YouSaid · the spoken record

Mlambo-Ngcuka

lines on the record: 182
first: 2013-10-18
most recent: 2019-10-29
sittings or episodes: 13
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

“On International Women's Day just a few months ago, Angelina Nyajima Simon Jial, one of the members of the South Sudan Women's Coalition, told the Council that, "We need not just to be consulted, but to be heard. When we raise concerns about tensions mounting or the need for services, we speak from an informed position" (S/PV8480, p. 6). There is lot of trust in and expectations for the Council, and I hope that we will be able to rise to the occasion. Between now and October 2020, on the twentieth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), let us take big steps to close the gap. That is what women are asking us to do. There is a lot we can do even in this year. The Council's action can move the needle and set the example of political courage - not just the courage of people who have much less to give and much more to lose.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“I want to make sure that as we move forward and prepare for the twentieth anniversary celebration next year, we can close some of the gaps within the year ahead of us. In a few minutes, the Council will be listening to women's voices and stories. Alaa Salah from the Sudan is one of the many women who are leading the change in her country. She represents the young women of courage. The Council will hear about Congolese women describing the political representation barriers they faced in the lead-up to the country's first election in 2011. Council members will also hear about South Sudanese women and have listened in the past to Afghani, Libyan and Yemeni women demanding respect for women's rights and for the meaningful participation of women in negotiations and decisions that will determine the future of their countries.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“Tomorrow, most representatives here will be at the global forum for survivors of conflict-related Violence, led by Nobel laureates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad and my colleague Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Thanks to many efforts undertaken during the past decade, this is no longer history's greatest silence. We know women are not just victims. They continue to lead and to stand up, even after terrible experiences. Nadia is living testimony to the resilience of women who defy all odds, and I applaud her contribution - which has been made in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, Justice Rapid Response and others - to ensuring the thorough investigation of crimes and that these crimes are documented.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“This is one of the important components of resolution 1325 (2000), and Council members can also do more to help us enforce and implement it. As I said last year, the United Nations and Member States should not be giving support to peace processes that exclude women, because if they take a stand on this matter things will change. We know that such processes have limited chances of bringing durable peace. It is therefore important that the Council intervene decisively. Choosing to exclude women therefore means that we may be choosing to compromise our collective desire for lasting peace.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“This support comes from a small group of countries, which we can really expand. In the United Nations, only a few entities have to date committed to achieving minimum targets on allocation and expenditure on gender equality. The Peacebuilding Fund remains the bright spot thanks to the consistent championing by senior leadership and to collaborative efforts that we can all learn from. The Secretary-General's report on women and peace and security urges United Nations entities next year to benchmark targets and put in place accountability mechanisms. The Security Council's active support in that direction would go a long way to help. I would further ask members to address the issue of the participation and inclusion of women in all peace processes, as well as the inclusion of women in uniformed armed services.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“In countries experiencing prolonged crisis, such as Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, the gender employment gap is 50 or 60 points. In contrast, in 2016 and 2017 only 0.2 per cent of total bilateral aid to fragile and conflict-affected situations went directly to women's organizations. Investing directly in women is also critical. In 2018, total world military expenditure reached $1.8 trillion. Some of that money contributed to deepening crises in the same fragile countries that we are meant to be helping through resolution 1325 (2000). It is important to say that the overall share of aid promoting gender equality in some form has increased to 42.6 per cent, which is higher than ever before, but less than 5 per cent of it goes to programmes with the primary objective of improving gender equality and women's empowerment.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“Without shelter, food, support for education and health needs, woman's lives continue to be frozen in low- intensity warfare. Discrimination against women and their access to assets and productive resources Violate women's human rights and leave them vulnerable to extreme poverty, gender-based violence and trafficking in all countries. Family members are also at risk of being drawn into terrorism and of being in harm's way. The marginalization of women in decision-making and in the political economy of foreign aid, reconstruction and economic revitalization is part of the problem that the Security Council can solve, and together we can move the needle. In fragile and conflict-affected countries, only 4 in 10 women are in paid work, compared with 7 in 10 men. Creating work opportunities for women is therefore an important contribution.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“That is a significant finding, especially because the vast majority of studies on terrorism ignore gender. We appreciate the close collaboration among the agencies that are working in this area and are grateful for the Member States that collaborate with us. In addition, the number of countries that have adopted a national action plan on women and peace and security increased by 50 per cent since 2015. We welcome and applaud those countries. But that still represents fewer than half of the countries in the world, and only 22 per cent of all plans included a budget at the time of adoption. We urge countries with new plans to make sure that they include budgets. Women's economic empowerment is key to sustaining peace. Women need to be given priority in efforts to respond to crises and to plan for peace.