Participation

We fully support efforts to increase and prioritize the participation of women at all levels in peace processes and mediation efforts.

We also share the assessment that the presence of women peacekeepers in conflict zones can facilitate interaction and confidence-building with local communities and affected populations, particularly women and children.

At the same time, despite laudable strides made, there is still insufficient participation and leadership by women, both in times of conflict and of peace. As the Secretary-General underscored in his report, the overall share of women is either at the same level or has even regressed in many key areas.

We reaffirm the importance of women’s full participation in efforts to achieve peace and security and the ensuring that the necessary resources and funds are available to implement these programmes. We are here today to assess the efforts of the international community, in terms not only of the settlement of conflict, but also of the empowerment of women in the context of forging of lasting peace.

The issue of women’s participation has real and tangible effects on the promotion of international peace and security.

Italy is particularly interested in increasing the participation of women in uniformed roles, including police roles, and in promoting the integration of women’s needs and gender perspectives into all aspects of peacekeeping and in efforts towards conflict prevention and resolution. In this period, Italy has committed to supporting the initiative of UN-Women on the role of women in mediation.