My country is of the conviction that gender mainstreaming is an absolute necessity and a prerequisite for ensuring a place for women on the peace and security agenda. Gender mainstreaming should be an inalienable component of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and not an add-on or secondary concern. We have seen a positive trend of women themselves being the driving

It is noteworthy that half of the field missions managed by the Department of Political Affairs have gender advisers. We fully support the process of including women's participation in field missions to ensure that programmes focus on the specific needs of girls and women as a means to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.

In designing peacebuilding strategies, we need to be more sensitive and take into consideration the knowledge and insights of local women at the grass- roots level. It is also important to gather information about the incidence of sexual violence, insecurity and human rights violations as perceived by women, and for women to be represented at all levels.

In conclusion, we commend the Security Council's continuing attention to the urgent and critical issue of further promoting the full realization of resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, and at the same time we call for greater efforts on our part to include women in our deliberations.

I thank you, Sir, for having convened this open debate on women and peace and security, which enables the Security Council to focus on the paramount role of women and their civil society organizations in contributing to the prevention and resolution of armed conflicts, as well as to peacebuilding.

As we assess progress, there is also an acknowledgement of the reality that much more needs to be done so that resolution 1325 (2000) is no longer merely a statement of aspirations, with little action to record since 2000. We have to be conscious of the voices of women around the world who feel unrepresented in international and regional peace processes.

Advisers on gender issues must also consistently take account of and utilize the information gathered by local women's organizations. Every effort must be made to ensure that their perspectives are heard and considered by the highest decision-making entities and structures. It is equally important that women be fully represented in those bodies in field missions and all other platforms.

We are very encouraged that, under the strong leadership of Ms. Bachelet, UN-Women has been resolutely promoting the agenda of women and peace and security as one of its priorities. It is with great satisfaction that we note that, during her recent visit to Japan, Ms.

The security of women and girls is an indicator of peace and stability. In that regard, we note that the Secretary-General's report refers to the fact that Afghan women's groups have voiced concerns over the potential for a peace deal to be made at the cost of women's hard-fought rights.

Relief and recovery initiatives for women in conflict or post-conflict situations are also key when conflict prevention efforts unfortunately fail. As an example, in close collaboration and consultation with a wide range of women's civil society organizations in the Sudan, Japan supported finding employment for women in poverty, including widows, women in rural places and women with disabilities.