That long-term perspective is crucial, as guarding against a relapse into conflict preserves the gains from development, which are frequently among the first casualties of war. Indeed, the complementarity between security and development can also lead to more efficient deployment of efforts and resources towards achieving development and security.
The United Nations post-conflict presence must help to develop national strategies targeting such key priorities as the promotion of women's rights, youth employment, the protection of vulnerable social groups, the establishment of the rule of law and the strengthening of State institutions.
The adoption of any type of security approach to a conflict must be preceded by a thorough analysis of its root causes. In that way, efforts can be made in close coordination with all stakeholders, including women, to enable a country to emerge from crisis and foster its development. In that context, we must not fail to include the management of a country's natural resources or issues related to land rights.
Development is a key component in conflict prevention, post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding. Peace cannot be sustained without job creation, equitable ownership of assets, empowerment of women and adequate allocation of resources.
It is therefore obvious that the Council must pay attention to the resolutions of the General Assembly and its six Committees on relevant security issues.
The third area concerns women's empowerment. Women are the key to development and security. The international community has just commemorated the tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) and established UN Women. The international community should make a concerted effort to maximize the current political momentum so as to bring more attention to the role of women.
In that regard, Japan welcomes the recommendations put forward in the recently released impact study on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security in peacekeeping. One practical way in which we can make a difference is to increase the number of female military and police officers joining peacekeeping missions.
Every conflict is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all-approach. In some cases climate change may be a serious obstacle to development, and thus may become a major cause of conflict. In other cases other factors may be more decisive. In all stages of the process of building peace, signing peace agreements and introducing development programmes we need a stronger role for women and greater protection of children and their rights.
Almost 10 years ago, the United Nations Development Programme's first Arab Human Development Report identified three major obstacles to development in the Arab world: first, a lack of political participation, second, shortcomings in the education system, and third, disadvantages for women in society, the economy and politics. Those conclusions are still valid today.
