Kenya expresses its deep gratitude to the Secretary General for the comprehensive report, which inter alia showcases the key sectors where tangible progress is being made in this context and identifies gaps and challenges in implementation.

Kenya condemns all forms of violence against women including sexual violence and has always "urged compliance with both humanitarian and human rights law during times of conflict. Women must be protected from violence and other atrocities during times of conflict. Additionally women must participate in rebuilding efforts, free from threats, intimidation and discrimination.

In Kenya, the newly promulgated Constitution has entrenched pertinent provisions relating to the participation of women at the highest levels. The legislature will now have 47 and 16 seats reserved for women in both the national assembly and the senate respectively, in addition to those who will be elected from the various constituencies.

In conclusion, Mr. President, I wish to reiterate my country's commitment to implementing Resolution 1325. Indeed, we are happy to report the ongoing discussions being carried out amongst stakeholders in Kenya to develop a Plan of Action for the implementation of the resolution. We support the Secretary General in his continued efforts to mainstream 1325 throughout the UN System.

While individual success stories are inspiring, women on the whole, remain marginalized in mediation roundtables with their needs and voices unheard. UNIFEM reports that in 24 peace processes over the past two decades, women formed less than 8% of negotiating teams, and were only 3% of signatories to peace agreements - a very small ratio considering that women constitute 50% ofthe world's population.

To conclude, as we go forward, let us work in a determined way to strengthen women's participation and influence in conflict prevention, social justice, coexistence, and peacebuilding efforts, in situations of closed political space and conflict-affected states. UNSCR 1350 is structured on the three main pillars of participation, protection and prevention, and is a most powerful tool for women's organizing, mobilization and action.

My delegation welcomes the development ofNational Action Plans (NAP) of several Member States, as proposed by the Secretary General, to include women in peace and security measures, and expresses concern at the lack of such plans by countries most affected by war, and urges Member States to formulate their own NAP and to develop them from best practices and lessons learned from other countries.

My delegation is committed to the vision of SCR 1325 and the subsequent resolutions to support it, and commends the United Nations, Member States and civil society, and specially the women themselves, for being the driving force for a gender perspective on peace and security issues, and working as partners with the United Nations.

My country has great expectations of the future contribution of UN Women - a newly established entity of the United Nations family, which can take the lead in revitalizing ongoing efforts to implement SCR 1325, bring about a UN system wide coherence and a greater interrelatedness of key UN and regional human rights instruments, especially focusing on women and children, which have a direct bearing on Res 1325.

Kazakhstan fully endorses the Report of the Secretary-General, "Women's participation in peacebuilding", with its steadfast commitment to accelerate progress toward increasing the number of women in peace negotiations.