YouSaid · the spoken record

Bassols Delgado

lines on the record: 62
first: 2018-04-16
most recent: 2022-07-19
sittings or episodes: 9
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“With this contribution, Spain also wishes to convey its commitment to the mandate of the Special Representative and especially to the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, which is a mechanism that allows for investigating facts and documenting grave violations against children with independence, impartiality and credibility. It should be a model and an example for future United Nations mechanisms investigating violations of international humanitarian law. That is why Spain considers it essential that the results of this Mechanism be adequately reflected in the annual reports. It is one of the best instruments available to the Secretary-General to enforce international law, influence the conduct of parties to conflict, including non-State actors, protect children and prevent the six grave violations against them.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The report of the Secretary-General clearly indicates that parties to armed conflicts must commit to handing over child soldiers and prisoners to associations in charge of their protection. For Spain, the protection and redress of victims’ rights is fundamental. We recently made a voluntary contribution of €150,000 to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary- General to enable it to strengthen the mechanisms for reintegrating child soldiers, guarantee their rights and ensure their participation in the design of reintegration plans and programmes.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Secondly, with respect to health, the protection of children’s health is a basic right, and attacks against their health are a very serious violation committed against children. Spain calls on all parties to armed conflict to comply with international humanitarian law and with the substance of resolution 2286 (2016). Finally, in relation to the protection of victims, it is essential that peace operations improve and expand the mandates for the protection of children. The Security Council and its members have the opportunity to enhance protection mandates, including by appointing protection advisors and expert teams. Council members can count on Spain’s support for this essential work. Spain welcomes action plans and dialogue with State and non-State actors to prevent and reduce grave violations.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Resolution 2601 (2021) was an important step forward in this area. Let us not forget that. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all States that have not yet done so to sign the Declaration, but I would especially like to invite all Member States that sponsored resolution 2601 (2021) but have not yet signed it to do so. To those countries that, like Spain, have signed the Declaration, I would like to convey our support for working together on its implementation. We hope and wish that the Transforming Education summit that the Secretary-General has convened for 19 September will be instrumental in strengthening the humanitarian protection of schools, children and teachers at the highest level.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“First, with regard to education, of particular concern is the fact that 50 per cent of refugee and displaced girls who were forced to leave schools during the pandemic or who are forced to leave schools in conflict situations, will never return to school. Many of these girls face, inter alia, early marriage and pregnancy, trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence. Access to safe education is the best way to ensure the protection and future opportunities of children in complex emergencies and situations of armed conflict. Spain has signed the Safe Schools Declaration and its guidelines. Following the holding of the third and fourth Safe Schools Conferences, in Spain and Nigeria, respectively, we convene an annual virtual seminar on the implementation of the Declaration, which is open to the States that have subscribed to it.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The international community as a whole must — we must all — work urgently and in a coordinated manner to ensure safe, rapid and uninterrupted humanitarian access to children. The coronavirus disease pandemic has unleashed very real and very negative consequences that have affected millions of children around the world. Their access to safe education has been hampered; essential protection, vaccination, nutrition and food services have been disrupted; and the risks of violations of their rights have increased, including the six grave violations documented in the report of the Secretary-General. Allow me to share a few brief reflections related to three areas that directly affect children in conflict situations.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): I wish at the outset to thank Brazil for having convened this open debate and the Secretary-General for his report (S/20220/493), which has served as a basis for our discussions. I also wish to thank Special Representative Virginia Gamba de Potgieter and her entire Office for the tireless work that they do on all aspects of the children and armed conflict agenda. Spain aligns itself with the statement made on behalf of the European Union. In the past 10 years, it has become progressively more difficult to access children to protect them. Today this access is more difficult than ever. The Secretary-General himself acknowledges in his report that this cannot go on.”
2022-07-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9096Resumption1 (2022) · source
“You, Madam President, can always count on us to ensure that every day the enormous gap is reduced between what has been achieved on paper in the resolutions and its real and effective implementation on the ground.”
