This is why the attention of the Council to this issue is so important. Security Council Resolutions
1325 and 1820 address sexual violence and exploitation in conflict situations more forcefully than
ever before. Resolution 1820, in particular, requires the Secretary-General to report on specific
situations in which sexual violence has been widely or systematically employed against civilians in

The United States would like to commend Secretary-General Ban for his leadership and
commitment to increasing the number of women candidates for UN Special Representative and for
Special Envoy positions. At present, 15 of the 37 UN Senior Leadership positions are held by
women. The United States hopes that these appointments will continue to increase and that

The United Nations has made laudable steps but must do more. It is especially important to
eradicate sexual exploitation by peacekeepers. The UN must also do more to factor the issue of
women, peace, and security into development portfolios across various sectors, including health,
education, democracy and governance, and economic growth. Human trafficking, especially in

The U.S. welcomes the conclusion of the Secretary General's report, which states that the
deployment of women in the field facilitates engagement with civilians which leads to more access
to appropriate services for women and girls and lowers the incidents of sexual violence and abuse.
We also applaud efforts by nations such as Jamaica in attaining an equal number of women and men
in their UN peacekeeping contingents.

Second, we must also increase women's participation in all aspects of building peace and security.
Security Council Resolution 1820 recognizes and highlights the need for these essential
contributions, but also points out that there is not adequate participation of women in peace
negotiations and processes. The United States believes that ensuring the full participation of

Positive steps have been taken. For example, in 2006, female Foreign Ministers and other highranking
officials from around the world, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
formed the Women Leaders' Working Group. The Group works to ensure that the issues of
women's political participation, access to justice, economic empowerment, poverty reduction,

Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to address the Council on the issue of women, peace, and
security. The United States reiterates its commitment to working with others in the UN to prevent
the use of sexual violence as a tactic of warfare and to ensure the full participation of women in
peace processes and at all decision-making levels of the United Nations. Today I would like to
make two points.

Last May, the U.S. launched a public-private partnership called the “One Woman Initiative” that
focuses on women's entrepreneurship, political leadership, and the rule of law. The U.S.
Government and private donors have provided $100 million in funding, and the first grants will be
awarded this November.

First, while we have made progress, it is imperative that the United Nations do more and continue to
keep the issue of women, peace, and security in the spotlight. Rape is a crime and sexual violence
has a grievous moral and psychological impact -- damaging not just the lives of individuals and
families ... but of communities and entire societies. Through greater awareness and action,

At the same time however, we recognize that women continue to be underrepresented in peace
negotiations. As was mentioned by Ms. Taylor, according to a UNIFEM study which was released
last night: only 2.7% of signatories of 15 agreements they reviewed were women. Where
information on negotiations was available, there were no female lead negotiators; and women's