My delegation has a special interest in the topic, because resolution 1325 (2...

My delegation has a special interest in the topic, because resolution 1325 (2000) represented an enormous step forward in the protection of women and highlighted the importance of their role in all aspects of United Nations peacekeeping. Nonetheless, while it has remained far from being a cure-all, resolution 1325 (2000) has contributed, along with resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1889 (2009), to improving the normative framework for preventing gender-based violence and for protecting women against that scourge. It should, however, be pointed out that, despite those praiseworthy efforts, persistent shortcomings have exposed thousands of women and girls to various types of barbaric abuse and atrocities. In fact, rape continues to be used as a weapon of war in certain conflict areas, and the ongoing existence of sexual and gender-based violence, even at the end of a conflict, represents an almost permanent threat to the security and health of that vulnerable group of the population. That is why the international community must firmly commit to vigorously combating impunity in order to guarantee the effective prevention of all forms of violence against women.