Statement by Charge d'Affaires Dmitry Polyanskiy at UNSC Briefing on Women, Peace and Security
Madam President,
We thank Sima Bacchus, the Executive Director of UN Women, Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Africa, and Ms. Kholoud Khair for providing information and assessments of the current situation with regard to the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
We have continuously payed close attention to the problems addressed by Security Council Resolution 1325. Russia recognizes the importance of women's participation in peacekeeping processes and welcomes their increasing role when it comes to conducting negotiations and peacekeeping. Women's contribution to addressing security issues, armed conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery can hardly be underestimated. Women and children are tragically affected by armed confrontation. Therefore, their interests must be fully taken into account while negotiating truces and peace deals.
Obviously, women should be able, at the very least, to voice their concerns to the parties involved in peace processes. We also see many bright and talented women among politicians and diplomats. However, we are certain that women’s empowerment has nothing to do with imposing some artificial quantitative parameters of women's involvement. Simply having quotas in place will not solve the problem.
First and foremost, efforts should be geared towards creating conditions for women's meaningful participation in political and peacebuilding processes. In this regard, we should take into consideration the peculiarities of each specific situation, and prioritize women's professional qualities while taking into account their personal interests.
Greater attention should be paid to addressing the problems of economic development and eradicating poverty. What is of crucial importance here is strengthening cooperation between states and international organizations with the view to implementing programs on economic empowerment for women. This includes facilitating access to education and job training, as well as to resources and technologies needed to start up and grow a business. Women's economic independence enhance their social security and facilitates integration into peace-building processes.
However, unilateral coercive measures imposed by Western countries in circumvention of the UN Security Council is what remains a serious obstacle in this regard. They have a most detrimental impact on the well-being of women and their families, undermining their prospects, and depriving them of opportunities to get a job, education, social protection and other benefits. We call on the UN Secretariat to actively monitor the adverse impact of such measures and make proposals to overcome their negative consequences, including for women.
It is also essentially important to make efforts to protect families and mothers, and traditional family values, which serves as the moral foundation of any society and a necessary precondition for successful development in the present and future. These efforts should be consistent and not allow for double standards when it comes to ensuring women's rights, dignity and security.
Thus, it is very hard to hear all those beautiful words and broadly correct arguments uttered by our Western colleagues, since at the very moment, at the Olympic Games in Paris – which are essentially monopolized by them to the detriment of the international Olympic movement – we see how female boxers are publicly subjected to violence by athletes who have previously failed the hormone test of the International Boxing Federation. So the Federation considers them to be men, and they are men indeed, according to the common sense.
This absolutely disgusting performance shows how much harm to women's rights and dignity was caused by the LGBT agenda that is being aggressively imposed on the world by the West. We believe that in many traditional societies, the influence of women, wives and mothers on political and social processes is exercised through ways established many centuries ago. And their influence there may be in fact even more effective than in societies advocating liberal ideas.
Madam. President,
With regard to UN peacekeeping operations, we basically support the Secretary General's initiatives to increase the representation of women in peacekeeping. As of July 2024, 19 female police and military personnel from Russia are serving in UN PKOs. We are actively training female peacekeepers from third countries in our specialized centers under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
We do this because we know for sure that women's involvement allows us to establish more sustained and trusting relationships with the local population. It will also enables us to prevent and investigate existing cases of violations against women and children, and take measures to facilitate subsequent rehabilitation and reintegration of victims.
However, the situation in different conflict regions where peacekeeping operations are being deployed may vary significantly. The challenges they face are also diverse. Thus, the importance of gender factor in peacekeeping contingents should not be overemphasized when it comes to stabilizing the security situation, particularly in the regions beset by armed and terrorist groups.
The priority of UN peacekeeping should be placed on finding a peaceful solution as soon as possible. After all, the main responsibility for security, protection of civilians, including women, and their well-being rests primarily with national Governments. We know examples when peacekeeping forces remained in host countries for years, but were unable to significantly change the situation, and sometimes they even became part of a crisis scenario themselves.
In an ideal world, the closing of UN peacekeeping missions should end with a complete handover of responsibility to the national government on all matters. However, as we said earlier, this is not always possible. If it is the case, the necessary assistance can proceed through UN funds and programs, and specialized agencies, including those focused on women's empowerment.
Regional organizations, such as the African Union, have also acquired significant experience in assisting the continent's states on the issues we are discussing today. In our view, the international community should support those efforts by providing the necessary support.
Madam. President,
In conclusion, I would like to stress that closing down UN peacekeeping missions should not lead to a decline in protection of women and their participation in peacekeeping. On the contrary, this process should boost traditional national and regional efforts with the view to ensuring security and achieving lasting and sustainable peace. Russia is willing to work constructively with all those who agree on the importance of this task.
Thank you for your attention.
