Implementation

Eleven years after the adoption of Resolution 1325, we are all called to renew our commitment to ensure women may assert their right to determine the peaceful futures of their communities. Let's not miss this opportunity.

This year, the Israeli parliament enacted a new law as part of our implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), requiring that all Government investigative committees include an appropriate representation of women. By law, women must be included on Israeli negotiating teams. Maybe that will move a few things forward.

As part of our commitment to implementing resolution 1325 (2000), Israel's Government holds workshops to promote dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women at the Mount Carmel International Training Center in Haifa. More than 650 Israeli and Palestinian women have participated in more than 20 workshops over the past eight years. Such seminars provide women with the tools and understanding needed to promote peace and non-violence.

While the passage of Resolution 1325 and the four subsequent resolutions represented a paradigm shift in relation to women and conflict, there remains a striking reluctance in many quarters to include women as full and equal partners in peace efforts. Of the nine peace agreements signed during the course of 2010, only two had provisions ensuring women's rights. There is a basic design flaw that needs to be addressed.

Women's potential as agents of change, skilfully reshaping and rebuilding communities affected by conflict, is an important resource to tap into. However, it is not always the case that they can be readily available for such a huge task. In post-conflict situations, the deficit in experience, skills, understanding and knowledge on women and peace issues is often a hindrance to enlisting a greater involvement of women.

We are committed to gender equality and the empowerment of women. We are currently in the process of drafting a national action plan on resolution 1325 (2000). Efforts are already under way to promote that resolution and to raise awareness of gender-based violence, human rights and peacebuilding through the training of women's groups, survivors of violence, men and youth.

UN-Women, together with international partners, has provided great support to our efforts to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. As a member of the Executive Board of UN-Women, we are steadfast in our support of the new entity and are confident of the value of its work on the advancement of women. That commitment is further reflected in our three-year contribution to the core budget of UN-Women.

To conclude, let me reiterate that the responsibility to implement relevant Security Council resolutions on enhancing women's participation in peace processes, including the protection of women, rests primarily with individual Governments. Through this debate, we can once again reaffirm our readiness to promote the participation of women in peace processes, including within the framework of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000).