United Nations S/2015/716 Distr.: General 16 September 2015 Original: English Security Council Report of the Secretary-General on women and peace and security* I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 16 of Security Council resolution 2122 (2013), in which the Council invited me to commission a global study on the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), highlighting examples of good practice, implementation gaps and challenges, as well as emerging trends and priorities for action, and to submit within my 2015 report to the Council the results of the study. In addition, the report includes an update on annual progress towards the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000), as measured using the indicators designed for that purpose. 2. I have closely followed the preparations for the global study and the related high-level review in order to assess progress in implementing resolution 1325 (2000). I welcome the consultative and comprehensive approach taken by the lead author of the study, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and former Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the distinguished 16-member high-level advisory group, 1 the secretariat of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the Standing Committee on Women, Peace and Security and the informal "Friends of the global study" Member State group in their work assessing the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda from the global to the local level. The active engagement of Member States, United Nations entities, regional organizations and civil society, including research __________________ * The present report was submitted late so as to include as much updated information as possible. 1 Members of the high-level advisory group are Alaa Murabit (Canada/Libya), Anwarul Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Bandana Rana (Nepal), Elisabeth Rehn (Finland), Igballe Rogova (Kosovo), Julia Kharashvili (Georgia), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Liliana Andrea Silva Bello (Colombia), Luz Méndez (Guatemala), Madeleine Rees (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), Major General Patrick Cammaert (the Netherlands), Pramila Patten (Mauritius), Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng (Uganda), Sharon Bhagwan Rolls (Fiji), Yasmin Sooka (South Africa), and Youssef Mahmoud (Tunisia). Maha Abu Dayyeh (State of Palestine) served as a member of the high-level advisory group until her passing on 9 January 2015. 15-15656 (E) *1515656* 081015 S/2015/716 institutes, 2 in this task has been impressive and lends promise to the implementation of the global study's recommendations. 3. The present report contains select findings and recommendations from the global study, which were informed by a series of regional consultations and country visits, direct inputs from all actors, cutting-edge research and data analysis, including updated data for indicators to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) (see S/2010/498). I am particularly pleased by the efforts made to ensure synergies with related reviews, including the High -level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, the Advisory Group of Experts on the 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture, the preparations for the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 20-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. I, together with my senior managers, will carefully study the findings and recommendations. I strongly encourage all stakeholders to seriously consider the concerns voiced in the study and to respond to the demands for stronger action and specific results. II. Overview of progress and results of the global study on women and peace and security 4. As the Organization marks the seventieth anniversary of its adoption of the Charter of the United Nations, the global study's findings carry particular relevance. The similarities between key findings of the study, the report of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (A/70/95-S/2015/446), of which Ms. Coomaraswamy was a member, and the Advisory Group of Experts on the 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture (see A/69/968S/2015/490), as well as those emanating from consultations for the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, are striking. The reviews have painted a stark picture of the current peace and security context, which is characterized by blatant violations of human rights and humanitarian law, complex drivers of conflict, involvement of a growing number of non-State armed actors, new technologies and transnational connections that are changing the nature of warfare. The challenges have underlined the need for a stronger focus on prevention, more holistic and consistent approaches and mechanisms that place human rights at the core of security, protection, political, humanitarian, peacebuilding and socioeconomic development work. The reviews have also highlighted the challenges that women and girls encounter in having their voices heard and their needs addressed at the global, regional and national levels. 5. The review processes coincided with one of the most brutal waves of organized violence in modern history. Over the past few years, armed conflict has __________________ 2 Over 120 written submissions were received from close to 50 Member States, as well as from regional and subregional organizations, United Nations entities and civil society, including research institutions. Preparations for the global study included global consultations with Member States and civil society, country visits and regional consultations with Member States, regional organizations, civil society and academia in Brussels, Addis Abba, Kathmandu, Tirana, BanjaLuka and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vilnius, The Hague, the Netherlands, Guatemala City, Kampala, Cairo and Suva. The civil society survey was conducted in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, and received 317 responses from 71 countries during the period from 13 February to 1 May 2015. 2/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 erupted or escalated in multiple locations, bringing to a halt or dramatically reversing progress made. The number of people in need of international humanitarian assistance has tripled over the past decade, with 80 per cent of them affected by armed conflict. Worldwide displacement in 2014 was at the highest level ever recorded, with 59.5 million people forcibly displaced, compared with 51.2 million in 2013 and 37.5 million a decade ago. 3 Conflict and persecution forced an average of 42,500 individuals per day to leave their homes and seek protection within or beyond the borders of their country. The growing spread of violent extremism during that period was marked by abuses and violations of the rights of women and girls. 6. Against that backdrop, participants in regional and country consultations 4 on the global study called for an end to increased militariza tion and for more investment in political solutions to conflict. All three peace and security reviews strongly underlined the need for the increased and enhanced participation of women in all areas of peace and security decision-making, both on the basis of legal and human rights obligations and because women's effective and meaningful participation significantly contributes to the greater operational effectiveness of our peace, security and humanitarian efforts and to the sustainability of peace. 7. The three peace and security reviews have pointed to the need for greater emphasis on prevention, for sustaining peace and addressing the root causes of conflict in order to avoid the relapse, escalation and protraction of crises, issues also addressed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a result, the related sustainable development goal 16, on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, is premised on the common understanding that development, human rights, and peace and security, the three pillars of the work of the United Nations, are indivisible and interrelated, as evidenced by the lagging progress of conflict-affected countries towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. 8. Select messages from the global study are highlighted in the sections below. In the final section, the roles and responsibilities of key actors in accelerating the implementation of women and peace and security commitments are explored. Perhaps the strongest message to emerge from the study is the remarkable impact of women's participation on all areas of peace and security. New evidence, added through research commissioned for the study, demonstrates clearly that the inclusion of women leads to more sustainable peace and enhanced prevention efforts. Further findings show that unpredictable and insufficient funding, the lack of systematic gender-responsive analysis and technical gender expertise, attitudinal obstacles and the insufficient mapping of needs in planning and budgeting have had a detrimental impact on the long-term effectiveness of peace and security and humanitarian and development interventions. However, robust and predictable funding, committed, accountable and visible leadership, inclusive, rights -based and gender-responsive __________________ 3 4 See Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),"Wo rld at war: UNHCR global trends -- forced displacement in 2014" (2015). For the full list of the consultations and participants, see the global study on the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). Available from http://wps.unwomen.org/en. 15-15656 3/54 S/2015/716 processes and a strong gender equality architecture have all featured prominently when tangible results have been achieved. 