The ambassadors met to discuss how to strengthen women’s resilience and leadership as a path to peace in areas plagued by armed groups.
The debate was held under the Council’s continued focus on women, peace and security, in line with a landmark resolution passed 22 years ago and around the latest report of United Nations.
Slow progress
“When do we Open the door to inclusion and participationwe take a big step forward in preventing conflict and building peace,” speak Miss Mohammed.
“However, despite decades of evidence that gender equality offers the path to lasting peace and preventing conflict, we are going in the opposite direction. ”
Ms. Mohammed said the participation of women at all levels has played a key role in changing the way the international community approaches peace and security over the past two decades.
However, progress has “Too slow”She said, as born of statistics.
Do better now
For example, between 1995 and 2019, the share of peace agreements with gender equality provisions increased from 14 to 22 percent. Four out of five peace treaties still ignore gender.
Furthermore, women were on average only 13% of negotiators, 6% of mediators and 6% of signatories to major peace processes during this period.
“Women’s participation in peace processes and influencing decisions affecting their lives, continue to lag far behind, creates a very real barrier to inclusive, lasting, and sustainable peace. We have to do better. And we have to do it now,” she said.
Protecting rights defenders
Ms. Mohammed stressed the need for action, including removing patriarchal rules that exclude women from power, making more negotiators and mediators available to women, and securing large financial resources. and more predictable.
She recalls that the UN Secretary General António Guterres outlined five “transformative actions” over the next decade on women’s rights and urged countries to rapidly implement them.
“He called the special attention of protect women’s human rights defenders, who face increasing threats, reprisals, and violence. These brave women are at the vanguard of the women, peace and security agenda,” she told the Council.
Ms. Mohammed emphasized the need for full gender equality through election surveillance, security sector reform, disarmament, demobilization and the justice system, including the allocation of special quotas to promote fast inclusion of women.
“At this time of danger, conflict and crisis, we must pursue proven strategies for peace and stability. Defending women’s rights and promoting women’s inclusion is one such strategy,” she said.
Threats and revenge
In her commentSima Bahous, CEO of UN Womenalso mentions the plight of women’s human rights defenders who risk their lives for their communities and the planet.
Ms. Bahous said the UN human rights office, OHCHRIt was recently reported that of the nearly 350 cases of intimidation or retaliation for cooperating with the UN in the past year, 60% involved women.
UN Women’s surveys also show that nearly one-third of civil society representatives are women who briefed Security Council have also faced retaliation.
Job Quota
Ms. Bahous called for measures such as material and political support for women’s rights defenders and their organizations, as well as updates to legislation on asylum, temporary resettlement or protected status. provisional for gender-based repression.
“And if no one thinks women on the sidelines will keep them safe, let’s be clear: it achieves the opposite. Denying women’s space, access or funding because of safety concerns, she said, is the look of the perpetrators and, in their eyes, validation of their tactics.
She upheld the value of women’s participation as paramount to sustainable and inclusive peace, while limiting under-representation in peace processes, national parliaments and other contexts. other, such as COVID-19 task force.
“We know very well what to do,” Ms. Bahous said. “Quartets and Temporary Special Measures Still our best tool to properly establish these harmful imbalances and promote equity in decision-making. ”
UNAMID, in collaboration with the North Darfur Women’s Committee, held an open session during the day on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security in North Darfur.