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“The independent assessment identified areas where progress is under way, such as in the stronger integration of gender considerations in preventing violent extremism. However, we still face challenges when national counter-terrorism legislation often adversely affects women's civil society organizations. The Secretary-General's report urges Member States to review such legislation and to take action. UN-Women has just supported two research projects conducted by Monash University in four countries - Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Libya. In all four, hostile sexist attitudes towards women were the factors most strongly associated with support for violent extremism - far more than age, degrees of religiosity, level of education or employment.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“Partners that support peace talks also do not include women, or are represented by very few women. This is not from lack of trying on our part. As we speak, in all ongoing peace processes, fewer than 8 per cent of agreements reached contained gender-related provisions, down from 39 per cent in 2015. In the recent past, even where agreements include specific gender provisions, ensuring implementation remains a challenge. The 2016 peace accord in Colombia is a landmark agreement, and great efforts went into putting it together. But a recent analysis shows that around half of the gender-related provisions in the agreement have not been initiated and that gender provisions are being implemented at an even slower rate than the rest. I have some promising news, however, and I recognize that it is not nice to give such a gloomy report.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“From 1990 to 2018, fewer than 20 per cent of peace agreements included provisions that addressed women or gender, and last year none of the agreements reached in United Nations-led processes included such provisions. The United Nations-led processes are also supported by Member States; therefore, together, we have a responsibility to do better. Many of the countries that will speak here today generously support mediation and peace negotiation efforts. But we need all of those countries to also advocate for the full deployment and use of women with tremendous skill that are committed to the agenda. We need them to demand women's direct and meaningful participation in all phases of peace talks. Women's absence from peace tables is still commonplace, but it no longer goes unnoticed.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“It seems easier to use arms than to deliver clean water and energy or heal the women in north- east Nigeria from the recurring tremor, as noted last week by Assistant Secretary-General Asa Regner. The list of examples of people who should be, but are not, benefitting from this resolution is way too long. Last year, the Secretary-General tasked UN-Women with commissioning an independent assessment of progress in the implementation of the gender-related recommendations ofthe three peace and security reviews that the United Nations conducted in 2015. Its findings are summarized in the Secretary-General's report. Of the recommendations that targeted the United Nations specifically, 50 per cent have been implemented or are in progress and 10 per cent have either regressed or are not progressing.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“And yet we still live in a world that tolerates and excuses women's continued exclusion from peace and political processes and institutions. Violent misogyny is on the rise. We are witnessing record levels of political violence targeting women. Sexual Violence continues to be used as a weapon ofwar and terror, while its survivors are left without justice or support, and the support they need is sometimes even minimized by decisions that we take here. After conflict, economic recovery for women is primarily limited to micro-credit and micro-enterprises, while large-scale reconstruction is dominated by men and overwhelmingly benefits men. Feminist organizations' repeated calls for disarmament, arms control and shifting military spending to social investment still go unanswered.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“That is despite the many good words, agreements, discussions and events. Change is not as real as it needs to be. As I address the Security Council today, I urge that we heed the call of those women. As we discuss the report of the Secretary-General (S/2019/800), we must aim to close the gap between words and action, as articulated by the Secretary-General. Even though we agree on so much, the collective scorecard is not where it should be. There is a stark contrast between the expressed support from Member States and regional and international organizations for the women and peace and security agenda, and reality. The correlation between gender inequality and a society's propensity for civil or inter-State conflict is now well-established. The link between the participation of women and more durable peace has also been established.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka: There is a common message coming from women affected by conflict and actors who are concerned about women and peace and security matters - whether it be women in Afghanistan, Libya, the Sudan, Burundi, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen or Colombia; whether it be Kurdish or Yazidi women, or young women who are here for this week or global focal points on women and peace and security from different countries; whether it be women peacekeepers like the ones from South Africa who shared their touching stories with us yesterday, highlighting the need to increase the number of women in uniform - the loud and common message is that progress is too slow, political will is not strong enough and pushback against the needs and interests of women is threatening the progress we have made, and is pushing further away those who most need our resolve and support.”
