Remarks at the All-Ireland Conference on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace And Security 2000)
5 November 2012
Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil libh as cuireadh a thabhairt dom an Chomhdháil uile-Éireannach seo ar Rún 1325 de chuid Chomhairle Slándála na Náisiún Aontaithe maidir le Mná, Slándáil agus Síocháin a sheoladh; is mór an pléisiúr a bheith in éineacht libh anseo inniu. Cuireann sé áthas orm an deis a bheith agam casadh libn ar maidin le ceist fhíorthábhachtach taobh istigh agus taobh amuigh dár gcríocha féin a phlé libh.
[I would like to thank you for inviting me to officially open this All-Ireland Conference on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; it is a pleasure to be here with you. I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet with you this morning to discuss an issue of vital importance both within and beyond our own borders. It is also one close to my own heart.]
For too long, women and girls were the forgotten parties in war and conflict, with scant attention paid to either the impact that armed conflict has on their lives, or to the many and varied activities women have engaged in to build peace and foster reconciliation in their communities.
Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security 2000) set out to transform this untenable situation. When it was adopted in 2000, the Resolution represented a momentous break from traditional views of warfare and its consequences. It not only focused the world’s attention on the very different effects that war has on men and women; it also recognised that women must be at the centre of rebuilding their communities and nations following conflict.
The Resolution centres on three core objectives. First, it calls for the full participation of women in decision-making regarding issues relating to peace and security. Second, it calls for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence. And third, it calls for the implementation of gender perspectives in all peacemaking and peacebuilding actions that are undertaken by the UN and its Member States. Simply put, Resolution 1325 – Women, Peace and Security 2000 – is an unprecedented document.
It is one that continues to be of fundamental importance in the promotion of gender equality on the international stage. We in Ireland recognise this importance. Our engagement with the Resolution is long-standing and firm. We were proud to co-sponsor Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security 2000) and the subsequent UN Resolutions designed to reinforce it. Since its adoption, we have been active members in a number of international fora tasked with promoting its implementation of the Resolution.
As Chair-in-Office of the 56-state Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe for this year, Ireland is serving as chef-de-file on the issues raised by the Resolution. We have also used our position as Chair to encourage other participating States to also adopt National Action Plans.
The objectives of Women Peace and Security 2000 are absolutely central to the work of Irish Aid in post-conflict environments and fragile states. This fact is enshrined in Irish Aid’s gender equality policy, which has as its goal ‘to support the achievement of gender equality as an essential component of sustainable human development’.
Ireland’s work to combat gender based violence is a key part of this objective. Violence against women and girls is one of the tragic outcomes of post-conflict and post-crisis settings. It remains one of the most systematic, widespread human rights violations in the world, and the most pervasive and unacceptable form of gender inequality.
Irish Aid has supported government responses to gender based violence in Uganda, Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique as well as post-conflict states such as Timor Leste, Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the implementation of Women Peace and Security 2000 is of such critical importance.
Civil society organisations are also key partners in Irish Aid’s work to combat Gender Based Violence in post conflict states. For example, in Sierra Leone, the Irish Government has supported the work of Concern Worldwide in addressing high rates of gender-based violence in schools and making schools safe places for all children. Christian Aid’s valuable work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo providing emergency assistance and support to households impacted by conflict and poverty, including in many cases sexual violence, has also received Irish Government support. We know that men and women must work together in combating the scourge of Gender Based Violence. In Liberia, the Irish Government has supported a number of local Non Governmental Organisations working with men at community level to build awareness and understanding and to address deep-seated and entrenched negative attitudes towards women.
I appreciate that you have just watched a very valuable video with stories of the impact of the Northern Ireland conflict on the lives of women in Ireland. I salute the women who took part in this video for sharing their stories.
I am also aware of the efforts of Hannah’s House to ensure that Women, Peace and Security 2000 is an integral part of the work of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement as well as Ministerial Councils set up under the Good Friday Agreement: – the British-Irish Council, British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, the North/South Council and the North-South Parliamentary Forum. This work is critical if we are to make certain that the expertise and critical capacities of women in Ireland, north and south, are brought to bear to strengthen and deepen the peace we now experience.
I wish to also acknowledge at this point the vital role of the National Women’s Council of Ireland and the Irish Consortium on Gender-based Violence. Both organisations play a central role, nationally and internationally, in coordinating responses to gender based violence, raising awareness of the issue, sharing learning and building capacity to prevent and respond to Gender based violence. The work that they and their member organisations do shows what can be achieved when government and civil society work together to address common challenges.
The Irish Government, through Irish Aid and the Defence Forces is proud to be an active member of the Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence. I commend your collective work and look forward to hearing the outcomes of the Joint Consortium’s Annual Public Seminar on 16 November, as well as the National Women’s Council of Ireland members meeting in Galway on 29 November.
The Joint Consortium’s Annual Seminar in November last year marked the official launch of Ireland’s National Action Plan on Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. I am delighted that Ireland has now joined a growing number of countries to have adopted an Action Plan of this kind.
