STATEMENT OF PANAMA, OCTOBER, 2015

It is up to the States, therefore, to continue to work to promote the greater participation of women at all stages of peace and security processes. Similarly, resolution 1325 (2000), which brings us together today, on the occasion of its fifteenth anniversary, is the first resolution to establish a connection between the experiences of women in conflicts and the international agenda for peace and security and to highlight the fact that conflicts have a disproportionate impact on women. This resolution becomes even more relevant today, as we see the violence levelled against women by extremist groups that violate their rights, their dignity, their integrity and their very lives. Consequently, it is essential that the Security Council call upon all parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict.