I have the honor to make this statement on behalf of the following 53 participating States: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan, as well as the European Union.
We reiterate our commitment to the Women, Peace and Security agenda as a corner stone in achieving comprehensive and sustainable peace and security in the OSCE area, and strongly believe that the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, including at all levels of decision-making and leadership, in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, as well as the promotion of women’s and girls’ safety from violence in conflict and crises, are fundamental for building strong, resilient, democratic and peaceful societies.
We acknowledge the key role of the OSCE, as a regional security organization under chapter VIII of the UN Charter, in implementing different UNSC Resolutions in its region, including the full and effective implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. The OSCE’s unique concept of comprehensive security covers several elements of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and provides a very suitable setting for full and effective implementation of the Women, Peace and Security commitments on a range of levels, from the political to the very practical.
Although gaps remain to be bridged, we recognize the work done and progress made regarding the Women, Peace and Security agenda since the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 and its subsequent resolutions, including through the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, and remain devoted to our commitment to enhance co-ordination of efforts at national, subregional, and regional levels in order to promote and strengthen the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the OSCE region.
We recall our commitment to the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security, of which an integrated gender perspective is an integral part, in addressing current as well as new threats and challenges in the OSCE area. We reaffirm the OSCE’s commitment to gender mainstreaming, with the goal of achieving gender equality, full and effective implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and of the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality.
We reaffirm the importance of a whole-of-OSCE approach in implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda. The Secretariat and OSCE Executive Structures, the Field operations, the Autonomous Institutions, the Chairpersonship and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly all have a vital role in ensuring its realization, as do participating States and partners.
An important and strong instrument in this regard is the OSCE Toolkit on „Inclusion of Women and Effective Peace Processes”. With this in mind, we would welcome an assessment of the impact and use of the OSCE Toolkit to date, in order to further strengthen our efforts based on these results and continue to foster the inclusion and empowerment of women in peaceful resolution of conflicts, as it is one of the most effective way to achieve stability and sustainable peace.