Security Council Presidential Statement: PRST: Women's Role in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security

The Security Council reaffirms its commitment to the full and effective implementation of Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security and recalls the relevant statements of its President as reiterating that commitment.

The Security Council recalls the 2005 World Summit Outcome (A/Res/60/1), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (A/52/231), the outcome document of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century" (A/S-23/10/Rev 1), and the Declaration of the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women (E/CN.6/2005/11).

The Security Council reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peacebuilding, and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution.

The Security Council urges Member States to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.

The Security Council urges the Secretary-General to continue to appoint more women as special representatives and envoys to pursue good offices on his behalf, and in this regard calls on Member States to provide candidates to the Secretary-General, for inclusion in a regularly updated centralized roster.

The Security Council recognizes that the protection and empowerment of women and support for their networks and initiatives are essential in the consolidation of peace to promote the equal and full participation of women and to improve their security and, encourages Member States, donors, and civil society to provide support in this respect.

The Security Council recognizes that an understanding of the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, effective institutional arrangements to guarantee their protection and full participation in the peace process can significantly contribute to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security.

The Security Council recognizes the urgent need to intensify efforts to mainstream a gender perspective into peacekeeping operations, and in this regard takes note of the Windhoek Declaration and the Namibia Plan of Action on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Multidimensional Peace Support Operations (S/2000/693).

The Security Council urges the Secretary-General to expand the role and contribution of women in the United Nations field-based operations, including at the decision-making level, and especially among military observers, civilian police, human rights and humanitarian personnel.

The Security Council emphasizes the need for the inclusion of gender components, where appropriate, in peacekeeping operations and welcomes United Nations peacekeeping operations policies to promote and protect the rights of women and to take into account a gender perspective as set out in resolution 1325.

The Security Council reaffirms also the need to implement fully international human rights and humanitarian law including the four Geneva Conventions that protect the rights of women and girls during and after conflicts.

The Security Council remains deeply concerned by the pervasiveness of all forms of violence against women and girls in armed conflict, including killing, maiming, grave sexual violence, abductions and trafficking in persons. The Council reiterates its utmost condemnation of such practices and calls on all parties to armed conflict to take specific measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and all other forms of violence in situations of armed conflict.

The Security Council stresses the need to end impunity for acts of gender-based violence in situations of armed conflict and emphasizes the responsibility of all States to put an end to impunity and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes including those relating to sexual and other violence against women and girls, and in this regard stresses the need to exclude these crimes, where feasible from amnesty provisions.

The Security Council requests the Secretary-General to ensure that disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes take specific account of the situation of women and girls associated with armed forces and armed groups, as well as their children, and provide for their full access to these programmes.

The Security Council reiterates its call to Member States to continue to implement resolution 1325 (2000), including through the development and implementation of national action plans or other national level strategies.

The Council recognizes the important contribution of civil society to the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) and encourages Member States to continue to collaborate with civil society, in particular with local women's networks and organizations in order to strengthen its implementation.

The Security Council decides to remain actively seized of the matter and expresses its commitment to the full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000).

Issued by: The Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001

07 March 2007