Implementation

At the outset, allow me to express our appreciation for your invitation to convene this ministerial meeting of the Security Council on this important occasion.

A strong and sustained campaIgn is led by the Suzanne Mubarak International Movement of Women for Peace to support fostering

Moreover, Egypt strongly believes that any attempt to extend the scope of application of the proposed indicators beyond conflict and post conflict situations, or any attempts to provide a wider defmition for conflict and postconflict situations will be a clear encroachment from the Security Council on the competence of the General Assembly, and would affect negatively the mandate, competence and effectiveness of UN WOMEN, the entity that we al

Violence against women in conflict and postconflict situations is both a development and a security challenge that calls for action on a common front by United Nations Charter and other intergovernmental bodies. Violence against women profoundly affects not only the health and safety of women but also the political, economic and social stability of their nations.

Over the years, the Economic and Social Council has promoted a comprehensive approach to peace, stability and development.

I therefore wish to suggest a sharing of tasks among these various bodies in order to accelerate mutually reinforcing efforts in this crucial field. For example, the Economic and Social Council could ensure follow-up and monitoring of the indicators developed by its Statistical Commission on violence against women.

Gender equality and the empowerment of women are cross-cutting issues for all development policies and, indeed, increasingly for all international policies. The Economic and Social Council has taken the full dimension of this requirement and reviews on an annual basis how the United Nations system mainstreams gender perspectives in its activities.

By maintaining close dialogue among our different bodies, we can strengthen the impact of the United Nations voice in our common areas of work. I trust that this meeting today has been a valuable step in this direction.

2011 will provide important opportunities to follow up on those events. At its coordination segment in July, the Economic and Social Council will review the coordinated follow-up and implementation of the ministerial declaration adopted this year. In so doing, it will focus on the further mainstreaming of the gender dimension in the work of the system at large and will address the programmatic aspect of the work of UN Women.

2010 has been a very constructive year for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women at the United Nations.