General Women, Peace and Security

Delegates from Asian countries gathered in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss how best to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

It is a special pleasure for me to be here today with all of you. I want to add my welcome to this extraordinary gathering of women leaders from across Asia. We at the U.S. Department of State are proud to be a partner in this enterprise. Today I hold a new position in my government-one that demonstrates the U.S. Government's commitment to incorporating women's issues into our country's foreign policy.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women this morning opened its forty-seventh session, hearing a statement from Ibrahim Salama, Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and adopting its agenda and organization of work for the session.

The planting of a Peace Tree, a sketch, talks on peace education, and other activities crowned the event chaired by Njika Joseph.

Delegates from Asian countries gathered in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss how best to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet spoke at the UN General Assembly conference dedicated to conflict zones and alleviating the situations of the women in them. Speaking at the conference along with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Finnish Minister Elisabet Rehn, and many other ministers, Paet emphasised that in order to improve the situation of women in conflict zones, increased attention and support will be required first.

On the International Day of Peace, the United Nations Development fund for Woman (UNIFEM) organized a press conference at Hotel Betsy on September 21. The Belgian Senator Madam Dominique Tilmans along with the representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijan woman NGOs discussed ways of peacefully resolving the Karabakh conflict.

HARARE – Esther Masvikeni (not her real name) is 17 years old but looks twice her age and has just found out that she is HIV-positive. She was raped in April by her former boyfriend who was her sister's neighbour at the time. (Pictured: A mother and her young daughter – Research shows that 57 percent of the poorest 20 percent of Zimbabwean girls have a higher likelihood of marrying before turning 18 years.)

"We embrace peace because we want to secure our future"

Kurdistan's activists embraced as messengers of peace to the Region, Iraq, and the rest of the Middle East.