Ambassador U. Joy Ogwu

Ambassador/Permanent Representative

Nigeria Mission to the UN

New York, NY

27th April, 2010

As Delivered

I would like, Mr. President, to extend the gratitude of the Nigerian delegation to you for having convened this crucially important meeting on women and peace and security. I add my voice to those who have expressed appreciation to Ms. Margot Wallström for her presence in the Chamber and for her very, very inspiring briefing. We recognize the important role of her mandate in protecting women and girls in conflict areas, and Nigeria fully supports and associates itself with her work.

Of course, our gratitude goes also to Ms. Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. She has been on the front lines, and we appreciate her efforts.

Today’s deliberations reaffirm the great importance that we collectively attach to the impact of conflict on women and to the role that women should play in helping to prevent and resolve conflicts. We are concerned that, in spite of resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008), which became beacons of hope for millions of women and young girls, crimes of rape and sexual violence persist. However, we share a sense of optimism that, given our collective will, especially in the Security Council, we can bring an end to impunity and to this crime against humanity. For countries like my own, which are actively involved in peacekeeping efforts in our subregion and around the world, there is no better time than now to make the best efforts to achieve the realization of resolution 1325 (2000). Nigeria is one of the four Member States to pilot a gender and peacekeeping framework, and we consider that effort a vital part of the global commitment to implementing resolution 1325 (2000). The corollary of that commitment is a greater role for women in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, and the reduction of large scale violations of women’s rights in armed conflicts.

The work of both the Security Council and the Secretary General in detailing and delineating the steps to be taken towards the full actualization of the goals contained in resolution 1325 (2000) and the Beijing Platform for Action to prevent violence against women is highly appreciated. Nevertheless, the slow pace of progress towards the fulfillment of the objectives of those two instruments continues to give us cause for concern.

With this in mind, Nigeria welcomes the report of the Secretary-General (S/2010/173), which, in proposing indicators against which best practices can be measured, addresses the issue of women and peace and security with a greater degree of clarity. In framing the indicators around the pillars of prevention, participation, protection and relief and recovery, the report appropriately places the role and experience of women front and centre in the work of the United Nations on peace and security. Broad consultations with key actors to develop these indicators are absolutely necessary during the pilot phase.

The recommendations for the pilot programme are cogent. However, we consider the task of building consensus, backed by reliable funding commitments, of utmost importance. A collective undertaking from the international community to share knowledge and expertise to facilitate the pilot phase and the subsequent implementation of the proposed framework are also very critical. With these commitments in place, the objectives of resolution 1325 (2000) would ultimately constitute the bedrock of the United Nations peacekeeping and conflict-prevention procedures.

The progress of the pilot programme should be included in subsequent reports by the Secretary- General on a themed basis in order for monitoring and accountability measures to be both meaningful and effective. In addition, the Secretary-General should identify and report on what further resources are necessary. This is to ensure the efficient execution of the enormous task of coordinating inputs from all parties concerned.

In conclusion, Nigeria supports the draft presidential statement before us today.