Statement by Ambassador at the Security Council
open debate on the role of regional organisations in the women
and peace and security agenda
I thank the expert briefers and regional organisations that we’ve
heard so valuably from today.
In April, during our Presidency of the Council, and Nadia Murad
launched the Murad Code – a landmark code of conduct for
gathering of information from survivors safely and effectively.
We have ensured that the code has been translated into Ukrainian
so that it can be used, now, with the aim of holding perpetrators
to account for their crimes.
The Secretary-General set out very clearly the many serious
issues facing women in conflict areas all over the world, from
Afghanistan to Ukraine to Myanmar. We do need action to address
this if we are to prevent the disproportionate suffering of women
in these crises and that’s why we as the UK are particularly
focused on the threat of sexual violence.
In November, the UK is hosting an international conference on
Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict in London, the centrepiece
of a global campaign launched by Foreign Secretary Truss last
year. For us, all options are on the table to strengthen
international prevention and response to the heinous crimes of
conflict-related sexual violence.
They remain one of the very horrifying consequences of Russia’s
illegal war in Ukraine.
Turning to the role of regional organisations, in many contexts
as we have heard today, regional organisations have unique
influence in advocating for the rights of women and girls, for
example in the case of Afghanistan and the Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation. We fully support all efforts as others have
said to remove the fully counter-productive restrictions imposed
on women and girls by the Taliban.
For our part, the UK supports and funds the regional Women
Mediators across the Commonwealth network who are an experienced
group of women who stand ready to support our collective efforts
for peace at the community level. Members have resolved electoral
conflicts in Uganda, mediated the political conflict in Myanmar,
and bridged divided communities in Northern Ireland and Cyprus.
The UK also supports regional collaboration to drive change on
the ground, for example through our work with ASEAN institutions
and Member States on capacity-building.
We have also supported the development of NATO’s first policies
on sexual exploitation and abuse and on conflict-related sexual
violence.
Looking forward, there are further practical actions regional
organisations and Member States can take to support women’s full,
equal and meaningful participation, including:
First, ensuring women are at the heart and forefront of
organisations, in leadership and decision-making roles, as others
have said;
Second, actively promoting the agenda through communications and
dialogue;
Third, developing regional action plans, tool kits and strategies
on WPS, which are then fully implemented; and finally,
Sharing learning, experience and expertise among organisations to
strengthen implementation of WPS, rather than duplicating
efforts.