2019-10-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8649 (2019) · source
“I ask the Security Council to join us, with the team that visited South Sudan, in insisting that the parties do everything to make sure that the very important commitments are met and delivered.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and DPKO for their efforts to promote women's participation and protection under very challenging circumstances and the manner in which they are able to collaborate and cooperate with the Government of South Sudan. The women with whom we met were very grateful for the existence of the peacekeeping mission and trusted their lives to UNMISS. We also discussed issues affecting female peacekeepers and how the United Nations can attract more female peacekeepers. That is a commendable peace agreement, and we are ready to support it in any way that we can and ensure the success of its implementation.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“They highlighted that it is crucial that the Transitional Justice Mechanism deter and punish sexual and gender-based violence, and called for accountability mechanisms for transitional justice, including the hybrid court for South Sudan. They also called for the participation of civil society organizations in the implementation and monitoring processes, which will ensure the inclusion of women's leadership, voice and agency. The appreciation of the women of this particular agreement was encouraging, and they see it as a real opportunity to deal with one of the most devastating conflicts in the world today, through the prism of gender equality.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“Women see our briefing today as an opportunity to make sure that members of the Council are aware of their appreciation of the revitalized agreement, as well as their commitment to taking their destiny into their own hands, while paying attention to the threats posed to the full implementation of the agreement. They want their keen interest to participate to also be seen as a willingness to play a constructive role in the success of the peace agreement. The women fear systematic exclusion and need to be assured that reparations will take into account what they have suffered and what they have lost, including in the aftermath of surviving sexual violence.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“The inclusion of women is also essential for reorganized security forces, and, with the recruitment of women at a minimal level of 35 per cent into commissioned and non-commissioned cadres, to change the face of the security forces and curb negative masculinities, prioritize gender within disarmament and demobilization, including in the organization of cantonments, and strengthen accountability for conflict- related sexual violence. South Sudanese women stand ready to meaningfully participate in bringing peace to their country. They want women in the diaspora to also play a role in South Sudan.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“They can encourage the parties to ensure that women are included in a timely manner before it is too late. I urge IGAD and African Union colleagues to ensure that the peace agreement is also implemented in a manner that honours the commitments made. The women also urged that they be included in security sector reform and security institutions so that those institutions can properly fulfil their role in protecting all the people of South Sudan, including women and girls. They outlined the importance of being included as women in leadership and participatory roles so that the security institutions are reconstituted in a manner that is gender-sensitive and focuses on the protection of civilians from gender-based violence, including the protection of all citizens - men and women alike.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“In particular, honouring the 35 per cent affirmative action principle has yet to take root. Ofthe new bodies, the National Pre-Transitional Committee now has 10 members, one of whom is a woman, amounting to 10 per cent. The National Constitution Amendment Committee has 15 members, two of whom are women. There are no women in the Independent Boundaries Commission, the Technical Boundaries Committee or the Joint Transitional Security Committee. The Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism is also expected to include 31 per cent women. None of those recently formed institutions meets the 35 per cent quota. It is important that we not fail to overlook those statistics and take appropriate corrective action. That is where members of the Security Council come in. They can be of support.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“They believe that implementing the 35 per cent affirmative action quota is critical at all levels and within all branches of the Government, not just at the national executive level. Furthermore, women want to ensure that the constitutional review process includes them so that their needs and concerns are considered right from the start. They requested the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the AU to ensure the continuous monitoring of the inclusiveness and effectiveness of the agreement and that the monitoring process begins now with the pre-transitional structures. We have been reviewing events in South Sudan since our mission. We are concerned that, despite the guarantees, the parties have yet to honour their commitment to ensuring women's meaningful participation in the implementation of the revitalized agreement.