We welcome the fact that in the past the Security Council made several important decisions regarding the protection needs of vulnerable groups during armed conflicts.

We welcome the recent statement by the President of the Security Council on climate change and the maintenance of international peace and security (S/PRST/2011/15*).

The Pacific SIDS wish to highlight the importance of conflict prevention as an essential element of resolution 1325 (2000). Unabated climate change raises the risk of increasing violent conflict in many parts of the world and its consequent impact on women and girls, which is potentially beyond the capacity of the international community to respond to adequately.

The Pacific is also committed to international efforts, and in this regard we welcome support for the Pacific SIDS candidate from the Solomon Islands for the Executive Board of UN-Women. We ask that the United Nations and donor partners continue to provide resources and support for our efforts to implement resolution 1325 (2000), particularly those aimed at enhancing women's participation in prevention and broader peacebuilding.

In order to further advance the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in the Pacific region, it is important that we focus our work on approaches that reflect the reality of the situation on the ground in our islands. We believe that the development of a Pacific regional action plan would assist in this regard, and would build on our efforts to integrate resolution 1325 (2000) into the wider regional peace and security agenda.

The Secretary-General's report provides examples of both real progress and the challenges ahead of us. We welcome the initiative of DPKO and DPA to include gender components, advisors, or focal points in all field missions on this issue.

Over the past several years, the United Nations and its member states have taken important steps to increase women's participation in issues related to peace and security. We established UN Women and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Sexual Violence in Conflict. Through this Council's work, we defined what we expect of parties to conflict with respect to the protection of women.

More can be done to ensure that personnel of UN missions are adequately prepared to implement resolution 1325 and supported in their efforts. Both pre-deployment training and mission-wide strategies on the protection of civilians, including the needs of vulnerable groups such as women and girls, need to be improved.

Madame President, the United States is developing a National Action Plan to accelerate implementation of Resolution 1325 across our government and with partners in civil society. The plan will be centered on the four pillars of Resolution 1325: participation; prevention; protection; and relief and recovery.

In the Prevention Pillar, the U.S. has developed multiple programs that seek to address the root causes of conflict, including a $26 million annual Reconciliation Program that supports innovative programming in conflict-affected countries and includes gender analysis. In the Relief and Recovery Pillar, the U.S. has provided significant funding to improve water and sanitation in situations in which women's safety and security are at risk.