Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Gennady Kuzmin at UNSC open debate on women, peace, and security
We thank Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres for sharing his assessments of the progress made in the implementation of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. We followed closely the remarks by the briefers: Executive Director of UN-Women Sima Sami Bahous, Special Envoy of the African Union for WPS Bineta Diop, and Ms. Celia Umenza Velasco.
Today’s discussion reiterates relevance of UNSC resolution 1325 that was adopted more than 20 years ago. In the context of this document, an important task of the Security Council is ensuring rightful and effective participation of women in peace processes, and in efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts.
In his address to the Third Eurasian Women’s Forum, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said: “Women’s activities in searching for responses to global and local challenges, as well as their active involvement in all spheres of life serve common interests and help to discover the human potential at its best. Today it seems to be the key factor for progress and advancement, as well as specific changes for the better all over the world: within separate countries and on the entire planet”.
Secretary-General’s report that he put forward to the Security Council confirms that there has been considerable progress in many areas of the implementation of the WPS agenda.
We believe it is critically important that duplication of efforts of various UN bodies should be avoided. The General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and the Peacebuilding Commission meaningfully engage in cooperation to empower women, protect their rights and ensure gender equality. As for the Security Council, under its prerogatives, we should focus on situations that pose an undisputable threat to the international peace and security.
On many occasions, this discussion underscored the importance of elaborating regional and national plans and strategies, and establishing national mechanisms to implement the WPS agenda. We are convinced that such measures should be adopted when there is an objective need to do so, occasioned either by a situation of an armed conflict or post-conflict settlement. Increasing the number of burocratic mechanism by default – in the absence of a conflict or a conflict-generating situation – hardly seems justified. Any approaches must be carefully calibrated; precooked templates will not work. Efforts must be made for the sake of result rather than for the sake of appearance.
When it comes to solving the existing problems, active involvement of women themselves is indispensable. In this regard, we express our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his personal attention to increasing the participation of women in peacekeeping operations, peace talks, and political processes.
Besides, we would like to call to take additional measures to bolster the role of women in social and economic development of states that are amidst an armed conflict or a post-conflict settlement process. Usage of unilateral coercive measures and politicized economic sanctions that target women in the first place is absolutely unacceptable. We need measures that should add to women’s economic empowerment, extend their access to financial and material resources and modern technology. Women’s development, overcoming of poverty, enhancement of capabilities in the area of education must come to the forefront. Particular attention needs to be given to protection of families and maternity, traditional values as a moral basis of any society and a prerequisite of successful development now and in future. This problem along with many others stands at the core of the activity of the Informal Experts Group of the Security Council on Women, Peace, and Security; Peacebuilding Commission, and other UN bodies that contribute to progressive development of women’s agenda and search for a true consensus on this matter.
Russia is ready to cooperate constructively with all interested states in order to promote women's agenda in the Security Council. We stand for an equal and mutually respectful dialogue that should take into account varying views and opinions in the spirit of the democratic ideals of the United Nations and principles of its Charter.
Thank you.
