PK

As situations of conflict continue to worsen in many places and women and children continue to be the main target of sexual violence, we believe that all United Nations peacekeeping missions should have a robust mandate to protect civilians. The Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians, to which many members in the Chamber are signatory, are an effective guide to that end. Protecting those in need should be given priority by ensuring that we take all measures to provide more effective protection to the civilian populations, that we facilitate humanitarian assistance and that we allow investigation in cases of violation and abuse. Rwanda is happy to meet the minimum target of 15 per cent of all deployed peacekeeping contingents being female. We mention that specifically because we think that increasing the numbers of women in peacekeeping will go a long way in helping us to ensure the fight against violence.

Rwanda believes that Member States should systematically train all peacekeepers to address gender issues, prevent sexual violence and protect individuals, including women and girls. Rwanda has operationalized a curriculum for all of our troops and police in predeployment training that includes lessons on sexual exploitation and abuse. In the same vein, we call upon all Member States to boost women’s participation in all contingents and units. More specifically, we call upon Member States to include gender advisers and female officers and an increased presence for female peacekeeping personnel in general.