Participation

I wish to conclude by reiterating the call made in General Assembly resolution 66/130 regarding the need to enhance the role of women in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution, in accordance with resolution 1325 (2000).

Botswana's support for United States-led resolution 66/130, aimed at encouraging the greater political participation of women and their expanded role in decision- making and peacekeeping, and which was adopted by the General Assembly's Third Committee in 2011, is a practical demonstration of our strong commitment in that regard.

I welcome the Secretary-General's most recent report on women and peace and security (S/2012/732). In the report, the Secretary-General calls for enhanced women's participation and a stronger commitment to addressing the challenges to women's engagement in the prevention and resolution of armed conflicts and in peacebuilding at all levels.

When we talk about the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), we see the presence of women's civil society organizations at the grass-roots level. They can help implement peace agreements, ensuring the protection of women's human rights defenders in conflict and post-conflict settings and integrating women's and girl's security into the priorities set during transitions, such as drawdowns of United Nations missions.

The participation of women in mediation and peacebuilding efforts needs to be enhanced. In 2011, out of 14 United Nations peace negotiations, only four included woman delegates. As agreements without gender-sensitive provisions can limit the opportunities for women to achieve basic security, as well as their political, economic and social empowerment, the gender dimension of mediation should be clearly and consistently articulated.

The Government has enacted laws to protect women against domestic violence, and is currently implementing a number of innovative projects for developing women's capabilities. In order to involve women in decision-making processes, the Government has adopted a quota system for women in the national Parliament and in recruitment for our civil service jobs — alongside direct election and open competition.

The core message of resolution 1325 (2000) was to ensure women's equal participation at all decision-making levels. In the United Nations context, women's participation should be ensured through achieving a 50/50 gender balance, with a special emphasis on the recruitment of women at higher levels. In general, more female military and police personnel need to be deployed to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

In the maintenance of international peace and security, we take pride in our modest contribution of troops and police to United Nations peacekeeping missions. We have made the necessary provisions to recruit women in the police and military. We are pleased that we could deploy two full contingents of all-female formed police units to the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Haiti.

In conclusion, I reiterate that we in Bangladesh have been making our best efforts to ensure women's empowerment and participation in all spheres of our lives. We know that much more needs to be done. We are willing to replicate in our national policy any good practices that we learn about from around the world, and we are similarly ready to share our experience with others.

The Secretary-General and I welcome the Presidential Statement on women, peace and security issued on 31 October. In this statement, the Council pledged to advance women's participation in all aspects of conflict resolution, including transitional justice.