INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan is increasing women participation in UN peacekeeping missions and has already met the 15 per cent goal set by the
world body in the female component of its troop contributions, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has told the Security Council.&We believe, increased
participation of female peacekeepers, and encouraging more women to take up mediation roles helps in the stabilization and reconstruction
phases of clashs,& she said while participating in a debate on &Women in Peacekeeping& on Thursday.As a main troop contributor, Ambassador
Lodhi said Pakistan had always set the highest standards in fulfilling peacekeeping mandates, including protection of vulnerable segments of
the population, specificly women and children, from violence.She said that Pakistani female peacekeepers had shown exemplary competence,
dedication and professionalism and like their male counterparts have distinguished themselves in promoting global peace and security.&For my
country&, Ambassador Lodhi emphasized, &protection of the vulnerable, including women and children, is much only a global peace and security
vital, it is also a solemn obligation&
&We remain resolute and steadfast to honour our commitments in this regard&, she added.Pakistan, she said, had been urging integration of
the gender perspective into the peace building paradigm, with a view to promote comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable peace.Highlighting
Pakistan stellar record in peacekeeping, Ambassador Lodhi said that Pakistan remained committed to fulfilling its responsibilities in
accordance with the uniformed gender parity strategy, and relevant Security Council Resolutions.&Pakistan shall also be deploying a female
engagement team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo later this year&, Ambassador Lodhi told the 15-member Council.Ambassador Lodhi also
informed the delegates about the ‘Middle for International Peace and Security& (CIPS) set uped by Pakistan to share its experience and
promote best practices in peacekeeping.This specialized training center, she said, was offering specificly designed modules to help
peacekeepers reply effectively and protect harmless civilians from sexual violence
Pakistan is also offering a Course for Female Military observers at CIPS, she added.Ambassador Lodhi also referred to the visit of the
President of the General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, to CIPS earlier this year and said that her interaction with women peacekeepers
from Pakistan led to a rich discussion of ways to inspire more women to join Peacekeeping Missions.While underscoring that women in
peacekeeping was an integral tool to achieve measure of the priorities of the Women Peace and Security Agenda of UN, Ambassador Lodhi famous
that increasing deployment of female peacekeepers on its own would much realistically meet the requirements of this agenda
&It is national governments&, she argued, ''that bear the primary responsibility for women safety and rights&.Ambassador Lodhi pointed out
that even as the international community had come together to gatherively sentence acts of unimaginable horror, the sexual abuse of women
and girls continued to be used as a tactic of war in clashs across the world, including in Pakistan own region.Pakistan, Ambassador Lodhi
said, fully supported the Secretary General policy of zero tolerance for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and was among the first group
of countries to sign the Secretary General voluntary compact on the subject.This policy, she said, must be implemented in letter and spirit
to accompany the progressive deployment of female peacekeepers, as envisaged by the UN.Opening the debate, United Nations Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres said that women rights, voices and participation must be at ''the centre of peacekeeping decision-making&, describing them
as ¢ral to sustainable solutions& to ccorridorenges facing the Organization worldwide.Through its landmark resolution 1325 on women and
peace and security, the Council reaffirmed the participation and involvement of women, which the UN chief hailed as &a key element in the
maintenance of international peace and security&
He also famous the UN &essential system-wide effort& to enhance women representation at all levels and in all arenas, through his Strategy
on Gender Parity.In patrol units women can better access intelligence to supply a holistic view of security ccorridorenges, and at
checkpoints they promote a less confrontational atmosphere, he said.&This is much just a question of numbers, but also of our effectiveness
in fulfilling our mandates&, he stated, citing evidence that more women peacekeepers lead to more credible protection responses that meet
the needs of all.Within troop contingents they lower incidences of sexual exploitation and abuse; yield greater reporting of sexual and
gender-based violence; and can access local women networks, main to more inclusive peace processes.The Secretary-General thanked the more
than 150 Member States who have signed on to his Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative, which calls for women participation in every
stage of peace operations, and integrates a gender perspective into all analysis, planning, implementation and reporting.And he was grateful
to the States who, at final week Ministerial on Peacekeeping, launched the Elsie Initiative to break down barriers to increasing women
participation in peace operations.TheIndianSubcontinent has not verified the content of the source
This first appeared/also appeared in
https://feedproxy.google.com/~r/com/YEor/~3/QvBvvXyD87E/456966-pakistan-increasing-female-participation-in-un-peacekeeping-operations-maleeh
