Discorso pronunciato dall’Italia al Dibattito Aperto del Consiglio di Sicurezza su “Women, Peace and Security”. —
Mr. President,
Italy aligns itself with the statement submitted by the European Union and by the President of the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security on behalf of a cross-regional group of Countries, and would like to add a few remarks in its national capacity.
We welcome the organization of this open debate on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of UNSC Resolution 1325, which highlighted how women and a gender perspective are relevant to negotiating peace agreements, planning and participating in peacekeeping operations, and reconstructing war-torn societies with a view to achieve sustainable peace. In other terms, the Resolution defined how women’s participation, at all levels, can be a basic element of resilient and stable societies.
Ever since the adoption of UNSCR 1325 and the launching of the WPS agenda, the Security Council has adopted several other important resolutions, focusing on specific aspects of the agenda and its implementation. It is essential for the Council to keep on promoting further advancement of the WPS agenda and to resist any pushbacks. At the same time, the importance of the WPS agenda requires that all relevant UN organs and entities constantly reaffirm their commitment towards its full implementation and contribute to mainstream it in their activities.
Twenty years on, in spite of their meaningful contribution to conflict resolution, women are still heavily under-represented in peace processes. It is a primary responsibility of the Member States, alongside the United Nations, that this gets corrected and Italy is unwaveringly committed to this goal.
In the last years we have stepped up our efforts to mainstream the participation of women in peace processes in all our relevant policies and activities. In December 2016, we launched Italy’s third National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security for the 2016-2020 period. The Italian Parliament allocated 4 million Euro in support of the Plan’s implementation, which made Italy one of the very few countries devoting public funding to the implementation of its National Action Plan.
The following year, in October, we launched the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, which is a proud co-founder of the Global Alliance.
While we are proud that our efforts have been paying off, we are resolved to engage further. We are sparing no effort to further develop the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, through the opening of new local antennas. Two of these were recently inaugurated in Turkey and Cyprus, and a third one will be opened in Kosovo next November 18th.
Next month, within the framework of the MED Dialogues, we will organize the Fourth edition of the Women’s Forum, in order to raise awareness on the WPS Agenda and to gather inspiring women for a fruitful exchange of ideas.
At the same time, we are looking beyond 2020. We are currently engaged in the drafting of our fourth National Action Plan on WPS (2020-2024), with the active contribution of civil society organizations, academia, NGOs, private sectors and trade unions. These actors will also be heavily involved in implementing the Plan.
Mr. President, the road ahead of us is still long and winding. We need to join our efforts to face the challenges to the full implementation of the WPS agenda. Italy will continue to play its part in this collective endeavor.
Thank you.