2022-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9064Resumption1 (2022) · source
“It was then proposed that the funds be managed through the ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development. The programmes to which they will be allocated are already being identified. Part of the funding will go to the projects of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) Women’s Platform, which aims to facilitate the mainstreaming of a gender-based approach and the priorities of women and girls into the initiatives and activities of the G-5 Sahel, thereby contributing to the development and stability of the region. ECOWAS’s support in programme development and implementation will undoubtedly help ensure that the work of those women has a real and significant impact on the ground. Spain wishes to express its continued support and firm commitment to the women and peace and security agenda.”
2022-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9064Resumption1 (2022) · source
“For Spain, cooperation at the multilateral level serves as a catalyst to effectively support the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda, in particular at the local level. It seems more important and necessary today than ever before to translate the agenda into concrete and effective programmes. I would like to highlight today, by way of example, the cooperation and excellent relations between Spain and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an organization that brings together, among other countries, the countries of the Western Sahel, in which the women and peace and security agenda is of paramount importance. In December 2021, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Spain signed a memorandum of understanding with ECOWAS on cooperation in the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda.”
2022-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9064Resumption1 (2022) · source
“There will be no lasting peace if the rights of women and girls are not included into the political framework for peace. Those principles are clearly reflected in resolution 1325 (2000) and the important Commitment 2025, launched by Finland and Spain at Headquarters in 2019. We all know that peace processes that are inclusive and ensure women’s participation and leadership always yield results that are more stable and sustainable. Spain understands that international regional organizations are key agents for a better dialogue with civil society in their member countries, as they have the knowledge, experience and human capital necessary to ensure greater effectiveness of the programmes and public policies related to the women and peace and security agenda.”
2022-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9064Resumption1 (2022) · source
“We must empower women in times of peace so that their vulnerability is less in times of violence. We must empower women peacebuilders, women mediators, women journalists, women politicians, women human rights defenders and women working on humanitarian projects to contribute to the establishment of fundamental political frameworks for peace and prosperity in their countries. The implementation of the women and peace and security agenda requires, in addition to the development of a gender dimension in peace operations, the important commitment of civil society as a key actor to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in mediation and peace negotiation processes. There will be no lasting solution to any conflict if women are not involved in the peace negotiations.”
2022-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9064Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): Spain is very grateful for the convening of this open debate on women and peace and security, which is an integral part of Spain’s feminist foreign policy. At the same time, it is a cross-cutting and crucial dimension of the work of the Security Council, with which we share the goal of promoting women’s participation in peace processes. The seizure of power by force through coups d’état, wherever it happens in the world, is generally compounded by a deterioration in respect for human rights, which affects women and children in particular. The protracted use of force exponentially increases the risk of sexual violence, as we have unfortunately seen many times; respect for that nexus is therefore more necessary than ever.”
2022-06-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9064Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Spain encourages the Security Council to use the instruments at its disposal, including the referral of reports of war crimes and crimes against humanity to the International Criminal Court for investigation and eventual judgment.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Fourthly and lastly, turning to humanitarian access and the protection of humanitarian workers, Spain supports principled humanitarian action. We urge all parties to armed conflicts to respect rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. Health-care workers should not be exposed to risk when protecting and assisting vulnerable populations. I wish to take this opportunity to thank humanitarian workers for their tireless efforts to bring humanity into devastated areas. We have a mature legal framework for the protection of rights, as well as a shared protection agenda. The real challenge is in the implementation. National and international courts must be a real instrument of implementation, providing effective prevention against and condemnation of attacks on the civilian population.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Thirdly, turning to the protection of the rights of women and girls, in particular the fight against sexual and gender-based violence, Spain has allocated a very high percentage of its humanitarian budget for Ukraine to gender programmes, in collaboration with UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UN-Women. Unfortunately, sexual violence as a tactic of war and a form of torture and repression is still used today. There are no verifiable statistics on such violations due to the stigma related to that act of aggression itself. A shift in focus is therefore necessary, because sexual assaults exist even where there are no complaints. We must be proactive in protecting women and girls.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Secondly, turning to the protection of education, we must work together to prevent attacks on educational facilities and their use for military purposes. Such attacks increased by 20 per cent in 2021. The Safe Schools Declaration and its guidelines, together with Security Council resolution 2601 (2021), are essential to protecting a specific sector of the civilian population — boys and girls. Attacks on schools and universities have also had a significant gender impact. Girls and teachers continue to be at increased risk of having their rights violated.