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BRAMA, March 9, 2001, 1:00am EST


©HK/BRAMA 3/8/01
H.E. Mr. Volodymyr Yel'chenko, President of the Security Council, spoke at an event on March 8 sponsored by the Inter-Agency Meeting on Women and Gender Equality, which was convened in observation of International Women's Day. The theme of the event was "Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts." A highlight of the program was the recent adoption of Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

Mr. Yel'chenko is presiding over the Security Council during the month of March 2001. He also holds the position of Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.

 


 

©HK/BRAMA 3/8/01
L-R:
Harri Holkieri, President of the General Assembly
Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary-General
Volodymyr Yel'chenko, President of the Security Council
(Not pictured, Moderator):
Angela King, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women

 


 

©HK/BRAMA 3/8/01
(Photo center) Nane Annan, wife of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

 


 

UN Logo

STATEMENT
BY H.E. MR. VOLODYMYR YEL'CHENKO
President of the Security Council

on the occasion of the International Women's Day
"Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflict"
8 March 2001

Ladies and gentlemen,

On this International Women's Day, let me start with paying a proud tribute to the very important if not decisive contribution of women from all parts of the world to protect and secure humankind.

I heartily applaud the efforts and dedication of all the courageous women who are serving the UN peace - keeping and humanitarian missions under very difficult and quite frequently dangerous circumstances in conflict and post-conflict areas.

When the United Nations Charter was written 50 years ago, it included a farsighted promise of equality for women and men. But even now, more than half a century later, we see that women's wisdom and talents have not yet been fully given the appropriate significance and impact. Despite the role of women in promoting peace and progress much remains to be done to implement various international agreements and to ensure that women are seen as equal partners. The potential contribution of women to peace and security remains severely under-valued. Women are still grossly underrepresented in the areas that we are dealing with in the Security Council and in other United Nations bodies at the decision-making level, from conflict prevention to conflict resolution to post-conflict reconciliation.

The participation of women at senior levels of leadership national and international, has been limited for far too long. How many women occupy the position of Permanent Representative to United Nations? How many women can we see on the Millenium Summit's Photo? Let us have a critical look at this still very male-dominated organ that has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security - Security Council.

Women have to definitely play a more important role in the governmental and intergovernmental fora where plans and decisions in matters of security, war prevention and conflict management are made.

Women being almost excluded from the problems of security, maze than half of earth's population is excluded from the decision-making processes that immediately affect their lives.

Another issue that we geed to look at is the fact that women and children are the first victims of conflicts. Despite the fact that the international resolve to safeguard women's rights in conflict situations has been substantially strengthened in recent years, women continue to be the most vulnerable victims of armed conflicts. The human toll of conflicts hits women and girls hardest. As major part of refugee and internally displaced populations they are often deliberately targeted and exploited. With the rapid proliferation of intrastate wars and other hostilities, civilians more and more often represent the overwhelming majority of the victims of war, with women and girls targeted for the most brutal forms of attack, including rape, sexual mutilation, sexually humiliating treatment and forcible impregnation.

As we have recently seen, in some cases they are placed in conditions of slavery exploitation. Sexual violence brought with it the risk of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Women and girls continue to be at risk even after the conflict, as the international human rights and humanitarian standards, that should guarantee their security, are all too rarely implemented. In addition, women experience the trauma of losing relatives and friends in times of armed conflict, and of having to take responsibility for the care of surviving family members. They also constitute the majority of refugees and displaced persons.

As the world celebrates International Women's Day, let us spread the message that women's rights are the responsibility of all of us. Combating all forms of violence against .women is the duty of the whore humankind.

It is an opportunity for us to unite and mobilize for a meaningful change, as we take up the challenge of making this time the era .of women's full participation in leadership and decision-making.

As President of the Security Council I am proud that the Security Council has already made the

first steps that were reflected in the statement of its President on the occasion of last year's International Women's Day and in the resolution 1325. On those occasions the Security Council not only addressed the suffering of women, but also supported women's participation in peace processes.

The issue of women and peace requires the Security Council's sustained attention. In this context I would like to inform that in today's statement of the Security Council we stress the need for early and full implementation of the resolution 1325 by all relevant actors and urge all relevant United Nations agencies and bodies to take into account this resolution in their respective areas of work.

We need all together to urge not only the United Nations but also national governments to set concrete measures and timetables to secure equal representation of women on all levels in the conflict prevention and conflict resolution work.

Through supporting women to become agents for peace the societies can enable them to contribute to the process of non-violent solution of a given conflict or to the prevention of a conflict on all levels.

Finally, I would like to stress, that with the active integration of the gender dimension, with the promotion of women's rights the United Nations and national governments will enrich the freedom, justice, social progress, tolerance and dignity in the world. I hope that all leaders will use this chance to strengthen the world, which is now facing the challenge of implementing security concepts for the 21st century.

Thank you for your attention.


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