Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 7289th Meeting, 28 Oct. 2014, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "Women and Peace and Security"]

S/PRST/2014/21View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 201 Women and peace and security, published in 2014.

What subjects does this mandate have?

10 subjects

Gender Discrimination Gender Equality Gender Mainstreaming Gender-Based Violence International Humanitarian Law International Security Peacebuilding Trafficking in Persons Women Refugees Women's Advancement

What’s in this document?

14 paragraphs

At the 7289th meeting of the Security Council, held on 28 October 2014, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “Women and peace and security”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council reaffirms its commitments to the full and effective implementation of resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) and recalls all statements of its President on Women and Peace and Security as reiterating the Council’s commitments.

“The Security Council takes note with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General on Women and Peace and Security (S/2014/693) for the purpose of implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), and particularly welcomes its focus on implementation, sustaining progress and the need to translate commitments into improved outcomes.

“The Security Council reaffirms that women’s and girls’ empowerment and gender equality are critical to efforts to maintain international peace and security, and emphasizes that persistent barriers to full implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) will only be dismantled through dedicated commitment to women’s empowerment, participation, and human rights, and through concerted leadership, consistent information flows and action, and support, to ensure women’s full and equal participation at all levels of decision-making.

“The Security Council welcomes the efforts of Member States to implement resolution 1325 (2000) at the national, regional and local levels, including the development of national action plans and other national, subregional and regional-level strategies and implementation frameworks, and encourages Member States to continue to pursue such implementation. The Council further stresses that United Nations entities should continue to support and supplement, as appropriate, efforts of Member States in the implementation of 1325 (2000). The Council recognizes the critical contributions of civil society, including women’s organizations to conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding and in this regard the importance of sustained consultation and dialogue between women and national and international decision makers. The Council encourages the involvement of men in promoting gender equality and ending sexual and gender based violence.

“The Security Council welcomes the additional steps taken to implement Security Council resolutions 2106 (2013) and 2122 (2013), and notes the importance of sustained efforts by the United Nations to improve the quality of information and analysis on the impact of armed conflict on women and girls, the role of women in all areas of conflict prevention and resolution, peacemaking and peacebuilding and the gender dimensions of these areas, and to systematically include information and related recommendations on issues of relevance to women, peace and security in their reports and briefings to the Council. The Council reiterates its intention to increase its attention to women, peace and security as a cross cutting subject in all relevant thematic areas of work on its agenda, including on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

“The Security Council recognizes that refugee and internally displaced women and girls are at heightened risk of being subject to various forms of human rights violations and abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence, and discrimination, which can occur during the various stages of the displacement cycle. The Security Council reaffirms the primary responsibility of Member States in the protection of their populations, including refugee and internally displaced women and girls. The Council stresses the importance of the Secretary-General and relevant United Nations agencies, inter alia, through consultation with women and women-led organizations as appropriate, supporting the development and strengthening of effective mechanisms for preventing and providing protection from violence, including in particular sexual and gender based violence, to refugee and internally displaced women and girls.

“The Council urges Member States to take measures to prevent refugee and internally displaced women and girls from being subject to violence, and to strengthen access to justice for women in such circumstances, including through the prompt investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of sexual and gender based violence, as well as reparations for victims as appropriate. The Council stresses that the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern committed against women and girls has been strengthened through the work of the International Criminal Court, ad hoc and mixed tribunals, as well as specialized chambers in national tribunals.

“The Security Council reiterates with grave concern that the illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons fuel armed conflicts and have a disproportionate impact on violence perpetrated against women and girls, and exacerbate sexual and gender-based violence.

“The Security Council urges all parties involved in an armed conflict to allow full and unhindered access by refugee and internally displaced women to humanitarian assistance and protection as well as basic services such as education, health, housing, and productive livelihoods, including assets such as land and property, in particular for those refugee and internally displaced women and girls at increased risk of marginalisation. The Council recognises the importance of Member States and United Nations entities seeking to ensure humanitarian aid and funding includes provision for the full range of medical, legal, psychosocial and livelihood services, and noting the need for access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including regarding pregnancies resulting from rape, without discrimination. The Security Council further recognizes that refugee and internally displaced women and girls are at increased risk of becoming stateless as a result of discriminatory nationality laws, obstacles to registering and the lack of access to identity documents, and urges States to ensure prompt and equitable provision of all necessary identity documents to such women and girls.

“The Security Council urges Member States, the Secretary-General and relevant United Nations agencies, to ensure meaningful participation of refugee and internally displaced women, as well as adolescent girls as appropriate, in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes for refugee and internally displaced women and girls at all stages of the displacement cycle. The Council further calls for the systematic collection, analysis and utilization of sex and age-disaggregated data that is required to assess the specific needs and capacities of women, and to meaningfully measure to what extent recovery programmes are benefiting women, men, girls and boys, by all relevant actors.

“The Security Council expresses with deep concern that violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, often results in increased displacement, and is frequently targeted at women and girls, leading to serious human rights violations and abuses committed against them including murder, abduction, hostage taking, kidnapping, enslavement, their sale and forced marriage, human trafficking, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence. The Council urges all Member States to protect their population in particular women and girls, affected by violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism, whilst respecting all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and international humanitarian law. The Council encourages Member States to engage the participation and leadership of women and women’s organizations, including refugee and internally displaced women, in developing strategies to counter violent extremism, and further to address, including by the empowerment of women, the conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism.

“The Security Council reiterates its intention to convene a High-level Review in 2015 to assess progress at the global, regional and national levels in implementing resolution 1325 (2000), renew commitments and address obstacles and constraints that have emerged in the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). The Security Council encourages those Member States, regional organizations as appropriate, and United Nations entities who have developed frameworks and plans to support the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) to start reviewing existing implementation plans and targets, and to accelerate progress and prepare to formulate new targets, in time for the 2015 High-level Review.

“The Council welcomes the commissioning by the Secretary-General, in preparation for the High-level Review, of a global study on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), highlighting good practice examples, implementation gaps and challenges, as well as emerging trends and priorities for action. The Security Council encourages Member States, regional and subregional organizations as appropriate, and United Nations entities to contribute to the study. The Security Council invites the Secretary-General within his next annual report on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) to submit on the results of the global study and to make this available to all Member States of the United Nations”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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