9. The need for the earlier engagement of the Security Council to address emerging threats was mentioned in consultations and country visits as part of the global study, as was the need for the Council to remain politically vigilant in order to avoid having situations relapse into conflict and the need for better information sharing on threats, risks and violations of human rights in conflict contexts across intergovernmental bodies. Concerns were expressed that efforts to address violations of women's human rights and commitments to women's participation by all actors involved have remained largely ad hoc and "add-on", rather than as part of a deeper situation analysis, response and tools for achieving the Council 's objective of sustainable peace. 10. I hope that the present report, the global study and the high-level review to be held in October 2015 will spark reflection, dialogue, new partnerships and more determined action. It is essential to learn from and build on good practices and to recognize the Member States, leaders, organizations and entities that have stood at the forefront of positive change since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). However, despite impressive normative advancements, implementation and results on the ground remain somewhat limited. I encourage Member States, United Nations entities, regional organizations and other key stakeholders to carefully review the study and its recommendations. Commitments must not only be upheld in international law, existing resolutions, declarations and action plans but efforts must also be made to ensure that strategies for implementation are inclusive, financed and grounded in the realities on the ground. A. Beyond the rhetoric: women's leadership for peace 11. The research undertaken for the global study served to examine the impact of women's participation in peacemaking, constitution-making and national dialogues. The findings point to the fact that women's effective and meaningful participation in those processes is positively correlated with the conclusion and sustainability of talks, and the implementation of agreements. Accordingly, women 's participation shifts the dynamics by bringing new issues to the table, strengthening linkages to root causes of conflict and promoting more sustainable peace. However, consultations for the study showed that the participation of women in formal peace processes remains contested. Their inclusion is still mostly initiated and attained through concerted pressure by women's organizations, rather than by the parties to the conflict, the mediators or the organizers of the negotiations. Although differences exist between processes led or co-led by the United Nations and those that are not, gains are generally too few and far between. Many negotiations have focused solely on the military and political parties of conflict and on high -level processes where women remain underrepresented and too few of them are in positions of authority. This has often resulted in further empowering "men with guns" and in future cycles of violence and impunity. 12. A recent study of 40 peace processes showed that the ability of women to influence negotiations increased the chances of agreements being reached, was positively correlated with greater implementation and had a positive impact on the durability of peace. The meaningful inclusion of women enhanced the influence of 4/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 other actors, such as civil society organizations, on negotiation outcomes. Notably, there was not a single case where organized women's groups had a negative impact on a peace process. One of the most repeated effects of the involvement of women in peace processes was their role in pushing for the commencement, resumption or finalization of negotiations when the momentum had stalled or the talks had faltered. The findings help to reaffirm the importance of women's effective participation as a key tool for effective peacemaking. Increasing the gender-responsiveness of peace agreements 13. The importance of including gender-related provisions in peace agreements is emphasized in resolution 1325 (2000) and subsequent Security Council resolutions. Better data and analysis, including through regular monitoring using the indicators in resolution 1325 (2000), are beginning to provide a better picture of the extent to which agreements and their gender equality provisions are being implemented. New research shows the increasing presence of references to women and gender perspectives in peace agreements, in particular after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). An analysis of 664 agreements produced between 1990 and 2000 showed that 73 (11 per cent) included at least one reference to women. An analysis of 504 agreements reached in the period after the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000) until 1 January 2015 showed that 138 (27 per cent) included references to women. Evidence also indicates that peace and negotiation processes involving the United Nations have been more likely to include references to women and gender issues. 14. The findings are in line with indicator data regarding resolution 1325 (2000). 5 While slight differences in definitions and methodology result in some numerical discrepancies, the overall trends move in the same direction. Of 16 peace agreements 6 signed in 2014, 8 (50 per cent) included gender or women and pea ce and security provisions, compared with 54 per cent in 2013, 30 per cent in 2012 and 22 per cent in both 2011 and 2010. Outcome documents from processes led or co-led by the United Nations are more likely to include gender equality provisions. Of the six agreements emerging from United Nations-supported peace processes in 2014, four (67 per cent) contained women and peace and security references. Conflict-related sexual violence references have increased in signed agreements since 2010. 7 15. Very few of the examined agreements reflect comprehensive gender equality or women and peace and security considerations. Good examples include agreements signed in Guatemala in the mid-1990s, which still stand out for the quality and depth of their gender equality provision, and agreements signed in Colombia in 2014. Other processes with references to women across most of the __________________ 5 6 7 The Department of Political Affairs has been tracking data since 2011 against the indicator on the percentage of peace agreements with specific provisions to improve the security and status of women and girls. For the purposes of data collection, the Department of Political Affairs includes, under the term "peace agreements", cessations of hostilities, ceasefires, frameworks and overall peace agreements signed between at least two parties to a conflict intended to end, prevent or significantly transform a violent conflict so that it may be addressed more constructively. In 2012, the Department of Political Affairs launched its Guidance for Mediators Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ceasefire and Peace Agreements, contributing further technical support in this area. The report was produced with support from United Nations Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict. 15-15656 5/54 S/2015/716 signed agreements include Burundi, Nepal, Northern Ireland, the Philippines and the Sudan (Darfur). More analysis is required to better understand why gender-specific provisions were included, how well these reflected women's concerns and the extent to which provisions have been implemented. It is of concern that some of the agreements with the clearest provisions for women have been poorly impleme nted. The need to sustain gender-specific gains enshrined in negotiated agreements requires the continued participation of women in mediation and implementation. Better funding and monitoring of that implementation, including of gender -specific provisions and the effective and meaningful participation of women in established monitoring mechanisms, may also help to ensure that agreements are implemented and sustained. Ensuring women's inclusion in peace processes 16. The role played by different stakeholders in peace processes, especially mediators, influences women's inclusion in peacemaking. While attitudinal obstacles on the part of the mediators can constrain the inclusion of women 's perspectives in peace agreements, the awareness and acknowledgement of mediators of United Nations standards have proved instrumental in facilitating women 's participation in peace processes and political transitions. Emphasis on the importance of women's effective participation was, for example, a priority of the former Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Great Lakes Region, Mary Robinson, and the current Special Envoy, Said Djinnit. The use of forums for mediators to share experiences and explore approaches regarding inclusive peacemaking, such as the high-level seminar on gender and the inclusive mediation processes of the Department of Political Affairs has been important in creating greater awareness among envoys, mediators and mediation experts representing the United Nations, regional organizations and Member States on the strategic value of inclusion and the availability of tools, practical strategies and approaches to inclusive mediation. It is essential that all mediators and external actors that support peace talks, such as groups of friends, promote the use of global values and standards. Initiatives to address logistical barriers to women 's participation should be systematically considered in process design. 