General Women, Peace and Security

Before concluding my remark, let me stress that enhancing women's participation
in peace process requires sustained and long-term efforts. Indeed, eight years
since the adoption of resolution 1325, there is certainly no shortage of action
plans. It is timely, we believe to proceed beyond plan of actions. Indonesia for its
part will redouble its efforts at the national level and within the UN in pursuit of

Armed conflict is the single and most crucial factor in exacerbating the security
of women. In an age where international cooperation is closely wedded with humanitarian
international law, it is unacceptable that widespread grave violence against
women in armed conflicts continues to be perpetrated. This must be put to an end
The international community has the obligation to protect and assist women in
armed conflicts,

The Croatian national strategy for the promotion of gender equality 2006-20 10 contains several measures related to promoting the application of Security Council resolution 1325 and commitments arising from the Beijing Platform.

Croatia, as a Troop and Police Contributing Country, is fully aware of the ongoing efforts aimed at improving the implementation of the resolution 1325 and the necessity of increasing the deployment of more women in peacekeeping missions. Croatia also uses sex-disaggregated data in order to better monitor and track progress in its reports on levels of military deployments to peacekeeping operations.

Negotiation of peace agreements and postconflict reconstruction are nothing new for women, who are catalysts for national econciliation. They strengthen development efforts and are fundamental factors in the restoration of stability in societies that have suffered the ravages of war.

Costa Rica does not want to idealize or to overburden women by exaggerating their capacities in those functions. However, because of the characteristic qualities of women, we are convinced that policies of gender equality and the inclusion of women constitute very important contributions in our efforts to avoid conflicts and to resolve them when they do occur.

The adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) represents an important stage in the collective will of the international community to promote the rights and interests of women. However, it should not be regarded as an end in itself. In other words, we should not be satisfied by simple egular reviews. Only genuine political will coupled with concrete commitment to peace will make possible the achievement of the objectives of resolution 1325 (2000).

My delegation pays tribute to the pertinence of the recommendations in the Secretary-General's report regarding accelerating he full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Those that address the Security Council deserve the greatest attention, given the role this body plays in the maintenance of international peace and security.

However, significant as that progress is, it cannot mask the reality — the reality that the results of women's participation in peacekeeping and peacebuilding is far from what was expected and that many challenges, such as sexual violence of all types and impunity, remain to be met before resolution 1325 (2000) is truly and fully implemented.

The regular review of the state of implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) testifies to the interest of the Security Council and the international community in this important issue.