It is increasingly evident that the rule of law is all too often the second victim of conflict, the first victims being women and girls. Portugal reaffirms the view that women and girls are disproportionately affected by armed conflicts and remain particularly vulnerable in post-conflict situations.

We welcome the convening of this debate under your auspices, Mr. President. We are grateful to the Secretary- General for his insightful briefing and for his strong leadership in advancing the agenda on women and peace and security. Pakistan welcomes the statements made this morning by Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, and by Ms. Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

We believe that the real value of thematic discussions in the Council is to help identify the related aspects in the Council's country-specific work in practical terms. It is there that the gaps in implementation lie and it is there that action is needed the most.

Pakistan fully supports the objectives of the agenda on women and peace and security. We have played an important role in advancing those goals as a major participant in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Pakistani women peacekeepers have served as police officers, doctors and nurses in missions in Asia, Africa and the Balkans. Gender sensitization is a mandatory part of our peacekeepers' training.

Appreciable progress has been made over the years in promoting the agenda on women and peace and security, but much remains to be done to fully translate the objectives of resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent decisions of the Council into more tangible results on the ground. We do have a solid and comprehensive normative framework in our hands; resolution 2122 (2013), adopted today, further consolidates it.

"We speak on the subject from experience, and our feedback to the Security Council is positive. The Council's decisions and direction are helping women caught in situations of armed conflict. We believe that the Council should continue to address those issues in accordance with its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.

"We hope that some of the practical recommendations contained in the resolution adopted today will infuse new momentum and vigour into our collective efforts to promote the women and peace and security agenda."

"The rule of law is one of the key elements in the promotion of the agenda on women and peace and security. Gender-responsive transitional justice and reform of the justice and security sectors are prerequisites for promoting and protecting women's rights in conflict and post-conflict situations. The rule of law and transitional justice should continue to be developed so as to protect the rights of women in such situations.

"The discourse on women and peace and security has followed two broad trends — women seen primarily as victims of conflict, on the one hand, and women as stakeholders and drivers of change, on the other hand. Both aspects are interrelated and require equal attention. As the Secretary-General said this morning, it is important that women's representation around the peace table be enhanced.

"Given women's strong stake in peace and in how peace is negotiated, kept and consolidated, the role of women as peacemakers and peacebuilders must be integrated into the various stages of engagement, outreach and decision-making. Increased integration in pursuing the agenda on women and peace and security is useful for enhanced coordination and for avoiding duplication and the overlap of efforts and resources.