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“They also said that the same message must be conveyed to militias and non-organized forces. They are anxious for progress and are forging ahead with reconciliation, even though among themselves, as women, they had no disputes or hostilities to resolve. What they had in common, as they said, was that they all found themselves caught up in a man's war in which they all had been victims of sexual assault, their families were killed, and their livelihoods destroyed. They had no access to the leaders in their country, who, they said, were responsible for the crisis. They are asking us, as the United Nations and African Union, to help them ensure their contact with the leaders and that the leaders are held accountable.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“In their own right, women are defenders of peace and are critical to invest in for the sustainability of all peace efforts. I join my colleagues in commending South Sudan on the signing ofthe Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, and I welcome the important provisions of the agreement that address women, especially the 35 per cent quota for women in the composition of the executive branch of the revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity of the Republic of South Sudan. The women truly welcomed the agreement and called for the immediate cessation of hostilities. They called on all leaders of warring factions and armed parties to communicate with their followers and inform them of the peace agreement, as the fighting had not completely subsided.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka: I thank you, Sir, for the opportunity to brief the Security Council today on our joint African Union (AU)-United Nations mission to South Sudan, which was the first-ever of its kind undertaken by UN-Women and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), undertaken jointly with the AU, represented by Mr. Chergui and Ms. Specioza Kazibwe of FemWise. That augurs well for reinforcing the nexus linking development, peace and security, and humanitarian assistance. In our meeting with the Government of South Sudan, that was also appreciated. Our collaboration with DPKO is an important development, given the role that it plays in mission settings as a peacekeeper, peacemaker and protector of civilians, a considerable number of whom are women.”
2018-11-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8403 (2018) · source
“In 2017, half of the women honoured in the annual tribute of the Association for Women in Development were murdered in conflict-affected countries, but the list is much longer when we include women political leaders, journalists, justice actors, security sector personnel, those perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons or who challenge traditional gender roles by simply being involved in public life. It is my strong wish that we will find the political will to do much more about the epidemic of the killing of women, which we have seen over this decade as it comes to a close. Change is in our hands. Let us work for positive indicators for the next report, and let us make sure that the next report of the Secretary-General will be able to show that we are turning the corner.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Finally, we need to do much more to protect women activists, peacebuilders and human rights defenders in conflict-affected countries. We applaud the historic participation of Palestinian women, representing civil society, in addressing the Security Council for the first time. We commend the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for recognizing Dr. Denis Mukwege and Ms. Nadia Murad for their advocacy on behalf of victims of wartime sexual violence. It is an example of the importance of this issue, to which my colleague the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Pramila Patten, devotes all her time and energy. I have met many exceptionally courageous women in my many recent travels to Somalia, South Sudan and the Sahel, and my visit with Rohingya women refugees was no exception. Many of them are here today, but many could not be here.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“This issue is in the Council's hands. It was raised by women from civil society at the forum the Council was invited to earlier this week, at the initiative of Sweden. Secondly, one of the many positive examples in the report is the Peacebuilding Fund's steadily growing support to projects advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. Finding ways to make the 15 per cent minimum target a reality across all relevant entities and other peace and security funds is another important take that we can focus on going forward. Of course, joint programming on the rule oflaw in conflict and post-conflict areas, addressing the educational and economic resilience of women and multi-partner trust funds in fragile settings should be at the start of all conversations about financing.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“We have to start now to gear up for better results. We need more positive signs, such as those I saw in Somalia, where we need to help to accelerate the positive change. There will be opportunities for everyone to weigh in, including at next year's meeting of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network in Windhoek, which will carry a special symbolism for those who have been part of this movement for a while. For now, I want to share three priorities for 2020. This August, we mourned the loss of Kofi Annan. Part of his legacy was that the United Nations debated and decided to stop supporting peace agreements that included blanket amnesties. I think that, two decades later, it is time for the United Nations to have a similar conversation about supporting, brokering and paying for peace negotiations that exclude women.