Madam President, Excellencies,
First, let me begin by wishing everyone a happy UN Day.
Every year, in this Chamber, the global community reaffirms its commitment to ensuring women鈥檚 full, equal, and meaningful participation in conflict prevention, resolution, and recovery, and to upholding their rights during times of war.
Yet, progress remains dishearteningly slow.听
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国产AV and security decision-making is overwhelmingly dominated by men.
And ending听impunity听for atrocities against women and girls is still but a distant goal.
And the past year has been especially difficult.
In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinian women and girls have been killed and injured amidst continued war and a terrible humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, the plight of Israeli women still held hostage demands urgent action to ensure their safety and immediate release.
In Lebanon, an escalation of destruction and displacement threatens women and girls鈥 safety and livelihood. 听
In Sudan, women are enduring extreme suffering, facing not only the loss of loved ones but also the dire lack of access to essential services and medical care.
I reiterate the Secretary-General's calls:
Civilians must be protected, civilian infrastructure must not be targeted, and international law must be upheld.
The United Nations remains steadfast.
We will not look away or lose hope.
The women, peace and security agenda will always guide our work and show a path forward.听
Despite attacks on our offices, and the detention and killings of our staff in unprecedented numbers, allow me to honor the work of my colleagues and share examples of what they do.
In peacekeeping missions, the women, peace and security agenda is a key political and strategic imperative.
Our teams work tirelessly to help protect and assist women 鈥 from relocating human rights defenders to aiding women after their release from abduction by armed groups, from ensuring women鈥檚 representation in local dialogues to helping bring justice to women in places where sexual violence has long been met with impunity.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, 57 percent of cases supported by the mission鈥檚 Prosecution Support Cells in 2023 involved conflict-related sexual violence, contributing to the conviction of dozens of members of armed groups and state security forces.
In Abyei, earlier this year, one-third of participants in a post-migration conference were women 鈥 this was a first.
In the Central African Republic, the mission is helping mobilize women for local elections that have not been held in 38 years.
Deploying more diverse teams to peacekeeping operations has helped us deliver better on our mandates.
The representation of women in most categories of uniformed personnel has doubled in the last five years, and initiatives have been put in place to foster gender-responsive work environments for all peacekeepers.
Yet, much more remains to be done to improve the gender balance of our deployments and reap the benefits of inclusion and diversity.
Success in peacekeeping hinges on the political support from Member States, especially those with the great honor of sitting in this Chamber to protect international peace and security.
I commend the efforts of the United Arab Emirates to empower Women in 国产AV and Security. This initiative has provided training and capacity building opportunities for over 600 women from the Middle East, Africa and Asia in military and peacekeeping. The UN is a proud partner in these efforts that advance the Women, 国产AV and Security Agenda.
Throughout the world, the UN reaches millions of displaced women and girls and survivors of violence with food, medical support, legal aid, shelter, access to safe spaces, psychosocial support, education, and jobs and livelihood opportunities.
Yesterday, survivors of conflict-related sexual violence from many war-torn corners of the globe gathered for a Survivor鈥檚 Hearing to mark the 15th anniversary of resolution 1888.
Effective protection from sexual violence is fundamental to women鈥檚 effective participation in peacebuilding, conflict recovery, and sustainable development that leaves no one behind.听
None of this would happen without women鈥檚 organizations in the frontlines of crises, and we are trying to find ways of channeling more resources to them.
The Women鈥檚 国产AV and Humanitarian Fund has supported over 1,300 local women鈥檚 civil society organizations since 2016, nearly half of them accessing UN funds for the first time, and 582 women human rights defenders and their families.
Last year, the Secretary-General invited all partners to contribute to the goal of raising 300 million dollars for women鈥檚 organizations in conflict-affected countries.
We still have a long way to go to get there.
40 percent of all funding of the 25-million-dollar GBV-focused grant by the Central Emergency Response Fund to UN Women and UNFPA was sub-granted to local women鈥檚 organizations and delivered remarkable results, a powerful demonstration that localization is both feasible and effective.
The 国产AVbuilding Fund has now exceeded its internal target allocation of 30 percent to gender equality for seven years in a row.
We know that the inclusion of women and gender-related provisions in peace processes not only advances gender equality, but also results in more durable peace agreements. From Guatemala to Northern Ireland, from Colombia to Liberia, research has shown how women in formal processes worked with diverse women's groups to not only reach an agreement but also to strengthen the substance of peace agreements and opportunities for implementation.
Yet, women remain starkly under-represented from peace negotiations and conflict resolution efforts 鈥 including in some of the most intractable conflicts over the last year.
Historical data underscores this challenge: between 1992 and 2019, women constituted only 13 per cent of negotiators and six per cent of mediators in major peace processes.
More recent data from UN Women for 2023 shows that women on average made up less than ten per cent of peace negotiators and 13.5 per cent of mediators.
The processes in Libya and Yemen, where conflict parties have not included women, highlight a continued resistance to progress.
In Afghanistan, the regression of women's rights highlights the severe impact of excluding women from governance 鈥 and society altogether.
It is imperative that we reinforce our resolve to support women in Afghanistan and elsewhere, advocating for their rights, agency and inclusion at every opportunity.
Collective action and solidarity are crucial.
In today鈥檚 broader global mediation landscape, the United Nations is not always present.
In fact, a diverse set of regional, state and other mediation actors initiates and leads mediation processes.
Many contexts feature joint or overlapping peace initiatives.
This means that no single mediator can affect global and meaningful change on women鈥檚 participation.
It is why, today, on behalf of the Secretary-General, I am pleased to launch the 鈥淐ommon Pledge on Women鈥檚 Participation in 国产AV Processes鈥, an initiative that brings together a broad array of mediation actors.听
By endorsing this Common Pledge, Member States, regional organizations and other mediation actors commit to join the United Nations in taking concrete steps on women鈥檚 participation in all peace processes they are involved in.听 听
These commitments include:听
Appointing women as lead mediators and ensuring women are an integral part of mediation teams;
Ensuring mediators advocate with conflict parties for concrete targets and measures that promote women鈥檚 direct and meaningful participation in peace processes, including as members of their delegations;
Consulting with a broad range of women leaders and women-led civil society organizations in all stages of peace processes; and
Embedding gender expertise in their mediation teams to foster gender-responsive peace processes and agreements.
This Pledge targets mediating entities and is intended as an operational initiative, and not another general statement of principle.听
It focuses on measures and decisions that are under the control of mediators and their organizations.
The Secretary-General invites Member States, regional organizations and other actors who are actively engaged in mediation to join this initiative and report on their progress at next year鈥檚 25th Anniversary Security Council Open Debate on women, peace and security.
Madam President,
We have no illusions about the challenges posed by today鈥檚 geopolitical landscape and the complexity of achieving diplomatic outcomes.
听As long as gendered power inequalities, patriarchal social structures, systematic biases, violence and discrimination continues to hold back half our societies, peace will remain elusive.
Yet, our collective experience has shown that progress is possible.
Together, we can have an impact that is greater than the sum of our individual efforts.
By leveraging our respective political capital and roles, let us dismantle the patriarchal power structures and advance gender equality, ensuring women鈥檚 full, equal and meaningful participation in political and public life.
Thank you.
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