Implementation

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 5,000 women of all political tendencies, including from civil society, f looded Kinshasa's main commercial avenue a week ago to protest the fall of Goma to rebels from the Mouvement du 23 mars. That was the most massively organized non-violent protest in the country following the fall of that city. The women protesters were received by MONUSCO's senior management.

In situations where, strictly speaking, there is no armed conflict, it is even more appropriate for women's organizations and civil society to play a part in preventing and settling political and social tensions. At present in Haiti, women account for fewer than 4 per cent of members elected to the national Parliament, and it must be acknowledged that most have been excluded from the reconstruction process.

Finally, I would emphasize that the critical key to removing the obstacles that impede women's full participation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding is active and systematic consultation with local actors and leaders, including women's civil society organizations. That is the only way to develop effective, contextspecific and gender-aware solutions.

Additionally, when supporting women's organizations, we must mobilize all members of the country team to serve as consultative partners for civil society. That gives women's groups confidence to act with the assurance that they may turn to the United Nations family if they perceive a threat. The country team also supports women's organizations with funding, information-sharing and capacity-building activities.

The United Nations clearly has an important role to play in this matter, and we applaud the creation of UN-Women and an institutional advancement of singular importance. We should strengthen its capacity to offer leadership and to monitor accountability within the whole System regarding gender equity.

On this occasion, we recall the pioneering resolution of the Security Council numbered 1325, adopted in October of 2000, which deals with women, peace and security. Said resolution addresses in a specific manner the condition of women and girls in situations of armed conflict. Each year this Council has been building on the central premise of this resolution: without security for women, no durable peace can be achieved.

Finally, and thinking now not only about the Security Council but of the wider United Nations System, we firmly support the greater participation of women in the work of the Organization, just as we support it within our own Government and our own society. More specifically, I urge the United Nations System to expand the participation of women at all hierarchical levels, and that this is done in an equitable manner.

Another intersection is violence, a core characteristic of armed conflicts, but also very present in societies that supposedly live in peace. I am thinking of domestic violence, or, perhaps more dramatically, the extreme violence that Guatemalans, and especially Guatemalan women have been exposed to by the worrying ascent of organized crime, ranging from youth gangs to transnational cartels that traffic in illicit goods and services.

Third: Women and women's organisations can also play a crucial role in the implementation of Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration- and Security Sector Reform--mechanisms as well as in political and constitutional reform and transitional justice. To enable them to play that role, women's organisations need to receive adequate support, which also includes financial support.

Fourth: Germany regularly supports women's organisations and human rights defenders financially and logistically. To name but a few examples: We have organized regional conferences in Tunisia and Argentina in 2011, and we will be sponsoring a conference in Panama on gender training, prevention of sexual violence and providing response tools and unhindered access to justice.