Peacekeeping

The presence of women in United Nations missions can foster confidence and trust among the local population, which are critical elements in any peacekeeping mission. In performing their tasks, women are perceived to be compassionate, unwilling to opt for force over reconciliation and ready to listen and learn, and they are widely seen as contributors to an environment of stability and morality that fosters the progress of peace.

It is important that the Secretary-General's reports to the Council dealing with specific conflict situations and developments in the field also incorporate gender perspectives in addressing various aspects of conflict analysis and conflict resolution.

At the same time, women are still underrepresented in decision-making with regard to conflict. Their initiatives and visions for peace and security are rarely heard during peace negotiations. In this regard, I would like to stress that women should not be viewed primarily as victims of armed conflict; the international community should use the potential of women as agents of preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

In addition to the two women directly on the peace team, Uganda facilitated women's attendance at various meetings that were held during that process. In addition, during the talks a gender adviser was seconded to the Office of the Special Envoy to LRA- Affected Areas. This was the result of collaboration between UNIFEM and the United Nations Department of Political Affairs.

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.

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.

Our national plan recognizes the specific impacts of contemporary wars on the lives of women and addresses the efforts to prevent, combat and mitigate these impacts.

There are two dimensions to this subject. The first one is women and girls as victims of violence. As the discussion in the Security Council last week again made clear (see S/PV.6195), such violence is often employed as a weapon of war. That necessitates a different way of operating in crisis management and peacekeeping.

As far as military operations are concerned, a study by Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in the provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan showed, among other things, that the effectiveness of the International Security Assistance Force in cooperating with, and winning the trust of, the Afghan population is improved if the armed forces of troop-contributing nations include more wom

Women and girls are often the primary victims of conflict and have specific needs in post-conflict situations, especially when they have been displaced, are refugees, or have been mistreated or maimed by anti-personnel landmines, as so rightly noted by Ms. Alberdi this morning. Those specific needs must be taken into account in assessing countries' requirements as they emerge permanently from conflict.