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“First is the protection of health in armed conflict. Just yesterday we attended the presentation of the report entitled Unrelenting Violence: Violence Against Health Care in Conflict 2021, which offered devastating data on attacks and destruction of health systems around the world. Three quarters of Tigray’s health facilities have been destroyed. The public health system in Myanmar collapsed in the first quarter of 2021. Since February, Russia has been attacking hospitals, ambulances and clinics. The World Health Organization has confirmed 200 Russian attacks. All of that took place in a year when health was compromised by the coronavirus disease pandemic. Spain therefore urges all parties to conflicts to comply with resolution 2286 (2016).”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“It is therefore essential to demand respect for human rights, the rights of refugees and international humanitarian law. When those are seriously violated, we must strengthen investigation and accountability mechanisms. Spain is a staunch supporter of the fight against impunity. There can be no sustainable peace over time without justice and without respect for human rights and the international obligations of international law, including international humanitarian law. Spain has supported the request for an investigation by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the establishment of a Human Rights Council commission of inquiry into violations committed during Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. I would like to briefly mention four of Spain’s priorities for the protection of civilians agenda.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“In accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations and the Security Council must implement the triple nexus in the initiatives they adopt to prevent cycles of violence, reduce their impact and scale, and limit the time frame in which they are developed, in addition to protecting civilians, especially women and girls, young children, the elderly and people with disabilities. The illegal and unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which Spain firmly condemns, has once again demonstrated the enormous vulnerability of the civilian population. It has also made clear that disinformation and misinformation violate the rights of a civilian population that is also dealing with a denial of those same violations.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): At the outset I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for organizing today’s meeting. Spain aligns itself with the statement made earlier on behalf of the European Union. Last year, 11,075 civilians died in 12 conflicts around the world. That figure represents an increase of 17 per cent from 2020, although the unverified figures are much higher. We are witnessing a proliferation of conflicts, of violence against civilians as well as other forms of violence, and that has resulted in escalating levels of vulnerability for millions of people in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Myanmar, and now Ukraine.”
2022-05-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9042Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Food insecurity continues to be used as a weapon of war in conflicts, despite it being a violation of the basic rules of international humanitarian law. Conflict-induced famine deepens vulnerabilities and entrenches the cycle of violence, as recognized in resolution 2417 (2018). Spain supports the collection of reliable and impartial data to provide the necessary evidence for the proper implementation and enforcement of that resolution. Finally, it is crucial to hold accountable those who violate international norms, not only as a means of prevention and pressure, but above all because of the need to repair the damage caused to the victims.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“So too is the strengthening of global governance of the crisis and the coordination of responses through the Committee on World Food Security. The international community has the tools to reverse these trends. Let us use them. Let us agree on global solutions. Let us immediately support small producers and family farming using the instruments of the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Let us promote efficiency and innovation in the use of agricultural products. Let us work on transforming food systems to make them more sustainable, inclusive, resilient to climate impacts and less dependent on fertilizers. Food insecurity and conflict represent a vicious cycle, in which the former exacerbates the latter and the latter, in turn, causes the former.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“In 2021, Spain’s humanitarian action allocated more than €15 million to food needs in contexts such as the Sahel, Syria, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Sahrawi refugee camps, in support of the World Food Programme, Action Against Hunger and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The triple crisis — food, energy and finance — has resulted in a “perfect storm” that requires coordination among the humanitarian, development, peace and security pillars. The Global Crisis Response Group can do a great deal in this area. We must act quickly, with emergency interventions that contribute to peace and preserve the structural work of strengthening the agricultural sector of the least developed countries. Coordination with the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, among others, is essential.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The number of food-insecure people has quadrupled in three years. Ethiopia’s Tigray area, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, among others, are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity due to armed conflict and violence. Humanitarian action in response to the food crisis must be based on the principles of neutrality, independence, impartiality and humanity, without political conditions. In that regard, allow me to recall the need to renew the cross-border assistance mechanism in Syria to alleviate the acute food needs of the population in the north-west of that country. Let us give priority to cooperation projects linked to food security and livelihoods.