In Bangladesh, through our experience of nation- building and women's empowerment, we have embraced that view and developed what our Prime Minister, Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, calls a peace model.

In Bangladesh, women occupy the top political leadership posts in the country. The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees the equality of men and women within the broad framework of non-discrimination on the grounds of religion, race or gender. The Government has adopted a national policy for women's advancement and a national plan of action.

Eleven years ago, the Security Council adopted the landmark resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. Thereafter, several resolutions, such as resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009) and 1960 (2010), have been adopted to buttress the process initiated in resolution 1325 (2000). We are, however, disappointed to note that violence against women and girls continues, as detailed in various reports.

In conclusion, I would reiterate that we in Bangladesh have been making our best efforts to ensure women's empowerment and participation in all spheres of life, as we believe that educating a boy means educating a person, while in contrast, educating a girl means educating a family.

The United Nations and its Member States need to further increase the number of women in peacekeeping operations and political missions in order to ensure gender expertise in the planning of missions and in all mediation efforts, and to enhance the appointment of women to senior leadership positions.

The topic of our debate is a very timely one. Today we should acknowledge the important contribution made by women in the Arab world to bring about political transformation, and the decisive role they have played and continue to play in the quest for democracy, transparent political systems, the rule of law and the promotion and protection of human rights.

The effective representation and full involvement of women in peace processes, in transitional governments and in political life is a prerequisite for addressing their specific needs and concerns and for ensuring that their rights are adequately reflected in State structures, peace agreements, law enforcement processes, et cetera. One half of the population cannot claim to represent the other half. Women need to represent themselves.

In order to be able to guide and track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) by the United Nations system over the next 10 years, Austria very much welcomes the strategic framework contained in the latest report of the Secretary-General (S/2011/598*). The formulation of concrete medium and long-term targets is an important step.

Austria has almost finished the revision of its national action plan on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), which will be approved by the Council of Ministers by the end of this year. As for the first national action plan of 2007, civil society has been closely involved in these efforts.

As the President's concept note (S/2011/654) rightly points out, many gaps and challenges remain on the road to translating words into action and ensuring the full participation of women in all stages of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding.