UN Security Council Debate on Women, Peace and Security – 29 October 2019

Statement on behalf of a Number of Member States

Madam Foreign Minister,

I am pleased to speak on behalf of 56 Member States representing all five regional groups of the United Nations.

The Group would like to firstly thank today’s briefers for sharing their insights and experiences. The Group also takes this opportunity to thank members of the Security Council for their efforts to more systematically address women’s human rights, gender equality and the gendered impact of conflict.

We commend South Africa for holding this Open Debate on the important theme of the full and effective implementation of the WPS agenda. As the Secretary-General’s most recent report on this item makes clear, the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda has made strides but persistent gaps and challenges remain and implementation is far from complete. The Group emphasizes that meaningful action on women, peace and security requires committing to the full and effective implementation of all elements of the WPS agenda, and recognizing their interrelated, inseparable and mutually reinforcing nature.

The Group welcomes the recommendations and suggested actions described in the Secretary-General’s report as a means to close gaps in implementation. The Group emphasizes the importance of ongoing monitoring and tracking of progress made. In this regard, the Group would like to highlight the vital role played by civil society in all aspects of this agenda, including the monitoring of implementation.

Women remain continuously underrepresented and excluded frompeace and security efforts including peace negotiations. The Group stresses that women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security, including all formal and informal decision-making processes on all levels, must be safeguarded. This is non-negotiable. We underscore the Secretary General’s emphasis on enhancing support and resources for women’s meaningful participation in peace and security processes.

Political violence targeting women continues to be of grave concern, inhibiting women’s ability to participate in public life and decision-making processes. The deliberate targeting of women peacebuilders and women human rights defenders also remains a major concern. The Group condemns in the strongest possible terms acts that constitute violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law and hinder the achievement of full gender equality, peace, and sustainable development.

Ensuring women’s full and meaningful participation in the security sector, including in peacekeeping operations is another area where progress must still be made. While there have been some positive developments in this area, progress is too slow. The Group welcomes innovative measures taken to increase the full and meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping operations, including the Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028. The Group also underlines the key role that mission leadership must play for integrating gender perspectives across all mission components. This must be a top priority for the UN leadership, Troop and Police Contributing Countries and all Member States.

Devastatingly, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) remains prevalent in situations of armed conflict worldwide. It continues to be used as a tactic of war and terror and must be addressed as a key security issue. The Group calls for further strengthening of justice and accountability measures to address SGBV in conflict. Recognizing the importance of providing timely assistance to survivors of sexual violence, the Group urges United Nations entities and donors to provide non-discriminatory and comprehensive health services, including sexual and reproductive health, psychosocial, legal, and livelihood support and other multi-sectoral services for survivors of sexual violence. In addition, the Group calls on the Security Council to incorporate SGBV as a criterion for sanctions as well as to assess the gender impacts of sanctions.

In closing, as others have noted, 2020 will be a landmark year for the Women, Peace, and Security agenda with the 20^th anniversary of resolution 1325 championed by Namibia. Now is not the time to be complacent with the status quo, but rather to be more ambitious, and address the gaps for further implementation of the WPS agenda in its entirety. The Group calls on all United Nations entities, the Security Council, all Member States and all other stakeholders to use this opportunity to move from words to action and to ensure the full and effective implementation of the WPS agenda.