I know that a number of you here today were actively involved in the consultative process that fed into the development of the Plan. An incredible breadth and depth of expertise exists in this country on issues related to women, peace and security. It was vital that this was fully reflected in the consultative process. The Consultative Group that was established in February 2010 brought together a wide range of civil society organisations, as well as academia, government departments, An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of you here today who contributed to this process.
I would single out for particular thanks Ms. Shirley Graham, Director of Hanna’s House. Shirley carried out a nationwide consultation process with women affected by conflict living in Ireland. These included women from Northern Ireland and border counties, along with women who have come from conflict affected countries and regions who are now living in Ireland. These discussions played a vital role in ensuring that the voices of women affected by conflict in Ireland were not only heard, but deeply embedded in the text of the National Action Plan itself. Without your efforts, we would not have such a sensitive and well-considered document as we have today.
I would also like to pay tribute to Dr. Nata Duvvury, who produced the important first draft of the Plan, and to Ms. Inez McCormack, who gave generously of her time to chair the overall consultative process.
I know that Inez is currently unwell, and I send her my very best wishes. Inez’s tremendous contribution to peace, equality and employee rights in Ireland is well known; she is truly a ‘woman of firsts’. From 1999-2001 she was the first President of the ICTU since its formation in 1959. She was also the first woman full-time official of the National Union of Public Employees, a post she enjoyed for fourteen years from 1976-90; following this of course, she became the first woman Regional Secretary of UNISON in 1993; and she was the first woman elected to the Northern Ireland Committee of Congress 1980; and its first woman Chair, 1984-85.
What transcended all of those achievements was Inez’s passionate commitment to seeking justice for workers, minorities and women. That commitment was given powerful expression in the work that Inez did in ensuring that strong human rights and equality provisions were placed at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement. For Inez, the struggle for a more just world is never complete and in recent years she has been active in advocating the case for peace building and prosperity to be underpinned by inclusive socio-economic strategies and policies.
To Inez, and all of you who devoted such formidable commitment and expertise to the development of the National Action Plan, I extend my sincerest gratitude.
The Plan is structured along five main pillars: Prevention; Participation; Protection; Relief, recovery and rehabilitation; and Promotion by the Irish Government of the Resolution. Among its commitments are improved training on human rights and gender equality to Irish personnel deployed abroad; incorporation of women’s perspectives to our existing work in post-conflict settings; and stronger support for civil society and community initiatives promoting women’s political participation.
Tá Irish Aid ag obair go forleathan lena leithéid de pháirtíocht pholaitiúil na mban a chur chun cinn ar fud an domhain. Reachtáladh roinnt tionscadal le go mbeadh níos mó de thionchar ag ceannairí baineannacha, ní hamháin i bparlaimintí agus i bhfóraim náisiúnta, ach ag leibhéal na cosmhuintire agus na bpobal áitiúla. Thacaigh Irish Aid le páirtíocht pholaitiúil ban in olltoghchán Uganda i 2011. Tá breis is 30% de pháirtíocht pholaitiúil ban in Uganda anois Mar ullmhúchán do thoghcháin i Siarra Leon an mhi seo, táimid tar éis comhoibriú le comhpháirtithe in eagraíochtaí neamhrialtasacha ar mhaithe le cruthú Lionra de Mhná sa Chóras Rialachais. Tá oiliúint curtha ar an ngrúpa seo de 5,000 ban le cearta polaitiúla a chur chun cinn sna pobail áitiúla, agus an tsíocháin a choinneáil roimh an toghchán.
[Irish Aid is working extensively to promote such women’s political participation globally. A number of projects have been carried out with the aim of giving women leaders more of a voice, not only in parliaments and national fora, but also at grass-roots and community level. Irish Aid supported increased women’s political participation in the 2011 Uganda General Elections. Female political participation in Uganda is now over 30%. In advance of elections in Sierra Leone this November, we have worked with NGO partners towards the creation of a ‘Women in Governance Network’. This group of 5,000 women have been trained to promote political rights and maintenance of peace in communities in advance of the vote.]
In these and other ways we will continue to strive to meet the goals the National Action Plan has set. Above all, we will endeavour to ensure that the Plan is a living document that can address the rights and needs of women and girls affected by conflict in shifting contexts for years to come.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to close by reiterating my thanks to all of you. Your continued work of raising awareness of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security advocating for its full implementation, and developing the tools with which to do so, is of vital importance.
Conferences such as this provide a valuable opportunity for reflection, debate and the sharing of experience. They provide a space in which ideas can be fermented and connections made. I hope that today’s discussions prove stimulating and, above all, that they feed into ongoing efforts to implement the Resolution. You will hear from an excellent panel of speakers including Professors Christine Chinkin and Monica McWilliams, Dr Fiona Buckley, and others, all with a wealth of personal and political experience in this field to share and learn from. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of today’s discussions.
Thank you.