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“These challenges are best addressed by actions that protect and promote the rights of victims and are fundamentally based in human rights law. Women human rights defenders are on the front lines and are fighting a lonely battle. Many die a lonely death from weapons that are meant to protect them. Let us look ahead with hope and the knowledge of what we are capable of doing together. This includes what we can do with women, such as the African Women Leaders Network, which has been given a boost by the support of the German Government, and the focal points have already been established in 30 African countries. We are already gearing up for the twentieth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), which will be an opportunity to shape the agenda for the next decade with new commitments and priorities.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Even as we have disappointing indicators on women and girls, global military spending has reached $1.74 trillion, a 57 per cent increase since 2000. Some countries allocate more public money to the military than to education or health. Ninety per cent of grass- roots women's organizations working in areas directly impacted by terrorism and violent extremism state that current counter-terrorism measures have an adverse impact on the work for peace, women's rights and gender equality. We must respond to the many violations against the human rights of women and girls within violent groups and to the social stigma, economic hardship and discrimination that women and girls experience when returning to their homes and communities when they have been part of such a group.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“The same year, the United Nations documented a 56 per cent increase in sexual violence. The share of the aid channeled through non-governmental women's organizations has stagnated. Our financial commitments just do not match the extent to which we rely on these groups. Yet there has been undeniable progress because the number of actions to be taken and the collaboration intended with civil society continue to be favoured as a way to operate; however, this must also translate into concrete action and better investment in such groups. Civil-society and women's organizations have been failed in the midst of record-breaking numbers of side events at intergovernmental meetings. Our plea is to refocus our energies and resources. I believe that there is goodwill, and we all want what is best for women and girls.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Yet clinics lack power and women have no cold storage for their fish or for the fresh produce needed for food security, which in some cases contributes to peace and security more than the efforts of the military. In conflict-affected countries, only 11.5 per cent of landholders are women. Although bilateral aid to promote gender equality in fragile country situations rose by 17 per cent compared with the previous year, it still amounts to only 5 per cent of the total bilateral aid spent on programmes with gender equality as the primary objective. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, aid from the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development allocated to the promotion of gender equality was only $8 per capita last year.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“This is just not happening enough, despite the undeniable goodwill towards the women and peace and security agendas in conflict-affected countries. This clear gender inequality in women's access to resources is not caused simply by the presence of conflict. It is also a reflection of the non-prioritization of women's needs and the relegation of women to small- scale and local peripheral initiatives. In the Sahel, where we visited with the Deputy Secretary-General, African Union representatives and Minister Wallstrom, we saw the dire poverty of the women and community in the Lake Chad basin. We saw households with no electricity in the part of the world that has the highest penetration of the sun on Earth and is more suitable than anywhere else in the world for sustainable-energy generation from solar power.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“The number of children lacking education in conflict areas calls for a concentrated response and solution involving schools and second-chance education. Child marriage rates are also affected by war. In Yemen, the rate of child marriage was 66 per cent in 2017, 52 per cent last year and 32 per cent before the recent conflict erupted. Unsurprisingly but tragically, in conflict and post-conflict countries maternal mortality rates are almost twice the global rate. Of the 830 women and adolescent girls who die every day from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, 507 die in countries that are considered fragile because of conflict and disaster. To address these issues and support the regeneration of families and communities, we need strong and targeted investments in women in conflict areas.