Madam President,
Happy International Women's Day
I would like to thank you for giving my delegation the opportunity to speak during this open debate.
In Pakistan, women have played and continue to play an important role in every walk of life. Pakistani women have served as Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly, Leader of the Opposition, Cabinet Ministers, Judges, Army officers, fighter pilots. Twenty percent of our diplomats are women and rising. Pakistan has deployed 450 Women Peacekeepers and their ratio in our contingents is also growing.
Madam President,
The women, peace and security (WPS) agenda remains an important endeavour to promote a comprehensive approach to building peace and security. All 4 pillars of prevention, participation, protection and relief and recovery must be built for a sustained success in realizing the WPS Agenda and the objectives of Security Council Resolution 1325.
We agree with the need to prioritize "key enablers:
One, women should be part of all conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacebuilding efforts;
Two, during the post-conflict reconstruction, women's participation should be ensured in all relief and recovery programs and activities with the view to ensure their economic empowerment and inclusion;
Three, international partners, including international financial institutions and the private sector, should promote sustained gender-responsive, community-driven approaches for women's economic inclusion and participation;
Four, countries affected by conflicts require technical support within a culturally sensitive framework, in shaping their judicial, legislative, and administrative sectors for the empowerment of women.
At the same time, all such efforts should be promoted with full respect for State sovereignty and national ownership of policies and programmes.
Madam President,
While the Security Council promotes the holistic approach set out in the WPS strategy and the Secretary-General's report, it is imperative to address the immediate challenges in numerous situations of conflict where women and girls are endangered, and their fundamental rights violated. These challenges should be addressed in a holistic, effective and non-discriminatory manner. There have been references here to the plight of women and girls affected by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. This Council is also pre-occupied with the protection of the rights of women and girls in post-conflict Afghanistan.
Less visible in the Council's debates is the ongoing violence against women and girls in occupied Jammu and Kashmir where there is documented evidence of rape and sexual violence being used as a weapon of war against thousands of women and girls. Their plight should not continue to be ignored. We must overcome double standards in all UN processes including in the Security Council.
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