Statement of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on adoption of Security Council Resolution 2122

I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to every member of the Security Council and its Presidency for adopting today’s historic resolution on women, peace and security.

Resolution 2122 demonstrates the Security Council’s intention to put women’s leadership at the centre of all efforts to resolve conflict and promote peace. It answers the chorus of voices from the global women’s movement to focus on women’s roles as peace leaders. And it recognizes, loud and clear, that gender equality and the empowerment of women are critical to international peace and security.

This resolution is an extraordinary addition to our ever-evolving global norms, and pushes the normative envelope with new language on the need for the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services for women made pregnant due to conflict-related rape, without discrimination, and on women’s vulnerability in displacement being aggravated by prior unequal citizenship rights, gender-biased application of asylum laws, and lack of identity documents.

It broadens the reach of our women, peace and security agenda, addressing the full breadth of forms of violence and human rights violations against women and girls in armed conflict, and embracing the full scope of measures to redress them, including reparations. And it sets out concrete specifications for improved working methods in the Council, in peacekeeping missions, or by mediators to peace talks.

In anticipation of the high-level review in 2015, when we will measure how our results match the aspirations set out by resolution 1325 in 2000, the Security Council will conduct its first thematic mission on women, peace and security, and has called for a global study on implementation of 1325. UN Women will work with the Security Council, all Member States, and our UN and civil society partners, to make the best of Resolution 2122 and push this agenda forward.