Participation

Let me conclude by saying that, our questions notwithstanding, Pakistan attaches the highest importance to and supports this important mandate.

Allow me to address the issue of women in promoting peace and security and what we have been trying to do to enhance the empowerment of women in general in the post-conflict situation. Nepal has come a long way after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006 in terms of ensuring women's participation at the decision-making level.

With the support of Luxembourg, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has been able to implement similar initiatives in Timor-Leste and in Haiti.

Since the most recent public debate of the Council on the issue at hand (S/PV.6642) on 28 October 2011, Luxembourg has further intensified its commitment to supporting women in armed conflict, including through its support of the work of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

The Kenyan Constitution has entrenched women's participation in all aspects of Kenya's governance structures and societal life in general. By promoting full and effective participation and granting the Kenyan woman her rightful place at the decision making table, Kenya has ensured that there shall be nothing about society without women's involvement and genuine participation.

Secondly, as committed as we are to targeting the perpetrators of sexual violence, we must give full priority to the health, safety and dignity of survivors. National and international programmes for postconflict reconstruction must ensure that their needs are met and voices heard. Adequate and timely resources are required to sustain processes that are meant to be lengthy and complex.

Fourthly, there is a need to systematically include the issue of conflict-related sexual violence in the work of the Council, especially when authorizing and renewing the mandates of peacekeeping and special political missions. The progressive deployment of women's protection advisers to United Nations missions is also critical.

My second point is that women are not a footnote; and Somalia is a case study in that regard. The Secretary-General's report sets out the scale of sexual violence in Somalia: the crimes of Al-Shabaab; the groups of men in military uniform who prey on women and girls in internally displaced camps in Mogadishu; the rapes and gang-rapes in camps in Kenya; and the chronic and largely unaddressed sexual violence in Puntland.

It is also important that the role of women not be minimized in any way at this level. Their inputs are integral to enhancing civilian capacity, especially in the most affected developing countries. Indonesia believes that dialogue, partnership and cooperation within the framework of the global South are of critical importance to the peacebuilding capacities of developing countries.

More over, we should guarantee the participation of women in the solution and prevention of conflicts. The rehabilitation and reconstruction aspects are very important tools for the full implementation of Resolution 1325 (2000). Guatemala supports the notion that women should have a predominant role in mediation of controversies. We encourage the Secretary General to appoint more qualified women as Special Representatives and Special Envoys.