Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations
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Our delegation would like to start by expressing its gratitude to the Angolan presidency for its initiative in convening today’s meeting on the topic of the role of women in preventing and settling conflicts in Africa. We would also like to convey our gratitude to all the invited briefers for their participation in the meeting and their comprehensive contribution to the debate.

One of the most important preconditions for the stability, sustainable development of African countries and security and well-being of the population, including women, isthe prevention and settlement of conflicts. Despite the overall decline over the past decade, the African continent remains highly vulnerable to crises. Therefore, a timely and effective response by the international community to emerging threats and security challenges in Africa is essential. In that regard, we view as unacceptable attempts to dictate to African Governments settlement recipes without their consent or request. We welcome the increased activity by Africans themselves with regard to emergency response, as well as the growing participation by African women in peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts. We note the progress made in forging an African peace and security architecture with the assistance of the international community.

The Russian Federation is carrying out a consistent policy of developing cooperation among the United Nations, the African Union and subregional organizations. We call for further pooling of efforts regarding the conflict situations in Darfur, Somalia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea-Bissau, as well as the intra-Sudanese track, in the fight against international terrorism, transnational organized crime, piracy, the illegal trafficking in arms and drugs, as well as other important areas of cooperation, including the issue of women and peace and security. Russia is ready to step up its cooperation with African States aimed at strengthening their crisis-response capacities, including through the ongoing training of their peacekeepers and law-enforcement agents in Russian educational establishments. Our country is participating in a number of United Nations peacekeeping operations on the continent and plays a leading role among the contributors of air-transport services to them.

The issue of women and peace and security is an inalienable component of peace and conflict-resolution processes and post-conflict peacebuilding. The participation of women in such efforts has much positive potential. We must also note the efforts of specialized subregional and regional organizations in that regard. A good example of cooperation is the African Union’s five-year Gender, Peace and Security Programme for the period 2015-2020. In order to achieve results in implementing the agenda on women and peace and security, there needs to be a balanced, system-wide approach that provides for the full-fledged participation of women in peace processes throughout the continent and in post-conflict reconstruction. No less pressing is the need to ensure the effectiveness of efforts to deal with violence against women during armed conflicts in Africa. There is also a need to ensure that the inclusion of gender aspects in our work on the ground does not become an end in itself and is not only declarative in nature. We should aim at achieving real results. In that context, it is important to bear in mind that national plans of action for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) cannot be used as an instrument for assessing the policy of States in terms of their gender-promotion policies. We need to bear in mind that the protection of women during the course of armed conflicts and steps to afford them equal opportunities for participation in efforts to achieve peace and security are the primary responsibility of the States involved in such conflicts. The international community and the United Nations must provide them assistance in that regard. One of the main objectives of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts should be the restoration of normal life and the elimination of the consequences of conflicts, as well as safeguarding the security of all strata and groups of the population.

As we have noted earlier, greater effectivness of the work of the Security Council is not always achieved through the establishment of new structures. That is the reason for our doubts with regard to the usefulness of setting up the Informal Experts Group on Women, Peace and Security. We stand ready to cooperate with other members of the Council on this very important topic in order to develop effective and tried methods.

The women of African States can make a substantive and unique contribution to achieving the objective of preventing and resolving conflicts on the African continent through the joint efforts of all interested parties, as there is a need to create the optimal conditions for achieving that goal, while not forgetting the central task of protecting African women and their safety and security. The main guidelines in that regard remain the provisions of resolution 1325 (2000).