General Women, Peace and Security

The Republic of Korea urges Member States and the Untied Nations to take more vigorous initiatives to ensure that women are engaged in all levels of decision-making. In that regard, we commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's response to the call in resolution 1325 (2000) to increase the number of women in senior positions within the United Nations, especially in peacekeeping operations.

My delegation believes that the effective implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) largely depends on the overall capacity of the United Nations system to pursue gender equality and women's empowerment. In that regard, strengthening the gender architecture is a key element.

Mr. Kim Bonghyun (Republic of Korea): Allow me to open my statement by thanking the Vietnamese presidency of the Security Council for the concept paper distributed for this open debate (S/2009/490). My appreciation goes also to the Secretary-General for his excellent report (S/2009/465), which provides a comprehensive outlook on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), as well as sound suggestions for specific actions to take.

In conclusion, the Republic of Korea shares the expectations for the upcoming tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) in 2010. We anticipate that the anniversary will provide a new opportunity for all stakeholders to strengthen efforts to fully implement resolution 1325 (2000) to achieve real and lasting changes in the lives of women and girls.

The adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) represented a landmark in the promotion and protection of human rights. It not only brought to the attention of this organ the pressing issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women, but it also made clear that women have a role to play in conflict situations, besides that of victims, as peacemakers and peacekeepers.

Portugal reaffirms its commitment to the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). We adopted last August our national plan of action to contribute to the implementation of that document at the national, regional and international policy levels.

Nearly 10 years after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), there has obviously been enormous progress, but we must recognize that its aims have not yet been fulfilled. I encourage the Council and its members to carry on the good work in that direction.

Allow me briefly to highlight five main objectives of our plan.

We are currently conducting field consultations for a National Action Plan on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008) in various regions of the Philippines. These consultations will culminate in a national consultation in Manila on 19 October 2009.

My delegation welcomes the resolution that was just adopted by the Council. We are encouraged by, among other things, the efforts to improve the resource allocations for gender issues within the United Nations by enhancing the monitoring of spending for gender- related activities, similar to the system pioneered by the United Nations Development Programme.