Implementation

Let me start by reiterating Italy's full commitment to adopting a national action plan. An inter-ministerial committee of committed administrations and departments has been working on a draft action plan, which is now at an advanced stage, and I am pleased to announce that it is expected to be finalized and adopted by the end of this year.

Another priority of the plan is cooperation with countries beset by conflict and with their institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and civil society to enhance their invaluable work. One possible example of such cooperation would be opening ad hoc local facilities to accommodate and rehabilitate women who fall victim to violence and sexual abuse.

Adopting a gender perspective for all peacebuilding activities is another essential priority of the action plan. In my capacity as Minister of Equal Opportunities, I can only stress the importance of adopting a gender-oriented approach to all peacebuilding operations, conducting gender-sensitive surveys, collecting statistics with genderd is aggregated data and carrying out specific studies on other discriminatory factors.

This Council's adoption of resolution 1325, ten years ago, was a watershed in the protection of women and girls in conflict. The international community was - and should remain - proud of this accomplishment. The resolution helped galvanize Member States' resolve to tackle this issue.

Member States bear a large part of the responsibility for implementing the provisions of 1325. In the spirit of the resolution, Israel has amended its Women's Equal Rights Law to mandate the inclusion of women in any group appointed to peacebuilding negotiations or working towards conflict resolution. Israel also seeks to assist other countries in their implementation of 1325.

However, recent events, such as the violations that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Guinea, starkly highlight the wide gap that remains between the noble aspirations and the level ofprotection some women receive on the ground. Israel welcomes the development this year of indicators for progress in implementing resolution 1325.

The UN has a number of effective tools at its disposal to help push forward this objective. The Security Council, for example, could designate consistent leadership within the Council on this issue and consider methods to maintain its engagement in a more comprehensive manner.

As you are aware, Mr. President, Ireland launched a cross-learning initiative on 1325 in 2009. Yesterday afternoon, I had the honour to present the findings of this initiative to the head of UN Women, Under-Secretary General Michelle Bachelet.

There is, however, no room for complacency, Mr. President. Recent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone highlight that much more remains to be done. The objectives and principles of 1325 underpin the core tenets of international human rights law, international humanitarian law as well as the UN Charter itself.

Ireland has been very active on 1325 and has long been reflecting the spirit of the Resolution in its external actions. In order to formalise this commitment, my department is working closely with other government departments, as well as members of civil society and academia, towards the development of an effective National Action Plan which we hope to launch early next year. This is our principal pledge here today.