EU Statement – United Nations Security Council: Arria-formula meeting on Participation of Women in UN-led Peace Processes

I would like to thank Ireland, Mexico and all co-sponsors for co-hosting this meeting on the day when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

There can be no sustainable peace without the full inclusion of women and girls and the involvement of civil society. Women, including young women, must participate in all parts and levels of peace processes, because they have a right to full, equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of peace and security. This is the right, smart, and only way forward.

Though the empowerment of women and girls should be a key priority worldwide, it is, admittedly, also a considerable challenge for the EU, as women are still under-represented in positions of influence and power both in our Member States and in the EU institutions. Significant cultural and social barriers that prevent women's leadership and full, equal, and meaningful participation, not least in politics, need to be addressed in all our societies.

In the 20 years since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions, we have learned that change is indeed possible. We must challenge gender stereotypes and negative social norms, enabling women and girls to come forward and contribute to the prevention and resolution of conflicts. We must continue to invest time and money in building the capacities of the growing number of women who have entered traditionally male-dominated spheres of public life dealing with conflict, such as the armed and the security forces.

In this context, we also recognise the critical work of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in ensuring better integration and collaboration between peace operations, sustainable development policies and the UN country teams, with gender equality being at the core of all work.

The full, equal and meaningful participation of all women in peace processes is essential to achieve sustainable peace. It starts with a safe and enabling environment, free of violence and threats of any kind. Last year, the UN Security Council held a first Arria formula meeting on addressing reprisals against women human rights defenders and women peacebuilders who engage with the Security Council and its subsidiary bodies. It is high time that the conclusions of this meeting are put into action. A clear prevention mechanism should be established and funds should be mobilised to counter the alarming increase of reprisals against women peacebuilders.

A safe and enabling environment also requires more efforts to ensure full and equal access to education and essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health-care services, for all women and girls in conflict and other crisis settings.

The EU has been at the forefront of promoting women’s participation in peace processes. In addition to supporting the Women Advisory Board of the UN Special Envoy and the Civil Society Support Room, in March 2018 the EU launched the Gaziantep Women Platform (also known as the Women for Peace Initiative), aimed at preparing Syrian women to play a more active and visible role in the political and peace processes at all levels.  Yet, we recognise more efforts are needed. Only 26% of the members of Syria’s Constitutional Committee are women. The same goes for other UN-led peace processes, including in Yemen and Libya. There is no substitute for direct and substantive participation in talks at all levels, and we call on the UN and other partners to do more in this regard.

The EU’s ambition is to lead by example. We have set the bar high for ourselves- in our 2019 Action Plan on Women Peace and Security, we established the objective of reaching a minimum 33% participation of women in all EU activities and projects related to peace processes by 2025. This is also a recommendation to EU Member States and we hope that other relevant stakeholders will do likewise. We are set to make gender-responsive leadership the new norm and a standard requirement in the EU institutions.

The EU and its MS are determined to implement the WPS agenda together with our allies and partners, especially with civil society organisations, women mediators and women human rights defenders, who dispose of valuable knowledge on the ground.

For the next 20 years of UNSCR 1325, our main recommendation is to turn aspirational words into action, and to hold to account those who try to obstruct its implementation.