Statement on behalf of 66 Members of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security

UN Security Council Open Debate on “Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment”

October 24, 2024

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Canada has the honour to speak on behalf of 66 Member States of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace, and Security, representing all five regional groups of the UN and the European Union.^{Footnote 1}

Madam President,

Women and girls around the world are working with courage and determination to prevent and resolve conflict and to build and sustain peace. Yet they continue to be excluded from decision-making and targeted for discrimination and all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.

The Group of Friends emphasizes five points:

First, we urge all Member States, the UN system and other stakeholders to protect and promote the human rights of all women and girls, and ensure women’s full, equal, meaningful and safe participation and leadership in all aspects of peace and security. This has proven to ensure more robust and lasting peace arrangements. We call for justice and accountability for any violations of human rights of all women and girls. We also draw attention to the structural causes of gender inequality, gender stereotypes and negative social norms that perpetuate violence and conflict.

Second, we urge all actors to make women’s participation the norm in peace processes, at all stages, with a target of 50 percent.

Third, we encourage security sector institutions to undertake gender-responsive reforms and remove barriers to women’s participation and leadership in security sector institutions, at all levels.

Fourth, we must do our utmost to support the courageous and independent voices of all women human rights defenders, mediators, peacebuilders and advocates for gender equality, and to promote safe, secure and enabling environments, both offline and online, for them to carry out their work. We need to champion their demands, amplify their voices, swiftly stand against attacks, intimidation and reprisals against them, and support adequate, predictable and flexible funding so they may carry out their work safely and independently.

Fifth, we call for the full respect of international law and the effective prevention and response to all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination, both online and offline. We need to ensure victim and survivors’ access to essential services, including sexual and reproductive health services and mental health and psychosocial support. It is also critical that we hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence to account and continue to encourage the Security Council to pursue the fight against impunity with all the means at its disposal, and to incorporate and apply conflict-related sexual violence as a designation criterion in UN sanction regimes.

We recognize the courageous leadership of women and girls around the world in calling for urgent action and accountability for all forms of violations of their rights. We must heed their call.