17. Third-party mediation teams have, at times, helped to promote more inclusive processes. For example, the role of Norway as facilitator in the Colombia peace process helped to ensure the inclusion of women and a gender perspective in the Havana peace talks. Women leaders and faith-based actors, who play significant roles in some communities, can further promote women's inclusion and the consideration of their different experiences of conflict, needs and priorities in peace negotiations. Additionally, as set out in Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), peace agreements that include amnesty provisions for crimes of conflict-related sexual violence should be deemed invalid by the international community. I encourage individual countries supporting peace processes to provide incentives, including financial incentives, for the greater inclusivity of women. 18. In 2014, the United Nations led, or co-led, 12 formal peace mediation processes. 8 All United Nations mediation support teams (100 per cent) included at least one woman, the same percentage as in recent years and up from 86 per cent in __________________ 8 For one of these processes (Syrian Arab Republic), no formal negotiations were held during the reporting period. 6/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 2011. Data on women's representation on negotiating party delegations show an upward trend, with senior women participating in 9 (75 per cent) of those processes in 2014, compared with 8 processes (72 per cent) in 2013, 6 processes (67 per cent) in 2012 and 14 processes (36 per cent) in 2011. Nevertheless, a focus on the improvement in numbers alone does not capture the quality of women 's influence. Further analysis is necessary to assess the quality and impact of the contributions of both female and male delegates to the promotion of gender equality and to addressing gender-specific issues in the context of peace talks. 19. Although gender-specific expertise is systematically offered through the United Nations Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers and a roster of senior technical experts, the demand for it emerging from peace negotiations remains lower than for other areas of mediation standby expertise, possibly evidencing a lack of awareness of the importance of gender perspectives as part of process design. In 2014, gender expertise was requested and provided by the United Nations to six of the nine relevant processes (67 per cent), 9 compared with 88 per cent in 2013 and 36 per cent in 2011. More must be done to sensitize all parties to understand that the participation of women is essential to furthering sustainable peace, thereby prompting greater demand for these skills. I am committed to continuing to ensure that gender expertise is an integral part of all United Nations supported mediation processes. 20. The importance of regular consultations between mediation teams and women's civil society organizations has been emphasized in resolutions on women and peace and security. In 2014, all peace processes with United Nations engagement included regular consultations with civil society, 88 per cent of them with women's organizations, a notable rise from the 2011 rate of 50 per cent. However, it is important to strengthen the effectiveness of these engagements and ensure that they go beyond symbolism. More must be do ne to support women's mobilization and to amplify women's voices in peace processes. I call upon all relevant United Nations entities to further strengthen their important role in this regard. 21. Building on good practices entails increasing efforts to create stronger linkages between track I and track II processes and enabling the meaningful transfer of information and recommendations to the mediator and negotiating parties. Research has found that the most effective strategy is to combine the "insider tactics" of submitting position papers and meeting with mediators, negotiators or technical advisers with "outsider tactics" such as issuing public reports, lobbying international actors and conducting media outreach. A succe ssful strategy used by women's coalitions has been the development of a common document expressing a unified position of a cross-section of women's groups, which can then be used by mediation and negotiation teams. 22. Subnational and local mediation initiatives are important in laying the foundations for peaceful societies where women have leadership roles. Efforts to support the engagement of insider mediators can be particularly valuable, and in a growing number of contexts the United Nations has worked with partners to identify women's organizations and civil society leaders to engage in national dialogue and __________________ 9 Since three negotiations are held at the minister/Head of State level to settle border and name disputes, the provision of gender expertise and the civil society organization consultations are not directly applicable and are therefore not measured. 15-15656 7/54 S/2015/716 mediation processes. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has helped to strengthen women's participation and leadership capacity through training and awareness-raising activities in Indonesia, Mauritania, Nepal, the Niger and Timor-Leste and has facilitated the participation of women in peace and dialogue forums in Colombia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Nepal and South Sudan. In Cyprus, a focus on gender equality in the Cyprus Dialogue Forum has been a prominent feature of the design of the initiative, and branches of political parties represented by women, trade unions and women's organizations have been fully represented. In South Sudan, UNDP supported women grass-roots networks to present their peacebuilding perspectives to the peace talks in Addis Ababa. In Colombia, the United Nations country team has supported a rigorous call for the participation process to encourage the representation of women's organizations in the dialogue to end the conflict. As a result, 49 per cent of the victims participating in the forum are women. Greater support by all for the role of civil society in conflict -affected contexts must be prioritized. Resolution 1325 (2000) was spearheaded by an international movement advocating for peace and gender equality and recognizing that silencing the civic voice for peace in decision-making had a detrimental impact on sustainable and inclusive peace. However, the transformative potential, as promoted in the resolution, has yet to be realized. B. Building inclusive and peaceful societies in the aftermath of conflict 23. The global study brings renewed attention to aspects of post -conflict peacebuilding and examines how attention to a gender perspective in these areas contributes to lasting and meaningful peace and security. Women and girls are often invisible when decisions about post-conflict recovery and governance are made. Nevertheless, research and practice over the past fifteen years have established that women's effective and meaningful participation builds a more durable peace, given that it broadens the benefits of the peace dividends to stakeholders beyond the fighting parties and builds resilience in local communities. W hile the Seven-Point Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding has gained some traction at the global and country levels, several of the measures have not been fully implemented, therefore limiting women's opportunities to engage in post-conflict peacebuilding processes. 