STATEMENT OF MEXICO, October, 2015

Peacekeeping operations and prevention and mediation efforts are two concrete examples. In the past, we might have thought that applying a gender focus to peacekeeping operations simply meant deploying a greater number of women on the ground or increasing the number of women in the armed forces. While that is still a priority, a broader concept of gender equality now allows us to realize that all the activities of a given operation — including patrols and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, security sector reform, the promotion of the rule of law and the effective enjoyment of human rights — should take into account the specific needs of women and should recognize the importance of their participation in interaction with local communities.