Thank you very much, President. Let me thank the Deputy Secretary General and all of today’s briefers for their testimony, advocacy, and leadership.
As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325, the United Kingdom is happy to be a major champion of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda in the United Nations and around the world. Nonetheless, our briefers’ brutal truth speaks for itself. Despite our 22-year joint efforts, we all need to do more to fulfill the promise of 1325. Today, I’d want to focus on three of our top priorities.
To begin, it is obvious that we must increase the global response to conflict-related sexual violence. According to the Secretary General’s 2022 report on children in armed conflict, there has been a 20% increase in sexual assault against minors and a 41% increase in the abduction of girls.
That is why, on November 28-29, the United Kingdom will host an International Conference on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. We will convene governments to galvanize the response to CRSV, and we will issue a political declaration to convey a clear message that we will support survivors, help prevent future violence, and hold perpetrators accountable. We urge member states to support this proclamation and make a national commitment specifying specific efforts to prevent and respond to CRSV, such as implementing the Murad Code.
Second, we will continue to encourage women to participate in peace activities. Women are critical to achieving long-term peace and security, and their full, equitable, and meaningful participation in peace processes is at the heart of our WPS strategy. But, as we’ve heard today, development has been too slow here.
Despite all the hoopla, there has been no major rise in women’s participation in peace negotiations since 2000. As a result, the UK’s fifth WPS National Action Plan will concentrate on tangible and practical methods to represent women’s contributions to peace in a changing strategic context, from Afghanistan to Ukraine, from climate security to cyber threats.
Third, President, we must establish an environment that encourages women to engage. The increased possibility of retaliation is a significant obstacle to women’s political participation. According to the Secretary-most General’s recent WPS report, more than a third of women Security Council briefers have faced retaliation since 2018. This is completely unacceptable. The United Kingdom is dedicated to protecting women human rights defenders and briefers who speak out in this chamber. We prepared Guidance for Member States to prevent reprisals against civil society briefers in collaboration with OHCHR.
President, Women’s participation at the peace table is not only their right, but also critical to the establishment and maintenance of peace and security. Every absence will be a collective loss for us.
Thank you very much.