Peacekeeping

Our country therefore urges the Security Council, among other matters, to ensure that gender advisers are deployed in all peace missions and that effective mechanisms are introduced so that information concerning the situation of women and girls can be presented in a systematic manner in reports and transmitted in Security Council debates.

At the strategic level, gender awareness in the rule of law and transitional justice is crucial for women's access to justice and for the enjoyment of rights. It has a direct impact on their political and economic empowerment. A systematic follow-up to ensure the inclusion of the women, peace and security agenda in the day to day work of the Council is therefore necessary.

The report of the Secretary-General correctly points out the need for increased participation by women in United Nations peacekeeping missions. South Africa has played its role in that regard by contributing through its police deployment, a contingent made up of 16 per cent women, which, according to the Secretary- General's report, is the highest percentage of female deployment by a troop-contributing country.

For those reasons, we support the full implementation of resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1960 (2010), which insist that all peacekeeping mandates incorporate provisions that specifically identify steps to address sexual violence, including the clear identification of women's protection advisers alongside gender advisers and human rights protection units.

"At the continental level, Rwanda is among the leading the police-contributing countries, with female police and correctional officers serving in the United Nations peacebuilding and peacekeeping missions in Liberia, Haiti, the Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad. Those officers actively contribute to combating and raising awareness on violence against women in the communities they serve.

We also recognize the positive contribution of the Security Council to the rule of law, which is one of the key aspects of conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. We fully agree with the prevailing position that justice, including transitional justice, is a fundamental building block of sustainable peace in countries in conflict or post- conflict situations.

With regard to peacekeeping and peacebuilding, we also find encouraging examples of clearer political will and adequate allocation of resources aimed at increasing the proportion of women in uniformed components in operations and in national security sector institutions.

The Council has heard, on a regular basis and and directly from the ground, requests for further strengthening the implementation of protection mandates. We hope that the targets set by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of 20 per cent for female police participation in peacekeeping operations by 2014 will be attained.

Pakistan fully supports the objectives of the agenda on women and peace and security. We have played an important role in advancing those goals as a major participant in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Pakistani women peacekeepers have served as police officers, doctors and nurses in missions in Asia, Africa and the Balkans. Gender sensitization is a mandatory part of our peacekeepers' training.

In spite of those accomplishments, we believe that considerable work still needs to be done to overcome the challenges posed by a lack of implementation of commitments on women and peace and security. A nexus must be created among women's participation, security and the core work of United Nations peacekeeping operations — often overlooked when gender-specific information is provided to the Council.