Peacekeeping

At this juncture, Indonesia has deployed female peacekeepers in several missions, including the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, and it is committed to increasing the number of its female peacekeepers.

As a country that places high priority on providing conditions for its citizens in which they can live freely without fear and develop, Indonesia strongly believes that the first endeavour should be to build a culture of peace and tolerance and prevent armed conflict itself.

Although I have spoken of our failure in Syria, the fight against sexual violence has also had its share of victories. First, we have put an end to silence. From a silent form of evil that was understood to be an inherent part of war, we have made sexual violence an issue affecting international peace and security.

It is of utmost importance that peacekeepers continue to be trained to enhance their capacity to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, that women protection advisers be deployed within peacekeeping and special political missions, and that ceasefire or peace agreements explicitly reflect sexual violence considerations Latvia and Estonia commend United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and the efforts of the U

Ceasefire and peace agreements should contain provisions that stipulate conflict-related sexual violence as a prohibited act in the definition of a ceasefire, and amnesty provisions must not be applicable to crimes of sexual violence.

We are already seeing progress in that area with the African Union Mission in Somalia, which already has a policy on sexual exploitation and abuse.

We also envisage a growing role for female peacekeepers in child protection and rehabilitation during and after armed conflicts. Thailand has intensified its national efforts to increase its numbers of female peacekeepers. They will be specifically trained in international law and international humanitarian law on the rights and protection of women and children.

Next Monday, 10 March, Thailand will organize a side event on increasing women's contribution to peace and security at the Japan Society here in New York. Participants from Australia, Rwanda and Indonesia will share their views and perspectives on the role of female peacekeepers. In addition, two Thai female peacekeepers will share their experiences from peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Darfur.

It is also important to mainstream child protection into peacekeeping and special political missions through the predeployment training of troops. I cannot stress enough in this regard the importance of knowing that the Security Council stands behind this. We owe it to the children affected by armed conflict and to the dedicated men and women putting their own lives at risk to ensure that the voices of these children reach our ears.

We should spare no effort to protect those who are the most vulnerable and those unable to protect themselves. Croatia firmly supports the inclusion of child protection advisers in peacekeeping operations and the organization of predeployment targeted training for child protection for peacekeepers.