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“This is vital for developing countries, particularly those that are 50 to 75 per cent dependent on grain imports from Ukraine and Russia — especially when the Food and Agriculture Organization’s forecasts point to additional future food price increases of between 8 per cent and 22 per cent. Preventing speculative measures and a resurgence of protectionism, as well as ensuring an effective multilateral response to food insecurity, must therefore be a priority for all of us. Famine is a humanitarian tragedy of the first order that recalls times we thought we had left behind. A new crisis should not divert essential contributions from other forgotten and prolonged crises. Food insecurity causes social and economic tensions that increase humanitarian needs. The case of the Sahel is paradigmatic.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Russia’s recent war of aggression in Ukraine has exacerbated pre-existing crises and has provoked an increase in grain, oil and fertilizer prices. These essential Ukrainian products are of vital importance to third countries. Spain once again condemns, in the strongest terms, this unjustified aggression. Russia’s actions are damaging the international order, security and the global economy. It is a priority to facilitate the export of Ukrainian agricultural products and support the Ukrainian economy in order to help stabilize the international agricultural market, and thus global food security.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): Spain aligns itself with the statement made on behalf of the European Union. At the beginning of 2022, the world was facing multiple crises that made it difficult to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goal 2, on zero hunger. The coronavirus disease pandemic exposed structural deficiencies in the global food system and pushed 161 million people into extreme poverty. Distortions in supply chains, increased demand for raw materials and increased public spending triggered a worldwide price spike. That is coupled with major local and regional crises such as prolonged droughts, desert locust plagues, increased violence and terrorism and conflicts.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036Resumption1 (2022) · source
“In that regard, it is essential for Spain to support the implementation of the Safe Schools Declaration. My country therefore calls on all parties to the conflict to prevent sexual and gender-based violence on the way to and from schools and educational institutions. Finally, although Afghanistan is no longer at war, we would like to take this opportunity to denounce the gender apartheid that Afghan women and girls still suffer in this country and to continue to express our support and solidarity. Combating sexual violence is a priority in Spain’s feminist foreign policy, which makes gender equality and the rights of all women and girls a central objective of all its actions. We hope that our actions will contribute to this important work.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“With regard to Ukraine, we demand that Russia immediately cease its military aggression, withdraw all troops from the entire Ukrainian territory and respect its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as pursuant to General Assembly resolution A/ES- 11/1 of 2 March. We condemn in the strongest terms the crimes committed in Bucha and all cases of sexual violence that are coming to light in the war imposed on Ukraine by the Russian Federation, regardless of who the perpetrators are. We would like to emphasize the urgency of sending experts with gender training to investigate incidents of sexual violence in the country, as well as the need to create safe environments in transit and destination countries in order to prevent the trafficking of women and children fleeing the war and to protect the victims.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“The lack of solid institutions in countries in conflict leads to significant weaknesses in the mechanisms and public networks for the protection of victims of sexual violence, the inability to address complaints and protect victims and significant impediments to the effective investigation and prosecution of such crimes. For that reason, Spain understands the critical importance of supporting civil society organizations, in particular women’s organizations, which play a critical role in disseminating information on prevention, protection and access to services so as to assist women and girl survivors of sexual violence and gathering evidence to combat impunity and demand accountability.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Spain believes that we must prioritize the inclusion of sexual violence as an independent criterion for the imposition of targeted United Nations sanctions and the deployment of protection advisers for the prevention and early warning of sexual violence in all conflict situations. Gender equality, the promotion of human rights and the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in their societies are the pillars of any prevention strategy, as the fight against sexual violence is also linked to the dismantling of patterns of gender inequality and discrimination prior to the outbreak of any armed conflict. We also want to shine a light on the stigmas associated with sexual violence and their consequences for the victims.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Today more than ever, it is still necessary to shine a light on conflict-related sexual violence. Almost 15 years ago, resolution 1820 (2008) declared conflict- related sexual violence a peace and security problem in its own right. The three subsequent resolutions focusing on that human rights violation and today’s open debate are a testament to how much remains to be done and to the urgency of finding answers for the prevention and condemnation of an expanding tactic of warfare shielded by impunity. Accountability as a preventive and reactive instrument must become an effective tool to combat the impunity with which State and non-State actors commit these crimes against humanity.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): Spain aligns itself with the statements delivered earlier today on behalf of the European Union and the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security (see S/PV.9016), as well as with the statement to be delivered on behalf of the United Nations LGBTI Core Group. We take note of the Secretary-General’s report (S/2022/272) and endorses its content. Spain will also continue to support the mandate of Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. We are observing how — in contexts affected by armed conflict, such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, Syria, Yemen or Ukraine — the blatant use of rape as a weapon of war has once again become evident.”
