General Women, Peace and Security

I wish to conclude by echoing the Secretary- General. Effective conflict prevention is inevitably embedded in long-term investments in women's and girls' empowerment and in support for women's efforts to build peace. If we are serious about peace, we must also be serious about the rights of women and girls.

We must recognize the clear link between promoting peace and promoting equal rights for women. In too many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, women have been subjugated and denied even the most basic of rights, including the right to vote, the right to drive and even the right to control their own bodies. That mistreatment of women cannot be ignored.

Israel continues to strongly support the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and its subsequent resolutions. The Israeli Knesset, our Parliament, recognizes the importance of gender equality in peacemaking and conflict resolution. It recently enacted legislation requiring that Israeli women be included on all Government investigative committees and all Israeli peace negotiating teams.

Gender equality is enshrined in our 1948 Declaration of Independence and in the 1951 Equal Rights for Women Law. Israel was the third country in the world to elect a female Prime Minister, Golda Meir, and women in Israel today hold senior leadership positions in Government, business, law and academia. Women take an active, vibrant and visible role throughout Israeli civil society.

Finally, I have the pleasure today to announce the launch of another important publication supported by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the Handbook on Women, Peace and Security, by the NGO Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

It is evident from the Secretary-General's report that there is a substantial and expanding conceptual infrastructure dedicated to women and peace and security issues. As in so many other areas of United Nations work, the challenge is implementation, implementation, implementation. We need to ensure that fine words in New York translate into measurable and meaningful results on the ground.

In conclusion, Indonesia wishes to further underscore the fact that women should not be confined to serving only as key building blocks of and instruments for peace and security, but also have the confidence and potential to be agents of change, skillfully reshaping and rebuilding communities affected by conflict.

At the outset, please allow me to join the previous speakers in expressing the appreciation of the Government of Indonesia for the convening of this open debate on women, peace and security. I would also like to thank the Executive Director of UN-Women and the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations for their important briefings.

On this occasion, we recall the pioneering resolution of the Security Council numbered 1325, adopted in October of 2000, which deals with women, peace and security. Said resolution addresses in a specific manner the condition of women and girls in situations of armed conflict. Each year this Council has been building on the central premise of this resolution: without security for women, no durable peace can be achieved.

At the outset, let me stress that Germany unreservedly welcomes the Secretary General's report and especially his analysis, using the set of UN developed indicators. We also commend UN Women for its work leading the mainstreaming efforts within the UN system.