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Only 12 per cent of registered candidates are women, just as in the previous elections seven years ago, and women are suffering from intimidation. Of the 17 countries that have elected a woman Head of State or Government, none are post-conflict countries at this point. I will say this again, as I did last year: we need to heed the call and address the patterns that these numbers show us. On our part, we will continue to follow up with the Council on how we can together address the situation with greater vigilance and make a significant difference. It is not only women whose opportunities are being limited. In many conflict settings, girls are one and a half times more likely to be out of primary school, and whole communities therefore experience setbacks.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Today's report gives us a broad picture of the many remaining areas where challenges remain to reaching equal representation of women in the vital processes of our nations. For example, only 16 per cent of parliamentarians in conflict-affected and post-conflict countries are women, the same percentage as last year and the year before. There is 20 per cent representation in countries that use quotas and just 12 per cent in countries that do not. It is for that reason that we appreciate the fact that our Secretary-General is leading from the front, and we call for special measures to be taken regarding the manner in which we are driving the parity process within the United Nations. The Council just visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead of crucial elections.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“This must lead to increased action on the front lines. The number of women leaders and civil-society representatives who briefed the Security Council also increased significantly. I thank Council members for these efforts and their continued participation in the Informal Expert Group on Women, Peace and Security, currently co-chaired by Sweden and Peru, in collaboration with the United Kingdom. But we need to use all available diplomatic channels and political influence to ensure that these decisions in New York are making a difference on the ground, because this is simply not happening in the most meaningful way. The bigger picture of gender inequality in conflict and post-conflict countries is something we need to continue to watch.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“In Afghanistan, the Government and its international partners invest efforts in including women in the High Peace Council and provincial peace councils, but when it comes to actual talks with the Taliban, the absence of women is noticeable. Undeniably, there are possibilities, but there are also undeniable failures, and there are also determined women. In the 23 rounds of Afghanistan- Taliban peace talks held between 2005 and 2014, women were at the table just twice. Now that there are offers to resume peace talks without preconditions, Afghan women peacebuilders want to be at the table, and they want to make a difference. Finally, a positive number: Security Council decisions about country-specific or regional situations that contain language on women and peace and security increased from 50 to 75 per cent.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Of the 1,500 agreements signed between 2000 and 2016, only 25 elevate the role of women in terms of their engagement in the implementation phase. In Yemen, current efforts at resuming dialogue do not include women, beyond setting up observer bodies to advise the United Nations Special Envoy. Even in a consultative meeting in London this summer organized by the United Nations and convening 22 prominent Yemeni leaders to discuss the peace talks, only three Yemeni women were invited. In Mali, women average a dismal 3 per cent of the membership of the multiple national committees set up to monitor and implement the Peace Agreement. In the Central African Republic, mediation efforts are focused on the presidency and the 14 armed groups. They, too, exclude women altogether.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“We want the States Members of the United Nations to pay due attention to these dynamics, make them visible in forums like the Security Council, and use them to support women's political agency, provide financial resources and enable women to do even more. The continued tolerance for the limited recognition of women's expertise and lived experience is a setback for all of us. Statistics on women's involvement speak for themselves. Onthis issue, the report offers more numbers: between 1990 and 2017, under our watch, women constituted only 2 per cent of mediators, 8 per cent of negotiators and 5 per cent of witnesses and signatories in major peace processes. Only three of 11 agreements signed in 2017 contained provisions on gender equality, continuing last year's worrisome downward trend.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“We call on all of us to make sure that we take the much-needed concrete actions. We need the Security Council to be vigilant about the ending of superficial efforts to include women that do not genuinely extend the opportunity to influence outcomes. We also want to show that the extreme political marginalization at peace tables is often worse in the institutions set up to implement these agreements. And we wanted to spotlight the many ways in which women keep on being active and resilient. Women in the front lines are negotiating ceasefires, civilian safe zones, the demobilization of fighters and humanitarian access at the local level. In Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and the Central African Republic, they are drawing up protection plans at the community level.