Excellencies, 

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. 

Ukraine is proud of being among the authors of this landmark resolution, establishing the basis for the women, peace and security agenda and calling for the special protection and the full and equal participation of women in all conflict prevention, resolution and post-conflict peace building efforts.

As Chair of the Forum for Security Co-operation in 2020 my country made its contribution in promoting the UN SC Resolution 1325 implementation and placed this important cross-cutting issue high on our agenda. 

We are grateful to the Albanian Chairmanship for fruitful cooperation in co-organizing a joint meeting devoted to women, peace and security, which gave a comprehensive oversight of developments in this field and provided a platform for the participating States to exchange best practices and lessons learned. 

The discussion reiterated that the OSCE has an important role in promoting and strengthening the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda across the region. In this regard, Ukraine strongly advocates for the adoption of the OSCE-wide Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, which should give further impetus to the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

We also believe that the national action plans serve as important tool for governments, organizations and civil society to support the translation of UNSCR 1325 into practical action and to strengthen women’s roles in conflict prevention, peace building and security processes. 

Dear colleagues, 

Ukraine strongly supports international efforts aimed at addressing the full range of human rights violations and abuses faced by women in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. 

Due to the ongoing external aggression against Ukraine the issues covered by the resolution 1325 are of particular importance for my country. Ukraine knows first-hand how disproportionate could be an impact of armed conflicts on women and the Government of Ukraine is undertaking a number of targeted steps to address the current challenges.

With the adoption of the National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women. Peace. Security”, gender equality became a part of the reform of the security and defence sector, and has been integrated into state policy priorities. 

In addition, the new State Social Program for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men for the period up to 2021 is aimed at strengthening institutional mechanisms for ensuring gender equality in a comprehensive manner.

Ukraine values OSCE’s practical assistance in this sphere, including through the implementation of the projects on gender issues in cooperation with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. With its support the Ministry of Social Policy and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine developed a training course “Women. Peace. Security”, and a textbook on gender aspects of conflicts was successfully integrated into the educational programs. Ukrainian authorities also welcome the OSCE expertise in drafting a guide on equal rights and opportunities for women and men in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Let me conclude by reiterating Ukraine’s commitment to the implementation of the UN SC Resolution 1325 and relevant OSCE commitments in order to contribute to the empowerment of women, promote the importance of women’s participation and leadership in all aspects of peace and security as well as post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.