Source: Leadership
The UN Women Executive Director, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, on Monday reiterated call for full participation of women at peace talks and negotiations.

She advocated that women should also be part of decision-makers in more inclusive processes.

Mlambo-Ngcuka made the call in New York while briefing UN correspondents on the 15th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 and the New Global Study on Women, Peace and Security.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resolution, passed in 2000, reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction.

It also stresses the importance of women's equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security, among others.

"UN Women are calling for accelerated action to achieve women's leadership in peace and security with stronger political direction, greatly enhanced financial support and well-targeted spending.

"This anniversary must mark that threshold moment where words become action.

"The past 15 years have made clear, however, that women are a key resource for promoting peace and stability.

"We must not miss the chance to achieve radical change, moving from treating women's issues as side issues or peripheral to the business of the UN, to making women and girls the missing answer to creating a peaceful and just world.

"Every day that women are excluded is a day longer to wait for peace," she said.

.Mlambo-Ngcuka said that women's leadership was central to reconciliation and conflict resolution and to peace-building efforts that brought results for families and communities.

She revealed that over 15 years since the resolution was adopted, percentage of women in peace talks had stagnated, with national dialogues and decisions in conflict-affected countries routinely dominated by male leaders.

''Direct consequences'', she said, ''are felt on women's lives'', adding that in conflict-affected settings, the risk of sexual violence, child marriage and HIV infection had increased.

On the global study, she said it highlighted that when women were at peace talks their participation increased the probability of a peace agreement.

The director said that evidence reflected in the study also showed that states with higher levels of gender equality were less likely to resort to use of force in relation to engagement with other states.

This, she stated, made gender equality a powerful tool of conflict prevention.

Also speaking, Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy, Independent Lead Author of the Global Study, said the implementation of the resolution was an important part of the UN global agenda for change to better serve the world's most vulnerable people.

She said that the study held that the UN must play ''the lead role in creating a peaceful and secure world for all of us, holding true to its original vision to turn swords into shares.

''To do so, the UN must adopt structural changes to capitalise on its available resources for women, peace and security,'' she said.

Coomaraswamy also said that the UN must ensure that the entire system moved forward in a coherent and coordinated manner to bring gender equality and women's empowerment into the core of its work in all areas.

''Prevention of conflict must be the priority, not the use of force; perpetrators must be held accountable and justice must be transformative.

"Perpetrators of grave crimes against women should be held accountable for their actions so that women receive justice and future crimes are deterred.

"At the same time, justice in conflict and post-conflict settings must be transformative in nature, addressing not only the singular violation experienced by women, but also the underlying inequalities which render women and girls vulnerable.

"'Women spoke with one voice from every continent to convey a key message to the Security Council.

''The United Nations must take the lead in stopping the process of militarisation and militarism that began in 2001 in an ever-increasing cycle of conflict," she said.