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“The report today inescapably details how that is not an exception but the rule. How there is at the same time hope for progress, and how we are failing to make this hope a reality. Nevertheless, we can never and must not lose hope. It shows us an undeniable possibility with undeniable failures, which are costing the lives of women and girls, who, as we have said, suffer and die from a war they are not waging. A year ago, in this Chamber, I raised the alarm at the numbers shown by the indicators we track year on year with regard to peace processes and mediation (see S/PV.8079). Today, I want to raise the alarm once more, with the hope that it will jolt us into greater action. Indicators show that we have stagnated or dropped again. For that reason, we have focused this year's report on the need for women's meaningful contribution to peace.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“The women we met there told us that they long for peace and to resume their lives. Their nearly five years of suffering from a civil war, which they kept on repeating they were not responsible for waging, was taking a toll on them, and they said, "we are here because we want to reconcile even though we have never quarrelled." While they still fear for the future, they appreciated the Revitalized Agreement on the resolution of the conflict, which offers new hope for the country and an unmissable opportunity to build peace, with a 35 per cent quota for the representation of women. Their fears are bolstered, however, by the fact that, in these early days of the Revitalized Agreement, there is just one woman among the 10 persons nominated to be members of the National Pre-Transitional Committee, which is not the agreed 35 per cent.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka: It is an honour for me to address the Security Council and speak on the Secretary-General's report on women and peace and security (S/2018/900). I thank Bolivia for all the support it has given us in preparing for today's debate. The Secretary-Genera's report sounds a loud alarm bell on systemic failures to bring women into peacemaking in a meaningful manner. Trends show that women are being excluded from peace processes. Those who do not wage war seem to be disqualified from making peace, while those who may be implicated in making war tend to find it easy to be at the peace table. I, together with representatives from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, have just come back from a joint United Nations/African Union mission to South Sudan.”
2018-10-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8382 (2018) · source
“That can happen when women are fully involved. Women's organizations in Somalia are organized, dedicated and comprised of activists, advocates, entrepreneurs, professionals and patriots, and they pay the ultimate price. Let us think about them as we look at the way in which we are supporting the changes to enhance security in Somalia. In the many challenges that lie ahead, women will face them and make a difference. In Somalia, the glass is half full. Let us help to fill the other half. I thank the Council again for the support given to UN-Women.”
2018-09-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8352 (2018) · source
“I expect Council members will follow up on the implementation of the mandates they gave to the African Union Mission in Somalia and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia earlier this year, which include many references to gender equality, and will support women's participation, not just in elections or electoral reforms but also in efforts to advance national and local reconciliation, prevent violent extremism and reform the security sector. Just as I have heard many times in the Council that peace cannot be achieved by military means alone, I know that Somalia will not have long-lasting peace and deep reconciliation without the far-reaching contribution, involvement and recognition of women. We should support and help women to change the deep structures that continue to reinforce inequality and insecurity.”
2018-09-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8352 (2018) · source
“Women can play a vital role in motivating the voluntary disengagement of Al-Shabaab members, but that work is often an afterthought and lacks resources. With greater support, women can make significant progress in that area, and we stand ready to support them. Somalia is also an important test case for the Secretary- General's gender parity goals, because the lack of gender balance in the United Nations has been noticed by our Somali partners.”
2018-09-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8352 (2018) · source
“These landmark achievements need the Council's support and sustained attention because the progress that Somalis are making is not irreversible. These laws are often ignored. Female parliamentarians are often marginalized at the whim of clan elders. Al-Shabaab courts are still killing women by burying them neck- deep and pelting them with stones. In customary courts, rapists often simply compensate the victim's family or marry her. Impunity for sexual violence is still rampant, but I hope that the Security Council will investigate the impact on women of current efforts to counter violent extremism with a view to identifying the best ways to support women. There are three centres to rehabilitate men who disengage from Al-Shabaab, but none for women.”
2018-09-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8352 (2018) · source