Participation

We would also benefit from greater involvement of civil society and especially women's organizations in the prevention and resolution of disputes.

As many have pointed out today, in order to fully discharge its role in the field of peace and security, the United Nations must support and promote women's participation in national and international political processes. President Dilma Rousseff stressed our commitment to that goal in her speech to the General Assembly yesterday.

Since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, missions have been mandated, with significant success, to boost women's participation in electoral and post-conflict processes, to prevent sexual violence, and to increase the presence of female peacekeeping personnel and trained peacekeepers to address gender issues.

Peacekeepers are tasked with establishing an environment of security to allow for the resumption of political processes. This requires the implementation of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, including for children affected by conflict, security sector reform programmes, and programmes strengthening the rule of law.

"Tragically, we have seen the increased frequency of sexual violence used as a tactic of war. This new resolution is right in calling for HIV prevention among uniformed services to be aligned with efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict. The disproportionate burden of HIV on women is a serious obstacle to the full participation of women in efforts to prevent and resolve conflict and build peace.

We can think of no better way to keep civilians out of harm's way than to prevent conflict before it breaks out. Prevention is infinitely better than cure. We therefore urge the international community to lend greater support to the preventive diplomacy initiatives of civil society and regional and subregional bodies and efforts, such as the Economic Community of West African States Observation and Monitoring System.

We have remained at the cutting edge of many United Nations operations in places where civilians were under threat. Today, we have a female formed police unit — the first such formation composed entirely of women — in the United Nations Mission in Liberia. Thus, India brings to this table a quantum of experience in actually protecting civilians in peacekeeping missions that is unique in its relevance, variety and depth.

Engaging local communities, including women, in discussions on protection requirements is key both in the planning stages and while peacekeeping missions are deployed in the field.

We have heard today that combating both poverty and conflict requires us to prioritize core state capacities, especially the rule of law, justice, and security, and to create jobs and immediate economic opportunities. We have also heard the need to bring women into decision-making on key political, security, and economic issues.

We should also place special emphasis on the role of women in all phases of our efforts in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development. We should further try to ensure increased participation by women.