24. The findings and recommendations of the global study and the 2015 report of the Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture (A/69/968-S/2015/490) provide a solid basis for further strengthening genderresponsive peacebuilding interventions. In addition to ensuring women 's contribution, peacebuilding initiatives must support women 's rights and economic, political and social empowerment in order to maximize women 's role in stabilization and recovery. Furthermore, as noted by the Advisory Group of Experts, peacebuilding must address not only the root causes of conflict and include long term development strategies that benefit women and girls but also the human rights violations that women and girls continue to experience during conflict and after a peace agreement has been reached. Economic recovery and access to resources 25. Large-scale foreign investment in the aftermath of conflict tends to focus on infrastructure, markets, extractive industries and commercial agriculture, areas 8/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 where women are traditionally underrepresented. The employment and income generation activities of women are often affected by conflict, with a detrimental impact on women and their families and the effectiveness of post-conflict economic recovery (see PBC/7/OC/3). Data from the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that while Committee donors invest large amounts in the economic and productive sectors in fragile States and economies -- 10 billion dollars per year during the period 2012-2013 -- only 439 million dollars (2 per cent) of that amount targeted gender equality as a principal objective. 10 Similarly, a 2013 study of UNDP economic recovery programmes in six post-conflict countries found that less than 4 per cent of economic recovery spending was allocated to furthering women 's economic empowerment and gender equality or meeting women's needs. 11 Investment in gender-responsive economic recovery leads to important results for societies as a whole. For example, women are more likely to spend their incomes on family needs, including health care and education, thus making a large contribution to recovery. 26. Local initiatives are especially conducive to women 's empowerment. Services such as community loans, revolving credit and revenue-generating cooperatives have succeeded in providing a stable source of income to women in Burundi and Rwanda. However, economic recovery for women is too often confined to microcredit or microenterprises, while large-scale projects continue to be dominated by men. As livelihood opportunities are few in conflict and post-conflict settings, many women find work in the informal economy, collecting and selling firewood or charcoal, running small-goods kiosks, selling goods door-to-door or in the market, engaging in domestic work and engaging in survival sex. Economic recovery should aim to be transformative, encompassing not only the state of the inherited economy but also what the future economy should be and how women can le ad, contribute to and benefit from a transformative recovery programme. Initiatives must provide tailored approaches for particularly vulnerable groups of women. 27. Recognizing the importance of women's access to livelihoods in the aftermath of conflict, in 2013 UNDP began to track disbursements allocated to women in the context of temporary employment and productive livelihood projects. I welcome the initiative of UNDP to integrate an indicator to track the proportion of women beneficiaries of temporary employment projects in its strategic plan for the period 2014-2017. This commitment makes the annual monitoring and reporting of these actions a corporate priority. I encourage more work to evaluate this commitment for its impact and recommend that other United Nations entities take similar action. While data availability for relevant UNDP programmes is limited to seven countries where data collection has begun (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan, Mauritania, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen), evidence shows that, in total, only 35 per cent of benefits from temporary employment __________________ 10 11 See Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET), "Financing United Nations Security Council resolution 1325: aid in support of gender equality and women's rights in fragile contexts" (March 2015). The list of Development Assistance Committee members is available from http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/. See Sarah Douglas, "What gets measured gets done: translating accountability frameworks into better responses for women and girls in peacebuilding contexts", Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, vol. 10, No. 1 (2015). 15-15656 9/54 S/2015/716 activities from disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes were received by women in 2014. With the exception of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where women received 50 per cent of the benefits, women received less than half of the allocations in all the other countries. While still under the 40 per cent target of the Seven-Point Action Plan, this represents an increase from 22 per cent in 2013. I encourage all United Nations entities to accelerate action on this commitment . Governance and women's participation in elected and non-elected bodies 28. A critical mass of women in decision-making has a significant impact on institutions and policies, and inclusive decision-making brings a broader range of concerns to the table. It can also contribute to increased allocations to the social spending needed to address inequalities and women's socioeconomic disadvantages. Studies have found inverse correlations between the proportion of women in parliament and corruption levels and that inclusive decision-making bodies bring a broader range of concerns to the table. For example, women legislators tend to give greater attention to legislative proposals covering basic rights and social services, including education, health and gender-sensitive legal reforms. 29. According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2015, since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, the global proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments has doubled from 11 per cent in 1995 to 22 per cent in 2015. Notably, a number of developing countries with the highest representation of women today have emerged from conflict, with Rwand a still ranking highest at 63.8 per cent. 12 In this case, as in others, a constitutional commission was instrumental in drafting a more inclusive constitution that entrenched provisions to guarantee women's full and equal political participation. However, in the aggregate of conflict and post-conflict countries reviewed, 13 the representation of women stood at 18 per cent as at 31 July 2015, indicating a low increase in women 's representation rate since 2011. 30. The adoption of temporary special measures has proved useful in many countries. By July 2015, in conflict and post-conflict countries where legislated electoral quotas had been adopted, women represented almost 23 per cent of parliamentarians, compared with 15 per cent in countries without such special measures. Similar levels were evident in 2014, when women occupied 23 per cent of parliamentary seats in countries using electoral quotas and 10 per cent for those without. 14 These figures demonstrate the positive effect of electoral quotas in reaching legislated targets in a number of countries. As regularly recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, context specific temporary special measures, including targeted training, public awareness, __________________ 12 13 14 Data available from http://ipu.org/wmn-e/classif-arc.htm. Countries or territories in which a political, peacebuilding o r peacekeeping mission operated during 2014, or concerning which the Security Council was seized and which had been considered by the Council at a formal meeting during the period from 1 January to 31 December 2014, or countries or territories that received programmatic funds from the Peacebuilding Fund in 2014. Aggregates from Inter-Parliamentary Union country-level data for countries or territories in which a political, peacebuilding or peacekeeping mission operated during the reporting period, or concerning which the Security Council was seized and which had been considered by the Council at a formal meeting during the reporting period, or countries or territories that received programmatic funds from the Peacebuilding Fund in the reporting period. 10/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 quotas for party lists and working with electoral manage ment bodies to ensure that women can participate in a safe environment, are necessary to further promote women's participation in politics. Effective initiatives supported by UNDP include those implemented in Nigeria, where numerous young women politicians were mentored through a forum on women in politics and in Pakistan, where support for the formation and operation of a women's caucus has led to that body leading legislative action on several important development priorities. In El Salvador, UNDP helped to develop a 30 per cent quota that significantly increased women 's presence in parliament in 2014. 