General Women, Peace and Security

To conclude, I wish to assure the Council of the support of my Government in the full and complete implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). We welcome the fact that on 31 October the Council adopted a presidential statement on this subject (S/PRST/2012/23), under the Guatemalan presidency.

Twelve years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), Togo welcomes the ongoing ref lections begun by the United Nations on the implementation of the resolution. The importance of this process resides in the fact that it is an opportunity to take stock of the results achieved and difficulties encountered, and to contemplate strategies to be adopted in our future work.

When the situation demands it, Thai women can also be effective agents of peace, as caring peacekeepers and peacebuilders. We were pleased to see the role of female peacekeepers mentioned in several parts of the Secretary-General's report. Thailand also attaches great importance to enhancing the role and participation of women in peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations.

Thailand is a country where women have long played a role in peace and security. Today, Thai women can be found in executive and leadership positions in every area of activity, including business, education, charity, non-governmental organizations, civil society, and of course, politics. Thailand has also been active in promoting the role of women in society.

In implementing resolution 1325 (2000), Thailand established a subcommittee on women and the promotion of peace and security. A wide range of activities have been carried out, from raising awareness of women's rights to the exchange of views on legal issues aimed at ensuring equal access by women to justice and sound legal advice.

Finally, let me emphasize the necessity of the universal implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and relevant resolutions and their translation into practice. For our part, Thailand reiterates its readiness and commitment to join the efforts of the international community aimed at ensuring that the voices of women will be heard, their rights respected and protected, and their concerns and needs addressed.

Unfortunately, in the wake of the events taking place in my country today, armed terrorist groups supported, financed and armed by regional and international Arab sides, are seeking to push my country backwards and negate the social progress that Syria had achieved in terms of gender equality.

The Syrian Arab Republic has sought to develop in a qualitative fashion the lives of women, as well as to advance their status, based on international commitments and in line with the principles of our national Constitution. In so doing, we confirm the implementation of our commitment.

Syrian women in occupied Golan have not been spared repeated detention. Since the Israeli occupation in 1967, nearly 2,500 Syrian citizens have been detained in Israeli prisons, including women and children. Women who live in the occupied Golan region do not have the right to return to their country of origin; even those who are sick and require humanitarian or emergency attention are not allowed to cross the border except with a permit.

Despite all of that, Syria is continuing to deal with the challenges it faces as it seeks, specifically, to liberate the occupied Syrian territories in the Golan Heights by promoting efforts to reach a just and comprehensive peace based on the resolutions of international legitimacy in order to bring an end to the suffering of civilian Syrians resulting from Israeli occupation, in particular, Syrian women.