2022-04-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9016Resumption1 (2022) · source
“We will engage at the national level, we will cooperate with those who wish to cooperate and we will share the lessons learned to the benefit of peace.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649Resumption2 (2019) · source
“The 87 participants agreed that it is essential to forge synergies between the safe schools agenda and the women and peace and security agenda. I encourage other States represented here to adopt the Safe Schools Declaration as an instrument to prevent attacks on access to education. Today's debate is the last major event on this issue in this forum before 2020, when we will commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). There is still a long way to go. There are still rights to be defended in the face of attacks and even in the face of inaction. Spain will remain heavily involved in pursuing a change that guarantees genuine equality in the exercise of women's rights and in their participation in all decision-making and peacebuilding processes.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649Resumption2 (2019) · source
“The implementation of the women and peace and security agenda crucially requires regional, national and local policies. Therefore, strategic instruments such as national action plans represent a fundamental mechanism. Spain is currently reviewing its second action plan. From the lessons learned through its implementation, we hope to glean a set ofgood practices to share with all Member States and the Organization. We are facing a challenge that requires a transformative and sustained effort over time. Before I conclude, allow me to refer to education - a fundamental tool for the political, economic and social empowerment of women. Spain this year hosted the third International Conference on Safe Schools, which, among other issues, addressed the impact of attacks against education on women and girls.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649Resumption2 (2019) · source
“Therefore, Spain and Finland jointly launched the Commitment 2025 initiative in September. It contains concrete and ambitious commitments to accelerating the effective participation of women in peace and mediation processes. Our aim is to submit, in 2022, a follow-up report on our commitments, in line with the Secretary-General's recommendations, in order to reduce the rift between rhetoric and reality. In brief, we are seeking very concrete results to ensure that we move forward. Through the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network - a Spanish initiative in operation since 2016 - 11 countries have so far joined the 2025 Commitment, while others are expected to do so soon. All States Members of the United Nations are invited to join.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649Resumption2 (2019) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): The women and peace and security agenda has been and remains a priority for Spain. We are committed to advancing towards a sustainable peace, convinced of the fact that a lasting peace will be possible only with the effective participation and leadership of women. We have made progress on this matter since the year 2000. However, data and the recent report of the Secretary-General (S/2019/800) both concur in indicating that we are still far from the full and effective implementation of this agenda. Secretary-General Guterres refers in his report to the "stark contrast between rhetoric and reality" (ibid., para. 5) on this issue. Much remains to be done. If we really want to ensure progress, we are obliged to take concrete and measurable steps.”
2019-11-04 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649Resumption2 (2019) · source
“We fully support its implementation and its approach. That framework provides us with an exceptional opportunity to give renewed impetus to the full participation of women in peace missions. I reaffirm that this will continue to be the objective of my Government, both nationally and internationally.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“Only in that way will we be able to overcome inertia and allow the full participation of women in peacekeeping operations at all levels, including in decision-making. To that end, we must continue responding to some specific challenges, for example, taking the realities and particular needs of women into account, adapting rotation periods and respecting the personal, work and life balance. To conclude, this is a medium- and long-term effort. When we updated resolution 1325 (2000) in 2015, we realized that we had a very rich body of knowledge, but we also saw that, in practice, we had made little progress. It has been four years since then. The necessary and timely reform of the peace and security pillar must put into practice the Secretary-General's vision of a more efficient peacekeeping action.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“We are aware that the women and peace and security agenda is not a question of quotas or numbers. It is a question of presence, participation and level of responsibility. Those factors have as much, or more, importance as the figures. In any event, we are aware that we must continue working towards improving that aspect of our public policies. Our commitment to the women and peace and security agenda ensures in law the full equality of access and treatment of women in the armed forces. Even so, obstacles persist. They are not of a political or legal dimension; many are within the social realm. The earliest inclusions of women in the armed forces and peacekeeping operations required a gradual transformation. That progressive adaptation must also occur now in order to continue suppressing sociological, educational or financial barriers.