My country would like to congratulate the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Margot Wallström, on her appointment and the work she is doing.

In Argentina, all selection and training procedures carried out when deploying a peacekeeping operation take into account the peacekeeper code of conduct, including issues of gender, abuse, violence and sexual exploitation, as outlined in the concepts and terms established in resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008).

I would like to conclude by reaffirming my country's unshakable commitment to combating sexual violence in situations of conflict. As a demonstration of that commitment, we were proud to join the co-sponsors of the resolution 1960 (2010), which the Council adopted yesterday.

We note the significant risks inherent in any initiative that seeks to operationalize the protection of civilians, especially in the light of the coexistence of divergent, mutually exclusive conceptual approaches to the problem and of the individual nature of each armed conflict.

The protection of civilians in the context of peacekeeping operations is one of many tasks established in Security Council mandates. It is related to other equally important tasks and its implementation is viable only within the regulatory framework that sets out the guiding principles for such operations: the consent of the parties, impartiality and the non-use of force.

Similarly, we reiterate that all humanitarian responses must be sustainable and take the development perspective into account so as to ensure the required capacity-building at the national level in this critical area.

There is a world of difference between the will of the Council and the effective implementation of protection, not only in terms of the geographic separation between Headquarters and the areas of conflict, but also because of the lack of understanding and coordination that may exist between those who establish mandates and those who implement them, given the difference between our desires and expectations here and the reality of scarce resourc

The delegation of Uruguay welcomes the significant progress that has been made since the last report of the Secretary-General (S/2009/277), which helps in various ways to improve the situation of civilian populations in armed conflict.

Similarly, we reiterate that all humanitarian responses must be sustainable and take the development perspective into account so as to ensure the required capacity-building at the national level in this critical area.

On the one hand, we should avoid the premature withdrawal of missions when we have yet to effectively stabilize the security conditions. On the other hand, we must reconcile this with the principle of the consent of the host State, which has the primary responsibility to provide such protection — a crucial aspect that constitutes one of the pillars of the legitimacy of this system and sets it apart from other alternatives.