Implementation

It is also worth noting that preparatory work for the open day included workshops attended by women in several parts of the Sudan, including Khartoum and Juba, the capital of the southern province, the Warab province in the south and the provinces of East and Central Equatoria, as well as the three provinces of Darfur.

As for combating the phenomenon of violence against women, the Government of the Sudan has adopted a national strategy that was prepared by all relevant official and public actors. The strategy has been implemented at the central and provincial levels.

With the defeat of terrorism in May 2009, through a massive humanitarian rescue mission, the Government took concerted action to rehabilitate and reintegrate all former child combatants. Among them, 351 were girls. Knowing that these children had been forced to take up guns instead of school books, the Government of Sri Lanka adopted a prudent, practical and compassionate approach towards their reintegration.

With regard to former adult LTTE cadres, the Government has placed a high priority on their social and economic reintegration. In recognition of this priority, a vocational/technical/language training programme under the “Accelerated Skills Acquisition Programme,” (IT, heavy machinery operation, electrical, mechanical, the specific apparel sector, etc.) has been developed.

We remain hopeful that the Council would make every effort to ensure that the indicators proposed for the implementation of Resolution 1325 are also acceptable to and achievable by all Member States. This is especially so given our varying levels of development and prevailing socio-economic conditions.

We are mindful of the challenges before us on the larger subject of women, peace and security. At the policy level, programmes have already been identified to address the critical issues facing women and girls in the post-conflict phase. We are especially focused on the special needs of thousand of widows and orphans.

Sri Lanka, having grappled with a virulent form of terrorism perpetrated by the LTTE, is fully cognizant of the despicable reality that once clouded the lives of the young girls and women in the North and East of the country.

Sri Lanka would be conducting a national population census in 2011 for the entire country. This is the first time that such a countrywide census will take place since 1981. The census would pave the way, to adopt gender disaggregated methods to address data gaps in areas such as women and girls with disabilities and their access to educational and health services.

The South African Women in Dialogue forum has initiated dialogue between South African women and women in conflict countries, in particular Burundi, on how best to mainstream gender in peace missions in Africa and beyond. The African Women's Peace Table was established in 2007; it is another South African initiative whereby female soldiers and civil society define the peace agenda and discuss strategies for peacebuilding in the continent.

South Africa today stands as one of the top troop-contributing countries in the world, with the largest women's contingent deployed in peace support missions. Currently, 19 per cent of South African National Defence Force personnel deployed in peace support operations are female.