Implementation

To make the fight against impunity tangible, access for women to the justice system is essential. Since 2011, in cooperation with UN Women, France has had in place a programme for strengthening women's access to justice in Afghanistan. In the framework of its plan of action, France has committed to a cooperation programme in Africa and in the Arab world, working in partnership with UN Women.

Justice remains the cornerstone of stabilization in post-conflict situations. National Governments of course have the primary responsibility for prosecuting and punishing those resposible for sexual violence. However, when States fail to live up to their responsibilities, the International Criminal Court should be able to play its full role.

In that regard, we can refer to the example of Mary Robinson, who brought together women's organizations from the Great Lakes region in July in Bujumbura. We believe that hers is a model of inclusive and early consultation that can be useful to everyone.

However, we all know that we only are half-way there. Much remains to be done. While women now have a place in most peace negotiations, their situation remains ignored in the ensuing agreements, which too often do not include specific provisions on women, peace and security. Women should be consulted as fully invested stakeholders. The United Nations must be exemplary in that regard.

In New York, the issue of the participation of women should be included more frequently in briefings made to the Council by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs, whose recommendations for better including women in conflict-resolution processes always prove to be valuable. Informal meetings of the Council with women working in the field should be continued and encouraged.

We welcome the comprehensive approach of the report of the Secretary-General (S/2013/525) and particularly welcome the increasingly targeted and concrete recommendations for action. We underline the need for continued regular reporting and briefings to the Council.

The increasing number of national and regional action plans for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) provides the opportunity to compare different experiences in order to further improve our work. To further map our actions and experiences, we support the call of the Secretary-General for an independent global study on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) to prepare for the 2015 high-level review.

The EU Concept on Strengthening EU Mediation and Dialogue Capacities aims to promote the representation of women and the availability of adequate resources for dedicated gender expertise at an early stage of the mediation process. We call on the United Nations system to increase the participation of women in mediation activities, including as chief and lead mediators, and to include gender experts in the mediation teams.

In conclusion, we are glad to note that Estonia was among the sponsors of resolution 2106 (2013), which strengthens the monitoring and prevention of sexual violence in conflict, and we were happy to co-sponsor resolution 2122 (2013), adopted today.

Let me also commend UN Women for their work targeted at raising the number of national action plans related to resolution 1325 (2000) or other relevant planning instruments, as outlined in the recently adopted UN Women Strategic Plan. Estonia developed its national action plan in 2010 and has advised a number of States on developing theirs. We would be ready to cooperate in that regard with other States in the future.