31. Women's representation rates have been hard to maintain in many fragile settings. In Afghanistan and Iraq, for example, many women politicians and their families face threats and violence, including as a deliberate tactic to deter them from participating in public life. Women politicians and leaders continue to face harmful gender stereotypes, cultural and legal barriers and discrimination that cannot be abrogated by quotas for women or the mere presence of women in parliaments. While evidence does show that greater numbers of women in decision -making lead to fairer outcomes for societies as a whole, women's right to participate in public life must be pursued as an end in itself. Capacity-building support for elected women is important to better influence decision-making processes. Gaps in some countries in the availability of data on political participation, especially at the local level, and on sex-disaggregated voter registration and turnout rates prevent an accurate and full picture of the barriers to participation that women face. 32. While much effort has gone into promoting and monitoring women 's participation in post-conflict elections, less attention has been given to women in non-elected posts and even less so to women in the civil service. As at 1 January 2015, women held, on average, 14.8 per cent of ministerial positions across conflict and post-conflict countries, a slight improvement from 13.1 per cent in 2014, 12.7 per cent in 2013, 14.6 per cent in 2012 and 14 per cent in 2011. Of the countries reviewed, only in Burundi and Guinea -Bissau do women represent more than 30 per cent of ministers. Similarly, data gaps on women 's representation in the civil service hinder comprehensive analysis and the efficient advocacy of women 's full and equal participation and access to decision -making roles in all sectors of the public administration, including in fragile, conflict and post -conflict settings. Enabling women at the local level to plan and deliver services in fragile and post-conflict contexts contributes significantly to improving women 's social, political and economic situation. UN-Women stipulates that high numbers of women in service delivery lead to better-quality services for both men and women and improve women's access to services. The United Nations "restore or reform" review has led to the development of a joint United Nations -World Bank diagnostic tool that stresses the role of women's participation and leadership in state-building and the core functions of Government, including at the local level. The review also found a link between the participation of women in the civil service and the gender responsiveness of public administration and service delivery. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and security sector reform 33. Over the past fifteen years, increased awareness of the gender -related dynamics within the security sector has resulted in more attention, both at policy and operational levels, on the specific needs and capacities of women and girls as ex-combatants, members of the host communities and users of security services. 15-15656 11/54 S/2015/716 Despite the progress made, however, security continues to be a realm dominated and defined by men. In a review of financial allocations to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes in six post-conflict countries, security sector reform performed the worst, with less than 1 per cent of funds going to projects whose principal objective was gender equality. 15 A lack of resources, coupled with insufficient accountability to commitments, has resulted in a continued lack of attention to gender issues, despite some good practices arising from the field. 34. Since 2000, the Security Council has urged the consideration of the specific needs, concerns and priorities of women in United Nations -supported processes, which has contributed to increasing numbers of women ex-combatants and women associated with armed forces entering disarmament, demobiliz ation and reintegration programmes. Data compiled using the indicators in resolution 1325 (2000) has shown an increase in women participating in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, although the indicator s do not assess the quality or the impact of demobilization and reintegration support on women 's lives. In 2014, 44 per cent of the beneficiaries of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration interventions in United Nations field missions were women. Not ably, half of the beneficiaries of small projects in Haiti were women, while larger projects and legal assistance benefited mostly men. In the case of UNDP -supported initiatives for the reintegration of ex-combatants and youth at risk in eight countries, 26 per cent of the beneficiaries were women. In Burundi, Colombia, Mali and Somalia, women beneficiary rates surpassed 40 per cent, rising to more than half in Burundi, where beneficiaries included returned internally displaced persons, and support focused on promoting employment by building markets, rehabilitating roads and providing cash for work. 35. Security sector actors are often among the main perpetrators of violence during and after conflict. Increasing the representation of women and women 's organizations in civilian oversight and through security sector reform processes can help to increase public trust by shaping security institutions that are responsive to and representative of the population at large. Vetting security sector recruits for conflict-related crimes against women, including sexual and gender -based violence, is an important step towards re-establishing the community's trust. Recent progress in engaging the military in some countries to address conflict -related sexual violence should be noted, including the action plan put in place by the national army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the support of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict. The action plan focuses on command responsibility and accountability for crimes of sexual violence and led to the prosecution of 137 members of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including senior officers, during the 2013 -2014 reporting period. Similar initiatives are under way with the militaries of Côte d 'Ivoire, Somalia and South Sudan. 36. Over the past 15 years, special protection units have been established in police forces in countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Timor -Leste. The units receive victims of gender-based violence and domestic crimes and refer them to services in a __________________ 15 See Sarah Douglas, "Linking women's economic security to peacebuilding ", International Humanitarian Law Magazine, No. 2 (2014). 12/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 confidential and victim-centred manner. The units have been most useful in increasing awareness of women's rights at the community level and rebuilding women's trust in security sector institutions. In the Western Balkans, there are domestic violence and gender-based violence focal points appointed within police forces, and a joint programme of UN-Women, UNDP, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on gender based violence has worked in Kosovo 16 to establish coordination mechanisms at municipal and central levels and employ more women in the ranks. 37. Significant progress has been made in mainstreaming a gender perspective into mine action. In 2010, the United Nations published gender guidelines for mine action programmes, and the Strategy of the United Nations for Mine Action 2013 2018 includes the implementation and monitoring of the guidelines as a cross cutting initiative. Data gathered to monitor the strategy show that, in 2014, 57 per cent of United Nations Mine Action Service field programmes "almost always" ensured that the needs of women, girls, boys and men were considered in programme design. In terms of ensuring equal employment opportunities, 78 per cent of programmes made arrangements to accommodate both women's and men's needs in the workplace and 60 per cent actively encouraged women 's employment. 38. The review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture underscored the particularly pernicious effect of fragmentation on enhancing women 's participation in peacebuilding. Nevertheless, as some of the examples above highlight, significant progress has been made in terms of normative frameworks with an ever -growing body of good practice to accompany it. I request relevant United Nations entiti es to redouble their efforts during the next five years to achieve the vision inscribed in my Seven-Point Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding, thereby accelerating the virtuous cycle between stability, peace and women 's empowerment. C. Protecting and promoting the rights and leadership of women and girls in humanitarian settings 39. The preparations for the global study coincided with a groundswell of violence that is overwhelming humanitarian systems and destroying the lives of men and boys, women and girls. The study highlights the strategic importance of women 's leadership and participation in decision-making on humanitarian issues and finds that the humanitarian community must do more to embrace gender equality as a central, organizing principle of its work. Gender analysis should be automatically included in needs assessments and gender issues addressed through the humanitarian cluster coordination systems. It is clear from the consultations held with regard to the study that the promotion and protection of human rights is fundamental to peace and the security of women and girls. In crises and emergencies, women and girls are less likely to enjoy certain human rights, such as to food, health, education, housing, physical integrity and nat ionality. __________________ 16 References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). 