Peacekeeping

In 60 years of UN peacekeeping, only 7 women have held the post of Special
Representative of the Secretary-General. In terms of boots on the ground, a
measurement from April this year put the percentage of women military
personnel on UN operations at only 1.9%. Yet many militaries, including the
UK'S and other Troop and Police Contributing Countries, have a much higher

While SADC acknowledges that women and civil society organizations have been the driving
force behind our efforts and achievements, we are committed to continue to strengthen efforts to
address the challenges of peace and security for women. We therefore welcome the seriousness
with which the Security Council continues to address the question. In that connection, SADC

Resolution 1325 (2000) remains our most important guideline in enhancing the role of women in
conflict prevention and settlement, post-conflict rehabilitation and the protection of women's
rights during conflicts. We must implement the resolution's provisions by creating equal
opportunities for women to participate actively in all peacekeeping and security efforts and in

We are not suggesting the imposition of a quota for women in such processes; we want to promote
the greatest possible impact of their participation on outcomes and their implementation.
It is also essential to enhance women's participation and the consideration of women's needs in
peacebuilding and peacekeeping operations across the board. In many cases, for example, we

We recognize that the greatest share of responsibility for the implementation of the resolution lies
with Member States. Indeed, the United Nations cannot provide for greater female participation in
peacekeeping operations if Member States do not ensure that there are sufficient women
candidates for peacekeeping missions. One cannot expect the promotion of women's rights and

Despite all of those efforts by the United Nations, the African Union and individual States, we are
seriously concerned by sexual violence against women in conflict areas, whether during conflict
or in postconflict situations. Effective prevention and response, in our view, requires
comprehensive, coordinated and multidimensional long-term efforts involving all stakeholders.

The Peace Building Commission has proved that it can make a difference in
redressing inequalities and creating the conditions for sustainable development on
solid, non-discriminatory foundations. It does so through the inclusion of gender
perspectives in its Integrated Peace Building Strategies. The Commission must
continue to engage women's organizations in every phase of its work, ensuring

Other practical steps could be equally considered:- appointment of more women as SRSGs ar d Special Envoys;- inclusion of a gender component in all UN peace-keeping and politicalmissions;- establishment of structured gender expertise in the Department for Political Affairs' mediation capacities.In the same light, creating a strengthened and consolidated UN entity for women is of critical importance.

In this field, the United Nations can contribute to farther progress by, for
instance, considering how participation of woman can be better reflected in peacekeeping
missions' mandates and by providing those missions with needed
expertise and resources.

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.