We have seen some improvements in the capacity of women at the local level to engage in peace processes that affect them. For its part, Australia continues to be active in this field. We have supported women who are themselves mobilising in the Solomon Islands, Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and elsewhere to end conflict and foster peace and reconciliation in their own communities.

This tenth anniversary of resolution 1325 provides an opportunity to take stock of what we have done well over the last decade and to look forward and see what more can be done, and how it can be done better.

The recent mass rapes in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo highlight the challenges still faced in ensuring that sexual violence in conflict is addressed comprehensively throughout the entire UN system - particularly as part of UN peacekeeping operations. There remains a gap between our collective expectations on what the UN system should be able to do and the actual capacity of peacekeepers on the ground.

The last year witnessed a rapid rise in our collective will to address sexual violence in conflict. Resolution 1888 broke important new ground in this regard. We welcome the appointment of Margot Wallstrom as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict.

The establishment of UN Women provides real opportunities to move forward on women, peace and security. We commend Ms Bachelet's commitment towards this goal and stand ready to support her. Effective and tailored' in-country programmes', formulated on the basis of data analysed against the global indicators, will be essential.

Our resolve to take effective action on women, peace and security must not end with this tenth anniversary. We have not reached the end of the road. Australia looks forward to continuing discussions with others on how best to improve our collective response to this issue.

Despite the achievements of the last decade, there is widespread recognition that much more remains to be done to realise the promise of resolution 1325. Ten years on, gaps still remain. Resolution 1325 still needs to be addressed in a comprehensive and strategic way.

Australia was pleased to support the joint 'Analytical Inventory' developed by DPKO and UNIFEM, under the auspices of the inter-agency network UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict. This is a key tool for the UN to use in improving its ability to protect civilians from sexual violence in conflict as part of peacekeeping operations.

Australia remains committed to ensuring the protection and empowerment of women in conflict situations and has been a supporter of resolution 1325 since its adoption in 2000. Women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of conflict, but can be powerful in ending it. Durable peace requires the specific needs of women and girls to be addressed. Women must be recognised as powerful agents of peace.

Although many activities have been undertaken in this field over the last ten years, a comprehensive analysis on the impact of these initiatives is yet to be conducted. To do so will require data. That data will need to be assessed against reliable and relevant indicators to assess results, determine the impact as well as identify best practices and lessons learned. That must then form the basis for new and effective policy responses.