15-15656 13/54 S/2015/716 The right to life and physical integrity 40. All forms of violence against women and girls, from rape to domestic violence and child marriage, are often exacerbated by armed conflict. Such violence is more visible now, both to policymakers and the public, and it has not abated. In my report on conflict-related sexual violence (see S/2015/203), I highlighted harrowing accounts of rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization and other forms of sexual violence of comparab le gravity in 19 different country contexts. The annex 17 contains a list of 45 parties to conflict, including armed groups, militia and government security forces that are credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict. In addition, the report contains measures taken by a range of actors, including by my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to prevent and respond to such violence. My reports on conflict-related sexual violence indicate a significant deepening of information on and analysis of these crimes, which is an essential basis for interventions at all levels. It should be noted, however, that evaluations suggest the reach and impact, in particular of comprehensive and multisectoral services for survivors, have been grossly inadequate. 18 Many interventions have remained small in scope, duration and coverage. The findings of the global study should be a strong call to action to end all forms of conflict-related violence against civilians, including sexual and gender-based violence. Access to basic services, including health and education 41. Despite efforts by the international community to provide basic services during and after conflict, the capacity to meet such needs is insufficient. In a growing number of displacement sites, the living conditions are appalling. A February 2014 assessment found that there was no medical assistance in 90 per cent of the displacement sites in the Central African Republic. In consultations for the study, psychosocial support and mental health care were frequently identified as gap areas, and attacks against health-care facilities and workers have been on the rise. A study conducted in 2014 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on health care and violence and the need for effective protection documented more than 1,800 incidents involving serious acts or threats of violence affecting the delivery of health care in 2012 and 2013. 42. The latest estimates for maternal mortality, which date from 2013, indicated that the ratio for the aggregate of conflict and post-conflict countries 19 was more than twice the global figure. Most of the deaths were preventable. In conflict affected settings, accessing medical care during delivery is not always possible, and in some countries the proportion of births attended by skilled health professionals is extremely low. For example, only 19.4 per cent of births were attended to in South __________________ 17 18 19 The report should be read in conjunction with my six previous reports on conflict -related sexual violence, which provide a cumulative basis for the inclusion of parties in the list. Sean Healy and Sandrine Tiller, "Where is everyone? Responding to emergencies i n the most difficult places" (Médecins sans frontières, July 2014). Countries or territories in which a political, peacebuilding or peacekeeping mission operated during 2013, or concerning which the Security Council was seized and which had been considered by the Council at a formal meeting during the period from 1 January to 31 December 2014, or countries or territories that received programmatic funds from the Peacebuilding Fund in 2014. 14/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 Sudan and 33 per cent in Somalia, 20 where maternal mortality reached, respectively, 730 and 850 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2013, compared with a global rate of 210. In some cases, simple and low-cost solutions are sufficient to make major gains in maternal health outcomes. For example, in one district in Sierra Leone, Médecins sans frontières introduced an ambulance service to transport women from local clinics to the hospital, reducing maternal mortality by 74 per cent. 21 43. The global study underscores the importance of ensuring quality sexual and reproductive health services for women and adolescent girls, including in conflict contexts. In my previous annual reports on women and peace and security, I emphasized the need to make available medical, legal, psychosocial and live lihood services to survivors of rape, including access to emergency contraceptives and services for the safe termination of pregnancies resulting from rape, without discrimination, and in accordance with international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law. The mandatory reporting of cases from medical personnel to police authorities remains a major obstacle to victims who seek medical assistance. Measures are necessary to ensure that the confidentiality of victims is preserved in police and medical records and thus promote access to assistance, as mandated by the Security Council in resolution 2122 (2013). 44. Since 2000, the investments and programming related to the Millennium Development Goals have played an essential role in reducing gender disparit y at all education levels globally. In conflict and post-conflict countries, however, education parity targets remain unachieved. 22 Data from 2015 show that, in these countries, the adjusted net primary enrolment rates reached 82.5 per cent for boys and 77. 5 for girls, showing stagnation in relation to the 82.2 and 76.5 per cent rates of 2011, respectively. Net enrolment rates in secondary school are much lower, at 48.7 per cent of males and 44.7 per cent of females in 2015, and have dropped, compared with the 49.6 and 45.2 per cent rates of 2011, respectively. It is estimated that, in countries affected by conflict, the proportion of out-of-school children increased from 30 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent in 2012, and those figures do not include dropouts caused by outbreaks of conflict in recent years. In my previous reports, I highlighted a range of barriers that had an impact on girls' access to education, including child, early and forced marriage, lack of security at schools and threats of violence stemming from attending school, targeted attacks against schools, students and related personnel or the use of schools by the military. The use of new technologies as powerful tools to widen access to education could also help to overcome such barriers, especially in rural and remote areas. __________________ 20 21 22 Estimates for the latest available year include 2010 for South Su dan, 2010 for the Sudan and 2012 for Somalia. See Séverine Caluwaerts, "Obstetric emergencies: if you cried here, you 'd cry every day", in Because Tomorrow Needs Her (Médecins sans frontières, 2015). Countries or territories in which a political, peacebuilding or peacekeeping mission operated during 2014, or concerning which the Security Council was seized and which had been considered by the Council at a formal meeting during the period from 1 January to 31 December 2014, or countries or territories that received programmatic funds from the Peacebuilding Fund in 2014. Estimates provided in 2015 by the Institute for Statistics of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) showed that the gender parity index stood at 0.94 in the aggregate of these countries, which is lower than the internationally accepted measure of gender parity (achievement of the Millennium Development Goal target) of between 0.97 and 1.03. 15-15656 15/54 S/2015/716 Protection in situations of displacement 45. In October 2014, the Security Council held its annual open debate on women, peace and security with a focus on the theme "Displaced women and girls: leaders and survivors" (S/PV.7289). During the debate, over 70 speakers discussed the increasingly grave situation of female internally displaced persons and expounded upon the effects of violent extremism that contributed to those rising numbers. The Council recognized that displaced women and girls were at a heightened risk of being subjected to human rights violations and abuses, including sexual and gender based violence and discrimination, and urged pairing the protection of women with better access to justice, basic health services, enhanced participation and humanitarian assistance (see S/PRST/2014/21). 