatives and its women and peace and security agenda.