General Women, Peace and Security

At the Security Council debate last week (S/PV.6980), the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict announced the launch of a campaign to galvanize concerned Governments, interested Member States and the United Nations system to end the recruitment and use of children by State forces in armed conflict by 2016. Do we dare to challenge ourselves in a similar fashion and to raise the level of our ambition?

Thirteen years ago, resolution 1325 (2000) highlighted the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women and children, and the need for effective institutional arrangements to guarantee their protection and the full participation of women in peace processes. That resolution also contained several detailed recommendations on how to deal with various aspects of this issue.

The resolution of conflict situations requires the adoption of a sustainable and holistic approach to conflict resolution and the overall reconstruction of impacted societies. In our view, gender equality and women's empowerment are integral to the pursuit of this objective. The participation of women in peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction efforts is imperative for laying the foundation for durable peace.

In conclusion, I wish to underscore that, in addition to the indescribable savagery of sexual violence that has been addressed here, it is also important to recall the tragic observation made recently by the World Health Organization that one in every three women worldwide has been subjected to domestic or sexual violence. No region has been spared from the violence.

I am extremely concerned by the humanitarian tragedy affecting Syrian women. Women have played a leading role in peaceful demonstrations; they have mobilized on the ground to rebuild a new Syria and to play an important role within the Syrian National Coalition. They represent a key element of the solution that we must urgently seek for the country.

The European Union continues to implement its dedicated policy on women and peace and security, as well as to support initiatives to strengthen international criminal justice and the rule of law. The EU now has gender advisers and/or human rights focal points in each of its crisis management missions and operations.

To measure the impact of the Gender Policy with indicators, the Ministry of Defence has a computerized system for monitoring human rights, gender equality and intercultural matters.

The Ecuadorian Constitution defines our country as a territory of peace. Likewise, as a member of the Union of South American Nations, we have set out to build a region of peace where the peaceful resolution of disputes is promoted. We believe that this approach is fundamental to avoiding conflict.

It is crucial to bear in mind that the participation of women on an equal footing with men is indispensible for achieving peace. The State of Ecuador has incorporated the gender perspective into its National Plan for Good Living, but also has a national plan for the eradication of gender-based violence, which was established as State policy in 2007.

Women are often victims of armed conflict, but they can also play a central role in preventing and resolving violent conf licts, as actors in conf lict resolution and peacebuilding. The continued high incidence of horrific sexual violence against women and girls in conflicts demands the international community's attention as a human rights matter and as a question of ensuring respect for international humanitarian law.