Explanation of Vote on a draft resolution on “Women in Peacekeeping”
The Russian Federation voted in favor of the UN Security Council resolution on “Women in UN Peacekeeping operations”.
We would like to express our appreciation to Indonesia as a coordinator of the negotiations. Your intention to find a balance between a wide range of views of the Security Council members made it possible to adopt the final document unanimously.
We fully support the importance of women's meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping operations, as well as ensuring equal opportunities and conditions for their involvement in peacekeeping activities.
At the same time, we are convinced that this process requires a thoughtful approach, which makes it necessary to take into account the existing needs and the security situation of a specific "field" presence. One also needs to assess the competitive advantages and professional skills required to implement mandated tasks. We also believe that it is important to respect a wide geographical representation while appointing women to leadership positions in PKOs.
It has to be taken into consideration that the primary responsibility for increasing the number of women in the peacekeeping uniformed components lies with the States themselves. It is therefore important to pay attention to the opinions and views of Troop and Police Contributing Countries in this regard, as well as each country’s national approach to staffing.
