Allow me to conclude by referring to the matter of justice, which is a major issue in the implementation of the resolution on women and peace and security. How can women express themselves and participate in public life if they must live alongside their former tortures, or live in fear and under oppression? How can they have access to justice if the road to justice entails humiliation, threats and reprisals?

Women must be fully involved from the very beginning of peace processes so as to enhance the quality and sustainability of peace agreements. Mediation and negotiation teams should have specialized gender expertise and carry out inclusive consultations. Further efforts are urgently needed to nominate and appoint more women mediators and to address the obstacles women face.

The Nordic countries have engaged in twinning and cooperation with partner countries, including Afghanistan, Kenya, Liberia, Nepal and the Philippines. We provide technical and financial support for the development of their new structures. But we also learn from them and hope that in this way our activities will be more responsive to the needs and priorities of countries with recent experience of conflict or fragility.

The conflict-prevention and mitigation efforts of women through civil society and governmental channels deserve our increased financial, political and technical support. Civil society participation serves a double aim: it fosters inclusive dialogue and development. It also builds the capacity of women to engage in more formal processes.

Secondly, we are pleased to report a clear increase in the number of women among the military, police and civilian peacekeepers deployed. We also committed to train our personnel on gender equality and human rights. The mixed police teams deployed in Haiti, Liberia and Afghanistan have all received training on resolution 1325 (2000). Some have been specifically trained to address sexual and gender-based violence.

In post-conflict planning and budgeting, there should be targeted actions and sector-specific gender experts for all relevant areas, such as security sector reform and economic recovery. The Secretary-General's seven-point action plan on peacebuilding (see S/2010/466) provides detailed recommendations on that. We welcome the work done so far.

I thank you, Madam President, for this opportunity to share some of the Nordic countries' views and recommendations. We stand ready to continue to work with the Council and with the United Nations towards full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000).

During this eventful year, women have taken to the streets and squares across North Africa and the Middle East and demanded change, equality, freedom and justice alongside men. We call on the Security Council to ensure that women's voices are heard and reflected in planning, actions and results.

A year ago we made commitments to advance the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). I would like to report briefly on three areas in which the Nordic countries have concretely implemented their commitments. The first area is national action plans. All Nordic countries have established national action plans based on a holistic view of peace, security, development and human rights.

Exactly a week ago, the Security Council resolution on Yemen (resolution 2014 (2011)) called upon all concerned parties to improve women's participation in conflict resolution and encouraged them to facilitate the equal and full participation of women at decision making levels.