The International Scientific and Practical Conference “Women, Peace and Security Agenda: Ensuring Human Security, Promoting Sustainable Peace and Preventing Conflicts” 

20th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security 

The role of the diplomatic system in advancing the WPS Agenda

 

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to attend this event which allows to assess the progress made in fulfilling international commitments undertaken in the framework of multilateral fora and implemented at the national level.

2020 is an anniversary year for several historical milestones for global peace and stability and especially for human rights. It is the 75^th anniversary of the United Nations, 70 years since the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights, 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Program of Action and 20 years since the adoption of the resolution under discussion today.

It is a time to take stock of what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done in order to attain the objectives set out by our predecessors.

The reflection exercise is of particular importance today as we realize that our rights and freedoms, and the progress achieved in most walks of life, should not be taken for granted, especially with regard to the rights of women. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that even in the countries with a good track record on gender equality, women are among the groups most heavily impacted by the societal effects of the crisis: job loss, increased risk of poverty, less access to social protection, reduced access to health services due to the reallocation of resources, smaller chances of quick recovery after the pandemic.

Against this background, another disturbing phenomenon continues to unfold: gender-based violence is increasing exponentially as many women have been forced to ‘lockdown’ at home with their abusers.

In this context, it is clear that the response to the pandemic needs to fully take into account the gender dimension, as we will not be able to speak about true recovery without taking into consideration particular needs of women and without getting them fully involved in the decision-making process.

In times of peace as indeed in times of crisis, investing in women and girls, providing them with equal access to education, health care, decent work and representation in political and economic decision-making processes is not only a fundamental prerequisite for a true democracy, it is also a smart investment.

The statistical data show clearly that as female education levels rise, infant and child mortality rates fall and family health improves, women's participation in the labor force and their contribution to household and national income increases. It is a well-known fact that stronger women mean stronger families, stronger communities, stronger nations! 

Every sphere of life improves when women participation increases and this is equally true for peace and security, as well as for multilateralism.

Reports show that when women are involved in peace processes, peace agreements are more likely to last for 15 years or more. Likewise, when women account for at least 30% of the peacekeeping mission, local women are more likely to join the peace committees, thus contributing to higher credibility of peacekeeping forces, greater reporting of gender-related crimes and reducing cases of sexual exploitation and abuse.

The unanimous adoption by the UN Security Council of the Resolution 1325, represented a pivotal moment for the cause of gender equality in general, as it did not only recognize the specific impact of conflict and war on women, but also acknowledged an urgent need to engage women in peace and security at all levels.

20 years later, there is still a long way from the international commitment to actual progress on the ground, but undoubtedly diplomacy has a crucial role to play in this process.

On the one hand, diplomats are always the first to act as messengers and first promoters of initiatives and ideas that emerge in the framework of multilateral cooperation. By requesting the national authorities to define a position on a given new initiative, diplomats often become the main drivers behind the national commitment.

On the other hand, once the initiative has gained traction at the national implementation level, diplomats, based on the national experience and expertise, can further promote it among other countries, thus strengthening the international commitment for the cause and the country’s role as an active contributor to global agenda.

Even though the Republic of Moldova began actively reflecting on the ways to implement the Resolution 1325 at a later stage after its adoption, all the actors involved – security and defense sector, parliamentarians, civil society - embraced the idea that firm actions were needed in order to promote women’s participation in peace and security.

The Foreign Ministry got involved in the process from the start when the WPS Agenda was first included as an objective of the 2014-2016 NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) for the Republic of Moldova. Moldovan diplomats continued to promote the implementation of this commitment and actively participated in drafting the National Program for 2018 – 2021, as well as in mobilizing technical support for the implementation of the above commitments.

The NATO IPAP has been an indispensable tool for providing the necessary assistance both during the exploratory phase and at the drafting and implementation stages.

Furthermore, on the role of the diplomatic system in promoting the WPS agenda, last year, our diplomats from the Ministry’s head office initiated the production of a promotional video on the implementation of the 1325 resolution in Moldova with a view to increasing visibility of women in the security sector.

On the multilateral diplomacy level, gender equality has always been a priority topic for the Republic of Moldova, expressed through our national or joint statements and declarations, in our voting at the UN and other multilateral fora, and by joining various initiatives on the topic.

We cannot speak about promoting gender equality as foreign policy priority without analyzing the gender balance within the diplomatic system.

Currently almost a quarter of Heads of Moldovan missions abroad are women. As regards the diplomatic posts at the Foreign Ministry, the proportion is fairly balanced – almost half of the employees are women.

With regard to the decision-making positions within the Foreign Ministry, currently one out of three Secretaries of State and one out of four Ambassadors-at-Large is a woman. And I am pleased to note that my portfolio includes, for the first time in the history of the Moldovan diplomatic service, the issue of gender equality.

As part of a public communication aimed at the consistent promotion of gender equality, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration joins the world diplomacies by promoting the achievements of women and their contribution to the consolidation of the national diplomatic service.

In this regard, we intend to launch in the near future an information campaign entitled "Women in Diplomacy" to highlight the formative role of women in defining the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova.

Within the Foreign Ministry, perhaps more than in any other lines of work, we are aware of the crucial impact that women can have on policy and negotiation outcomes.

This is why, as a country that faces a frozen unresolved conflict on its territory, with the illegal stationing of foreign military troops and ammunition in its eastern region without the host country consent, we need to be paying greater attention to the issue of women’s participation in the conflict resolution process. Having Deputy Prime Minister Cristina Lesnic as lead negotiator in the conflict resolution process and a person in charge of coordinating the implementation of the WPS Action Plan, we are confident that the presence of women at the negotiating table only improves the quality of the dialogue.

The focus on women, security and peace is part of a strong gender equality policy framework that promotes the equal participation of women in all spheres of life by eliminating all forms of discrimination.

Violence against women represents a human rights violation, the worst manifestation of discrimination against women and a major obstacle in achieving genuine gender equality.

This is why the Republic of Moldova signed and committed to ratify the Istanbul Convention, the only international instrument designed to provide State parties with a toolbox to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry, as the messenger and guardian of our international commitments, would like to underline the importance of this Convention for combating this negative phenomenon in our country and for the success of any other gender equality related policies.

The legislation changes and the instruments that are being put in place as a measure to ensure compliance with the Convention and to prepare the national legal grounds for ratification are crucial for the effectiveness of the treaty. In the 2019/2020 Report on the WPS Index[1], the Republic of Moldova was mentioned as having registered a remarkable 22 positions jump in the ranking due to recent amendments to sexual assault legislation.

We believe that the implementation of the WPS agenda, although focused more on security and defense area, will have an immense impact on other dimensions of gender policy. More women in the police, army, and at the negotiation tables can also have a snowball effect on the society as a whole by setting the highest standards in terms of representation and empowerment of women.

Finally, Resolution 1325 holds a promise to women across the globe that their rights will be protected and that barriers to their equal participation and full involvement in the  promotion and keeping of sustainable peace will be removed. We must uphold this promise. To achieve the goals set out in the resolution, political will, concerted action and accountability on the part of the entire international community are required.

Thank you.