Statement from Fiji's Ambassador to the UN Security Council

UN, New York 28 October 2011

We are encouraged by the initiatives currently being undertaken by the Secretary-General and UN-Women in the implementation of Resolution 1325.

We acknowledge that progress has been made in all the four thematic areas of the UN System-Wide Action Plan. We believe however, that much work remains to be done not only in relation to the UN strategic framework, but importantly in the national implementation of the resolution.

To effectively progress the resolution, we need to take a holistic approach. We depend on the guidance of the Security Council and the advice of the Secretary-General, UN Women, DPKO and other relevant UN departments and agencies.

We need the input of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and the Peacebuilding Commission, and the assistance of the civil society and regional organisations. In addition, we need to build local capacities by learning from the experiences and good practices of other countries on 1325.

Madam President We welcome the initiatives of the Security Council and the work carried out by the Secretary-General in establishing the set of indicators to track the implementation of the resolution and to provide guidance for all Member States in their efforts to achieve the desired goals of the resolution. Such universalindicators should be complemented by national implementing frameworks and policies to ensure that the various thematic areas of the resolution are addressed.

It is for this reason that Fiji supports the development of a regional framework for the Pacific SIDS as an important step towards full implementation of the resolution in the Pacific.

We believe that a framework which incorporates the principles of the resolution, with clear policy guidelines on its application to our unique national and regional characteristics, will accelerate the implementation process in the Pacific.

Madam President Fiji’s commitment to the resolution is exemplified in our policies that, amongst other things, strongly encourage the recruitment of women in our security forces and their deployment with equal opportunities to peacekeeping missions. We support the global effort to increase the participation of women in UN police peacekeeping roles to 20% by 2014. We encourage the provision of pre and post deployment training of our peacekeepers and welcome further assistance and expertise in this regard. Furthermore, we support the participation and representation of women at all levels of decision-making.

In our consultations and interactions with civil society and the public, we acknowledge the work of FemLINKPACIFIC, a Fiji-based NGO that specifically deals with 1325. The Fijian Government promotes the enhancement of efforts to colloborate with the expertise and experience of women's groups, with a view to enhancing the implementation of 1325 at the national level.

Madam President We welcome the pronouncement by the UN Secretary-General in his report that the most significant institutional development with regard to women, peace and security has been the creation of UN-Women with the purpose of leveraging the entire UN system to ensure accelerated implementation of all relevant resolutions on the issue. We therefore look forward to working with UN- Women in achieving the goals of 1325.

ENDS

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