46. In its resolution 2122 (2013), the Security Council expressed concern at women's exacerbated vulnerability in situations of forced d isplacement, as a result of unequal citizenship rights, the gender-biased application of asylum laws and obstacles to registering and accessing identity documents. In my previous report, I emphasized the need to eliminate statelessness (see S/2014/693). Nationality laws that do not grant women equality in conferring nationality to their children cause statelessness, a problem that has an impact on at least 10 million people worldwide. 23 To date, 27 countries have laws that discriminate against women in their ability to hold custody of and confer nationality to their children. 24 The impact of the problem is severe and can result in denial of access to basic public services and employment opportunities. To drive stronger action in this area, in 2014 the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees launched a global action plan to end statelessness within the period from 2014 to 2024. One of the key actions is the removal of national laws that directly or indirectly discriminate against women and girls. Promoting gender equality in humanitarian action 47. Despite growing evidence that gender mainstreaming improves humanitarian effectiveness, the gap between guidelines and reality remains stark. Between 2011 and 2013, less than 2 per cent of all humanitarian programmes in the financial tracking system of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had the explicit goal of advancing gender equality. By the end of 2014, the figure had fallen to 1 per cent. 25 Only recently has the international community begun to support women's leadership in camp committees and its inclusion in participatory assessments. While growing work supports women's deliberate engagement in empowerment programmes so that they can better assist themselves and others, and claim their rights, it is troubling that some humanitarian actors have failed to implement gender equality consistently in their programming. A 2015 multi -country study examining the impact of such programming 26 on humanitarian outcomes found that gender equality programming contributes to improving access to and the __________________ 23 24 25 26 UNHCR, "World at war", see footnote No. 3 above. UNHCR, "Background note on gender equality, nationality laws and statelessness 2014" (2014). See Global Humanitarian Assistance, "Funding gender in emergencies: what are the trends?", Briefing Paper (September 2014). Gender equality programming incorporates a contextual gender analysis to help to ensure equal access and benefits to women, men, boys and girls, avoid placing any group at risk and facilitate equal opportunities to participate in decision-making. See UN-Women, The Effects of Gender Equality on Humanitarian Outcomes (New York, April 2015). 16/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 use of humanitarian services by women, men, girls and boys, as well as making overall programming more effective for everyone. In the sectors exa mined, namely, health, education, water, sanitation, hygiene and food security, an improvement in access and effectiveness was shown for all groups. 48. The World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 will serve as a catalyst for reform and for the increased effectiveness of the humanitarian sector. During consultations, participants called for an end to gender-blind humanitarian programming and support for women's groups to contribute to humanitarian action. The women and peace and security agenda was cited as a model and inspiration. 27 The global study underscores the importance of systematically integrating gender equality, the human rights of women and girls and empowerment into all discussions leading up to the Summit and to its outcome. Regional consultations hav e highlighted key issues that are limiting the implementation of commitments on women and peace and security in the humanitarian field. I hope that the international community can seize this historic opportunity to make humanitarian action more gender -responsive in order to ensure that all needs are met and that vulnerability is reduced. D. Access to justice for women 49. Delivering justice and re-establishing the rule of law are fundamental to sustaining peace. However, the challenges of restoring justice in the ashes of conflict are immense. In the formal system, courthouses are frequently dilapidated and legal records and necessary materials are often missing. Typically, the independence of the judiciary is weak, and the requirement for justice is heightened by the need to address the atrocities committed during conflict. For women, whose access to justice may have already been hampered by discriminatory laws and attitudinal and institutional obstacles, adherence to the rule of law is fundamental to their full participation in post-conflict recovery. In addition, prisons in post-conflict countries do not usually provide for the safe, secure and humane detentio n of female offenders and suspects, all of whom might be subject to abuse and human rights violations and whose specific needs are not addressed. 50. There has been a shift in policy towards recognition of the need for justice mechanisms to address not only violations but also the underlying inequalities that render women and girls vulnerable. Such an approach involves taking into account the full range of human rights violations that women experience, designing processes that facilitate their active participation and ensuring that support for the prosecution of perpetrators is matched with an equal focus and investment in the redress needed for victims to rebuild their lives. It is thus an approach that prioritizes empowerment and accountability, and is anc hored on changing the future by addressing the past. 28 51. The Global Focal Point for the Police, Justice and Corrections regarding the rule of law in post-conflict and other crisis situations has benefitted from the co-location of UN-Women and improved coordination with the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict. The co -location has increased programming on women's access to justice and addressing sexual and gender-based __________________ 27 28 More information available from www.worldhumanitariansummit.org. See Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women general recommendation No. 33. 15-15656 17/54 S/2015/716 violence; improved gender mainstreaming into justice and security sector reforms; incorporated key policies on women and peace and security into rule of law planning, analyses and programming; and ensured that sufficient resources were allocated to justice programmes that benefit women directly, such as in the Ce ntral African Republic and Somalia. 52. Nevertheless, it is clear that our efforts remain lacking in reach and scope with positive shifts in policy yet to translate into practice. As affirmed by consultations for the global study, justice for violations experienced by women and girls during conflict has been slow to attain in many settings, and human rights violations and abuses often continue unabated in its aftermath. In addition, recent evidence from surveys conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative among 30,000 individuals in eight conflict-affected areas over 11 years revealed that women tended to be less informed and reported lower levels of access to both formal and traditional justice mechanisms than men. 29 53. A review of the past 15 years in the area of women's access to justice in fragile and post-conflict settings points to three positive trends: real and concerted efforts to secure accountability and address impunity for sexual violence in conflict; increased recognition of women's access to justice to be transformative in nature; and growing recognition of the need to engage informal justice systems in contexts that are legally plural as entry points for intervention and programming for gender responsive access to justice. Increasing prosecutions and closing the impunity gap 54. The importance of delivering individual justice and addressing impunity is underscored in all Security Council resolutions on women and peace and security. Perhaps the greatest gains in this area have been in the evolution of international law, in particular since the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which provided the most progressive and comprehensive international legal framework on gender-based crimes to date, explicitly recognizing rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy and enforced sterilization and other forms of sexual violence as crimes against humanity, war crimes and constituent acts of genocide. One of the main remaining challenges in addressing sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and post-conflict settings is ensuring that mechanisms are in place to protect the security and dignity of victims and witnesses. 55. A number of State parties to the Rome Statute have amended their penal codes to criminalize a broad range of gender-based crimes in line with their obligations under the Statute, pointing to a possible significant cascade effect of international norms to the domestic sphere. 