Women's economic empowerment in post-conflict situations is also vital to making them full partners in peace efforts and increasing their ability to contribute to the consolidation of peace.

We are therefore confronted with a real need for the United Nations, Governments and non-State actors to foster and support their involvement in the field of international peace and security. Among the several strategies that can be used to attain that goal, one of the most important is enhancing dialogue with women's groups in conflict and post-conflict situations.

There is, however, a long way to go before women are fully and duly integrated into national and multilateral peace efforts around the world. In various respects, such as the number of women representatives and mediators; the number, substance and relative importance of provisions in peace agreements; and post- conflict strategies or policies, women's participation in peace and security processes is still insufficient.

There is compelling evidence that women, when empowered, can have a significant positive impact on the lives of many people in their societies, particularly in countries emerging from conflict. The Security Council is therefore called on to continue to make a significant contribution to ensure that such impact is fully felt in all pertinent situations on its agenda.

Supporting and promoting women's participation in the maintenance of international peace and security is an increasingly important aspect of the Security Council's responsibility under the Charter.

Meaningful interaction with women's groups must also be an integral part of our peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities. Besides assisting missions in fulfilling their mandates, in particular regarding the protection of civilians, such groups can help ensure a sustained commitment to gender sensitivity.

Building capacity in the area of women and peace and security is also key. Late last year, Brazil signed a letter of intent with UN-Women, in order to deepen our cooperation regarding the training of peacekeepers on gender issues and the promotion of South-South cooperation on gender issues involving peacekeeping training centres in Latin America and Africa.

Although Brazil's reality differs greatly from that of post-conflict countries, some of our experiences may be useful for such societies. One interesting example is the Bolsa Familia, a conditional cash transfer programme that has lifted millions of Brazilians out of overty.

We believe that today's open debate will offer an opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned and the actions needed to accelerate the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions, as well as related international commitments on women and peace and security.

We are, however, concerned that despite the normative framework and the wide range of activities spurred by the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), the underrepresentation of women in formal peace processes, as well as violence against women and girls, continues. This situation certainly has to be corrected.