Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK
Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council
meeting on Women, Peace and Security.
The UK is unwavering in our commitment to the Women, Peace and
Security agenda and its crucial role in sustaining peace.
There are three priorities I want to focus on today.
First, participation. We must commit to amplifying the voices of
women from all backgrounds, and strengthen their active
participation in peace and security processes, as well as all
aspects of political and civil life.
And in this context, I am inspired to see today's list of 100
global women published by the BBC.
The UK is working with, for example, Afghan women leaders to
discuss tangible steps to support women's inclusion in
Afghanistan's future.
And in October, my Minister for the Indo-Pacific joined the WPS
Conference in the Philippines, to showcase UK support in enabling
cross-generational women peacebuilders to participate in the
Mindanao peace process.
Second, it is vital that this Council increases support to
grassroots women's rights organisations, recognising their
crucial role in building and sustaining peaceful communities.
Through support to the Peacebuilding Fund, the UK is reaching
women and young people in 21 countries, including in Chad, Haiti
and South Sudan.
Through our $900,000 programme with the International Civil
Society Action Network, the UK helped bring together over 40
women peacebuilders across generations to assess challenges and
plan collective action. These dialogues provide opportunities to
strengthen partnerships among women peacebuilders and expand the
impact of their work.
Finally, we must urgently address conflict-related sexual
violence.
The latest Secretary-General Report noted a 50% increase in UN
verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence this year
alone. This is a deeply worrying trend, but it's also an inhuman
story, and we must collectively do more to address
it.
Our newly appointed Prime Minister's Special Representative on
Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord Collins, will drive
international action to tackle this issue.
The Minister has hosted events on the deteriorating situation in
Sudan and the rising cases of sexual violence in the DRC. Both
meetings gave a platform to the civil society organisations and
first responders supporting survivors of all ages on the ground.
President, women peacebuilders secured hard-won gains under
Resolution 1325, yet those gains have not been fully realised.
The Secretary General's Common Pledge to prioritise women's
participation in peace processes will help address this gap in
implementation, but there is more to be done. We call on all
Member States to move from words to action.
