Participation

Peacekeeping operations and prevention and mediation efforts are two concrete examples. In the past, we might have thought that applying a gender focus to peacekeeping operations simply meant deploying a greater number of women on the ground or increasing the number of women in the armed forces.

With regard to post-conf lict peacekeeping, Malaysia is presently undertaking efforts to offer relevant technical assistance and cooperation to women from countries in transition and that are newly emerging from conflict, under the auspices of the Malaysian technical cooperation programme.

We commend the Secretary-General for his renewed initiatives to promote greater representation of women in United Nations senior leadership, mediation teams and peacekeeping missions, as well as to promote better coordination among United Nations entities in mainstreaming the issue of women and peace and security.

Secondly, the Government commits to ensuring that the outcome of the ongoing constitutional review process will guarantee and institutionalize women’s full and equal participation in governance and national affairs.

Secondly, the spread of terrorism and violent extremism has had a horrendous impact on the lives of women and girls. While images and stories of Yazidi women being enslaved by Daesh or girls forced to become suicide bombers by Boko Haram capture our emotions, we need to go beyond the perception of women as victims of terrorism. Seeing women as a driving force in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism is crucial.

Lithuania has adopted measures to increase women’s representation at all levels of governance. Consistent and systematic long-term implementation of gender equality policies and concrete measures, coordination of actions and synergies of all the relevant stakeholders led to a number of concrete results. Women’s education rate stands at 90 per cent.

Based on our national experience, we embraced resolution 1325 (2000) and set out to apply it within our domestic context. In 2009, Liberia was the first country in Africa to complete the formulation of its five-year national action plan to give meaning to the resolution. The plan was developed as the framework to drive the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) at the national level.

First, much too often, mediation and peace processes remain male-dominated. While women are disproportionately affected by conflict, their critical role in negotiating, keeping and building peace in their communities is often overlooked. In Syria, women’s voices remain a minority in attempts at peace talks. In Mali, only five out of every 100 participants in negotiations that led to the Accord on Peace and Reconciliation were women.