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“We also participate in the European Union project in leadership, discipline and military training in the area of gender Within the framework of that project, Spain has assumed European leadership for training activities and discipline for military personnel deployed in missions outside of the European Union. There is still much to do. Although the number of women in our armies and in the navy is higher than the European average, it is still low. It also remains below the percentage of women deployed in peacekeeping operations in which Spain participates. Although there are almost 15,000 women in our armed forces, they represent only 12.7 per cent of all troops. The percentage is slightly lower for our participation in missions abroad; only 8 per cent of the 2,835 soldiers that Spain deploys outside its borders today are women.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“There are some experiences and good practices that I would like to share with the Council. The Spanish system envisages the access of women to combat positions, in total equality with men. Our system is fully egalitarian and advanced because it allows women to choose any position, level and destination, without quotas or ceilings of any kind. We also have a permanent body in the Ministry of Defence - the Gender Equality Observatory - that continuously monitors the situation within the Spanish armed forces. We actively participate in various initiatives to promote gender issues and their mainstreaming in the area of peace missions. I would like to mention two examples. We are participating in the Spanish-Dutch initiative to provide courses to civil and military personnel for the training of gender advisers.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“We were the third country in the world to draft a national plan of action for the implementation of the agenda, and we are successfully implementing a zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse and exploitation, supplemented by a policy of specialized training in this area. Spain has firmly incorporated the women and peace and security agenda into its foreign policy, and we continue to promote the participation of women in peace missions within the scope of the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and NATO. Women began to gain access to military careers in Spain in 1988, more than 30 years ago. Since then, the gender perspective has been gradually integrated into our armed forces until formal equality was reached in 1999 and full equal equality in 2007.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“We are pleased to see that the recommendations that we made to the Secretariat - such as the deployment of gender advisers in all the missions, better coordination between the Secretariat and UN-Women and the holding of regular consultations between those responsible for the various missions and women's civil society organizations - have been implemented. Since then, Spain has continued to make progress with respect to the agenda. In 2016, we established, in collaboration with the United Kingdom, an informal group of experts of the Security Council to follow-up on the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda in every peacekeeping operation.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“Ms. Bassols Delgado (Spain) (spoke in Spanish): I want to begin by thanking the German presidency for having organized this extremely timely open debate. For Spain, the women and peace and security agenda is not a routine matter in the work of the Council. It is quite the opposite. Ensuring the full participation of women in peace operations is a collective, complex and multidimensional responsibility that concerns the entire international community. Spain is one ofthe countries most firmly committed to the women and peace and security agenda. It was under our presidency of the Council that resolution 2242 (2015), updating the historic resolution 1325 (2000) was adopted.”
2019-04-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8508 (2019) · source
“Those are the concrete and fundamental ideas and measures of Spain and Finland's Commitment 2025, which, as I have mentioned, we will present to and share with the rest of the Members in the coming weeks. That commitment will enable us to return to the fundamentals of resolution 1325 (2000) and commemorate its twentieth anniversary. At the same time, it will also enable us to move forward with definite, determined and concrete steps in the work of ensuring the real and effective participation of women in all peace processes.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Next spring, Spain will organize the third International Conference on Safe Schools within the framework of the 2015 Safe Schools Declaration initiated by Argentina and Norway. The Conference will have a special focus on the gender approach in access to education in armed conflicts. That will require an analysis on specific attacks on the access to education of women of all ages, including sexual and gender-based violence. We are convinced that women's access to all levels of education - primary, secondary and university - is a key enabler of women's full participation in peace processes; political, economic and social empowerment; and full enjoyment of human rights.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“We require international and regional organizations systematic to progress towards the full participation of women in peace processes and negotiations, including the sharing of lessons and best practices, as well as the appointment by the United Nations of gender advisers for women and peace and security. We will commit to supporting the work of the Women Mediators Networks and the Group of Friends of Mediation to ensure that their efforts are taken into account in peace processes and negotiations. We will also commit ourselves to promoting the rights of girls and women as a key element in identifying responses to extremism and terrorism. We will consider providing multi-year funding to support women's organizations in conflict-affected countries in order to strengthen institutional capacity.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source