Security Council Open Debate
“Keeping the promises: The role of regional organizations in implementing women, peace and security in the face of the political turmoil and seizures of power by force”
Wednesday, June 15th, 10 am
Madame President,
Italy welcomes the initiative of Albania to convene this high -level open debate, which allows us to reiterate our strong support for Resolution 1325 and the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
Italy aligns itself with the statement delivered by Group of Friends of WPS, and would like to deliver a few remarks in a national capacity.
Promoting the full, effective and meaningful inclusion of women in all spheres of public life and in the main decision-making processes is key to bringing change and fostering peaceful coexistence. It is a work that starts in times of peace, involving local communities and grass-root civil society organizations, and helps to enhance the resilience of our societies and prevent conflicts. The Women, Peace and Security agenda is not only, and must not be perceived as it were only, a “women rights issue”: it is primarily a security issue that concerns the whole of society.
In light of that, we uphold the importance of streamlining WPS in all the relevant discussions of this Council.
Madame President,
Since the adoption of the historic Resolution 1325 a lot has been accomplished. We have strengthened awareness, developed a more robust policy framework, new monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place. However, twenty years later, women and girls continue to disproportionately bear the burden of conflict and turmoils and remain underrepresented or unrepresented in peace process efforts, in spite of their constructive contribution to conflict resolution at grassroots level.
Allow me to pay a tribute to all the women who live in fear in contexts of war and violence, for their own safety and their families’, in Ukraine and elsewhere. They are victims whose voices must be heard, to held perpetrators accountable to justice. They are mothers, daughters and wives. But they also are peace-builders, human rights defenders, activists and community leaders ready to contribute to shape and direct the path to lasting peace. All these voices must be heard.
We must put women at the center of all our efforts, working in a coherent way at different and complementary levels: national, international and regional.
At national level, Italy is currently implementing its fourth Action Plan on WPS (for the period 2020-2024). In parallel, we continue to engage, together with our EU partners, in the implementation of the relevant EU Action Plan for the 2019-2024 term.
We have strengthened our partnership with the UN system in favor of Women and Girls, through increased core funding and policies commitments. We also firmly believe in the benefits provided by the presence of well-integrated female personnel in peacekeeping operations.
At the regional level, Italy has launched the Mediterranean Women Mediators’ Network, which has increased in scope through the year and contribute to the creation of the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediators Networks, gathering voices from different regions of the world demanding to accelerate the implementation of UNSCR 1325.
Madame President,
In conclusion we believe the UN should be able to count on the fundamental contribution of regional organizations in the implementation of the WPS agenda, seizing the opportunities offered by their proximity to the specific realities on the ground.
There is plenty of evidence that when women are meaningfully involved, peace talks are more likely to address root causes and yield more sustainable results. Rest assured that Italy will remain actively engaged in pursuing this goal.
Thank you Madame President.
