Written Answers. - UN Resolutions.
Michael D. Higgins
Ceist:
225
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the effort Ireland is making to implement UN Resolution 1325 of 2000 which stated that women must be included in all aspects of peace-making and peace-building discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16539/03]
On 31 October 2000, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security, a resolution which for the first time addressed the issue of the particular effects of conflict on women and girls and the particular contribution women make to peace processes and thus the importance of their central involvement in negotiations aimed at ending conflict, as well as in post-conflict peace-building.
Resolution 1325 called for a report from the Secretary General but did not specify a time for its delivery. When it became apparent that the report would not be ready in time for discussion at the first anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1325, Ireland, during its Presidency of the Security Council, sought the adoption of a Presidential statement by the Council which would sustain impetus in the issue until the appearance and discussion of the report. I had the honour of presiding over the adoption of this Presidential statement [PRST/2001/31] by the Security Council on 31 October 2001. Later that day, as President of the Security Council, I represented the Council in a UN panel discussion on how to advance the implementation of Resolution 1325 so that women are centrally involved in peace-making and post-conflict peace-building.
When the Secretary General's report on women and peace and security was issued and subsequently discussed at an open meeting of the Security Council on 28 October 2002, Ireland strongly supported its central thesis, that in order to respond effectively to the needs and priorities of women and girls during armed conflict, gender perspectives had to be integrated systematically into all peace-building, peace-keeping and peace-making efforts as well as during humanitarian operations and reconstruction processes. Accordingly, Ireland contended publicly that the work of gender-mainstreaming, the process of assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas at all levels, needed to be at the centre of the UN's work. Appreciation was also expressed subsequently to Ireland that its statement had commended the independent study on women and peace and security undertaken by UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, which had been conducted in parallel to the Secretary General's report.
Ireland participated actively in the negotiations that led to the adoption, on 31 October 2002, of a Presidential statement [PRST/2002/32] which,inter alia, reaffirmed the importance of gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping operations and post-conflict reconstruction and undertook to integrate gender perspectives into the mandates of all peacekeeping missions.
The Secretary General's report set out a number of challenges inter alia on the participation of women in peace processes, the inclusion of gender perspectives in the mandates of peace operations and the need to ensure the respect for the human rights of women and girls as well as their access to humanitarian assistance. Progress has been made on a number of fronts, including the incorporation of gender perspectives into a number of peacekeeping operations. For example, a gender affairs unit was included in the UN's mission in East Timor. There is still, however, much that needs to be done on the part of member states, and within the United Nations – in headquarters and in the field – to ensure the participation of women in peace-building and to ensure that the specific concerns of women and girls are incorporated into all efforts aimed at the promotion of peace and security.
I can assure the Deputy that Ireland, while no longer a member of the Security Council, will continue to work to secure the implementation of the aims of Resolution 1325.
