Peacebuilding role of women underscored

(New York) – The urgent drive to bring women into their rightful place at the heart of building peace and security “must never stop,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told the Security Council, calling for key steps towards that goal, including holding all UN peace operations accountable for putting women and girls at the centre of their work.

“Women have a vital role to play in preventing conflict and building and maintaining peace. But although this is now widely recognised, far too often, women are prevented from full participation in peacemaking and peacebuilding,” he said during an annual open debate on women, peace and security. “We are all suffering from the effects of this deficit,” he added.

”In peace negotiations, there may be one woman at the table or in one delegation. And all this is against a backdrop of women and girls suffering inequalities that are aggravated by conflict, who are targeted for particularly brutal crimes by violent extremist groups including Daesh and Boko Haram,” he noted.

The meeting – which was also addressed by the Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka – was held ahead of the 16th anniversary of the Council’s adoption of resolution 1325 on ‘women and peace and security’ on 31 October 2000.

The resolution reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.