Participation

"Make no mistake, the engagement of women in peace and security does not reflect a desire for disengagement by men. The principle that guides us is respect for the rights and dignity of all. And to end and recover from strife, we seek the leadership and participation of each gender and every nationality. Just as all benefit from peace, so all must help to create peace."

"Because of UN Women and its partners, numerous productive initiatives are underway. These range from peace building efforts by women in Mali to new legal protection measures in Colombia to smoother access to justice in Haiti to the enhanced role for women in the police of Zimbabwe.

"And we commend Rwanda which now has 62% of its parliamentarians are women, a remarkable statistic."

This past year, as we've heard, women were included in every formal peace negotiating process led or co- led by the UN. Gender experts were present in eighty-five percent of delegations and, in each case, representatives of women's civil society groups were consulted. Women are playing a more prominent role in crisis prevention, most notably in Darfur and the Great Lakes Region.

In the wake of such suffering, we understand that inadequate governance and limited resources may complicate the task of recovery and healing.

"We've seen in Kenya civil society deeply engaged in a five year campaign – endorsed by the UN – to enshrine the rights of women to own land, live equally in marriage, and be free from the threat of violence. And on Election Day this past spring, a record eighty-seven women were chosen for parliament, a number that – pursuant to the country's new constitution – will increase further in the years ahead."

The United Kingdom welcomes the report of the Secretary General and the important recommendations that it makes. We welcome the ongoing work of UN Women. And we recognise the continuing challenges in implementing this agenda lie beyond the topic of today's debate.

I do want to welcome the adoption today of the resolution on Women and Peace and Security. This resolution reiterates the central role for women in resolving conflict and helping to build sustainable peace. I want in particular to highlight three aspects of the resolution.

First of all, it places Women, Peace and Security front and centre in the Council's work. The Secretary- General has outlined what that means for the Council and his own personal commitment to this, but it also means, in a very practical sense, that the Council will now receive more regular briefings and more updates from UN bodies and officials on this subject. That means that it is central to our work.

The elimination of the root causes of conflict is the best way to prevent sexual violence and to address impunity. Combating impunity is possible only by building transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and functioning institutions and justice systems. It is vital to ensure that women and girls have access to judicial institutions and proper representation.