Opening remarks by Excessive Consultant Kaja Kallas on the Excessive-Degree Assembly on Women, Peace and Security within the margins of the UN Normal Meeting

 

Excellencies, 

Dear buddies,

Let me first begin by thanking the Kingdom of Morocco for its management in advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda. 

And let me additionally be part of with you in celebrating the extension of your National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325. 

You won’t discover a extra enthusiastic champion of your work to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda than the European Union. 

That is why Europe and Morocco can work collectively as we do.  We not too long ago teamed up in Casablanca to debate how one can empower ladies working in counter-terrorism. We share the identical objective of guaranteeing ladies are current in safety sector reform as decision-makers. And not simply as beneficiaries. It was vital to convey collectively police, prosecutors, intelligence, and civil society to higher perceive what are the obstacles.

I’d additionally prefer to recognise the management of the co-organisers of at this time’s occasion:

• Guatemala via justice reforms to deal with violence towards ladies;
• Ghana for his or her spectacular report in contributing ladies peacekeepers;
• The Philippines for placing ladies in peace and safety in your nation’s peace-building framework and schooling system;
• And France via the nation’s feminist international coverage and advocacy within the Security Council.

The European Union’s objective is to make sure that ladies are absolutely concerned in defence and safety coverage at each stage. This is a part of the safety and defence pacts we’ve with eight nations, for instance. 

One of the principle causes is as a result of ladies face a complete set of various challenges in battle. 

In struggle ladies have suffered devastating penalties of Russia’s struggle of aggression. They have given beginning with the sounds of air raid sirens ringing of their ears. They have been victims of conflict-related sexual violence. 

Women’s organisations are sometimes the primary responders. That is why it’s EU coverage to strengthen them. And we do that everywhere in the world, final 12 months with virtually 28 million euro for girls’s rights organisations in fragile and battle settings.

Another cause is as a result of ladies are leaders not simply victims. In Ukraine, for instance, ladies serve within the armed forces, they ship humanitarian assist, they assist displaced households, and they’re key voices in civil society. Women should due to this fact be sitting on the desk when peace is mentioned. We want ladies’s views to information transitional justice, reconciliation, and reconstruction. Without this, there can be no lasting peace. 

Dear buddies, 

Let me end as I began by thanking Morocco for organising this occasion, for bringing us collectively round this vital subject. And thanks to the co-sponsors and everybody else for the dedication I see across the desk. 

I believe all of us agree that this agenda wants advancing. It wants higher integrating within the Security Council debates. 

At a interval when there are extra worldwide conflicts ongoing because the Second World War, we should not let the work on ladies in peace and safety fall via the cracks. 

On the opposite. Our deal with advancing the function of girls in peace and safety ought to be laser sharp.

And let me add one private word. Whenever I’m in these type of occasions, what I see across the desk are ladies discussing ladies’s points.

The downside is, once we discuss concerning the victims, the bulk, the large majority, and I’ve been to plenty of occasions right here, and I can inform it is not majority ladies. 
When we speak about peace and safety, or ladies in conflicts, then it’s ladies who’re discussing this whether or not it is within the parliament, whether or not it is in every single place else.  But these are sisters, wives, daughters of males. 
So so long as the boys do not take this subject significantly sufficient, we do not see change. 

Like our colleague from Mali stated, the wars are began by males. 

Definitely we’d like extra ladies in politics, however we additionally want extra males to interact within the worries that girls have. 

Thank you.