Within the politico-military dimension the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation promotes the inclusion of women in the military, including in combat positions, making sure that civilian oversight and the human rights in the armed forces are guaranteed for both men and women.

While it is obvious that States have the primary responsibility for ensuring that the Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security are translated into action, regional organizations working on the maintenance of international peace and security such as the OSCE, also have a recognized role.

To take just one example: the OSCE promotes gender balance in its work with judicial personnel because we believe that diversity has a positive impact on women's access to justice and the perceived legitimacy of the judiciary.

There is a good window of opportunity now to give women peace and security issues a boost on the regional level as the UN is currently leading a process of strengthening the role of regional organizations under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, dealing with conflict prevention, in particular early warning and early action.

The OSCE participating States have acknowledged the importance of the Women, Peace and Security agenda by passing a number of Ministerial Council Decisions, among others one explicitly dedicated to increasing Women's Participation in Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management and Post-Conflict Rehabilitation and another dealing with the Elements of the Conflict Cycle to include 1325 commitments.

I would like to conclude by drawing attention to the good cooperation between OSCE Field Operations and UN Women offices on Women, Peace and Security issues. For example, next month we will be co-hosting a conference in Almaty for OSCE participating States to discuss with expert representatives and Civil Society Organizations progress in drafting and implementing National Action Plans or other strategies on Security Council Resolution 1325.

As the representative of the world's largest regional security organization I would like at the outset to devote a few remarks to the role regional organizations can and should play with respect to the implementation of the commitments resulting from the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Allow me at this point, Mr. President, to refer to one more issue that we believe is important also in the framework of today's debate. The OSCE is a leader in a key peace and security issue that is not discussed enough from a “Women, Peace and Security” perspective: integrating a gender perspective in combating violent extremism and radicalization that leads to terrorism.

As I said, the OSCE is the world's largest regional security organization and it plays an important role throughout the region also in mediation, dialogue facilitation, good offices and quiet diplomacy. The organization has increased its efforts to ensuring that these processes are inclusive. We are pleased to announce that next week in Istanbul, on 24 October, the OSCE will launch a Guidance Note on Gender-Responsive Mediation.

Sexual violence against women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations should remain a matter of high priority to the international community. More needs to be done to hold accountable the perpetrators of such heinous acts. Indeed, the adoption of resolution 2016 (2013), in June, underscored the need for more systematic monitoring of sexual violence in armed conflict.