30 Realizing the full progress of the international justice system and its potential for victims will require the incorporation of the Statute into the national context so that States have a comprehensive framework for investigating international sexual and gender-based crimes, dedicated procedures for victim and witness support that are matched with adequate resources for their __________________ 29 30 Research conducted with the support of UN-Women. Countries included Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the C ongo, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda and northern Uganda. See Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, "Gendered harms and their interface with international criminal law", International Feminist Journal of Politics, vol. 16, No. 4 (2014). 18/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 implementation, civic programmes to educate women on relevant laws, resources for monitoring the implementation of gender-responsive laws and provisions for reparations. Each of these components has a significant impact on women's access to justice and is part of the Statute, but is often ignored in the narrower discussions on complementarity in relation to the International Criminal Court. 56. An important development in the past decade has been the establishment of specialized chambers or courts to handle conflict-related crimes (for example, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Serbia and Uganda) and prosecution and investigatory units to deal specifically with gender -based and sexual violence (see A/HRC/27/21). Prosecutions of this nature require national jurisdictions to have the capacity to investigate and prosecute sexual and gender based violence as international crimes, an effort to which increasing numbers of international actors are now contributing, including the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, which brings together the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, OHCHR, UNDP, the office of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Justice Rapid Response and UN -Women sexual and gender-based violence justice experts roster. Recent experiences exemplify the potential dividends of providing rigorous technical support to national authorities to enable them to prosecute sexual violence crimes. This includes the case of Guinea, where the political engagement of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict has enabled the United Nations, through the Team of Experts, to provide technical support to a Guinean panel of judges that has consequently indicted 16 high-ranking individuals for alleged crimes perpetrated in 2009, including sexual violence. Among the indicted are former Head of State Moussa Dadis Camara and the head of the presidential guard, Claude Pivi. Nevertheless, the actual number of national level prosecutions of these crimes continues to be a fraction of the total crimes committed, and increased political will, expertise, funding, capacity support and civic education efforts are needed to ensure that these crimes are no longer met with silence and impunity. Moving beyond prosecutions: an agenda for transitional justice 57. Transitional justice mechanisms must respond to the full range of women 's human rights violations, provide redress for victims and seek to transform rather than reinforce gender inequalities. In line with Security Council resolution 2122 (2013) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the right to truth is essential to justice and stability in the aftermath of conflict (see A/HRC/27/21). A range of mechanisms facilitates truth-seeking, including truth and reconciliation commissions, internati onal commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions. While the full impact of truth commissions is yet to be realized, we have seen significant advancements in their gender sensitivity since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). Particularly critical i s the design of mandates that provide scope for addressing the full range of violations that women experience during conflict, well-resourced gender units and a commitment to effectively mainstreaming a gender perspective throughout a commission 's work, consultations with women's organizations and the training of staff. 58. In 2014, United Nations-supported truth commissions were established in Mali, the Philippines and Tunisia. Of the two that are operational, both are led by women and at least one third of their commissioners are women (33 per cent for 15-15656 19/54 S/2015/716 Tunisia and 50 per cent for the Philippines). 31 The transitional justice law, which established the Truth and Dignity Commission in Tunisia, provides that the impact of violations on women will be taken into account when revealing the truth and in the design of reparations. It calls upon the Commission to develop measures that ensure the protection of women's rights, including respect for privacy during hearings. The inclusion of groups and family members within the definition of "victim" by the Commission, as well as its mandate to consider socioeconomic rights violations such as corruption, gives it a strong framework for addressing the structural context of discrimination that renders women vulnerable to violence. Established in 2014, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Mali is specifically tasked with investigating cases of grave violations of human rights committed against women and children. The final report of the National Commission on Truth in Brazil, which was issued in December 2014, devoted a specific chapter to sexual and gender-based violence. 59. In contexts where official processes insufficiently addressed women's demands, civil society organizations have held their own tribunals to highlight women's experiences. In May 2015, hundreds of women from all corners of the former Yugoslavia came together in a tribunal organized in Sarajevo by women's groups from across the region, bridging political and ethnic divides. Its design was the result of a participatory process through which survivors were consulted and given ownership of the tribunal. Women gave testimony, highlighting the co ntinuity of violence before, during and after conflict, the consequences of gender -based violence on families and communities, the climate of ongoing impunity and the importance of strong women's networks for overcoming barriers to justice and equality. The experience of this women's tribunal follows similar initiatives in Cambodia, Guatemala, Nepal and elsewhere. 60. Commissions of inquiry have become a more frequently used tool by the United Nations and others to document crimes and create a historical re cord. In addition, these bodies can pave the way for appropriate post -conflict justice and accountability measures, including prosecutions. I am pleased that the practice of UN-Women to second a gender adviser or sexual and gender-based violence investigator to OHCHR-led commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions has been systematically maintained, in accordance with the request contained in my 2011 report (S/2011/598). These results are increasingly being reported to the Security Council through formal and informal meetings. 61. Comprehensive reparations for victims are a key element of rebuilding post conflict societies. Perhaps the greatest progress in the area of reparations in recent years has been the increased political willingness to provide reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence and the recognition that, to be effective, reparations should be about not only returning women to the situation in which they were found before the violation but also about striving to have a transformative potential to reverse the gender inequalities that may be the root causes of the violation. The war crimes court in Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a landmark ruling in June 2015 that granted the first-ever compensation to a wartime rape victim. Other country-specific examples are provided in my previous report on conflict __________________ 31 Data on the extent to which truth and reconciliation commissions include provisions to address the rights and participation of women and girls has been tracked since 2011 using the indicators in resolution 1325 (2000). 20/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 related sexual violence (S/2015/203) and in my guidance note on reparations for conflict-related sexual violence launched in 2014. For reparations programmes to be sustainable with transformative impact, linkages to targeted development policies and development actors are needed to complement them. This is especially the case in contexts of large-scale rights violations and poverty, and can be an important means to address structural inequalities, including gender inequality. Women's access to justice in plural legal contexts 62. Another trend has been the growing interest in informal justi ce systems as entry points for intervention and the recognition that, during and in the aftermath of conflict, effective programming must recognize and engage with the reality of plural legal contexts when formal systems are often non-existent or have little reach beyond the capital. While investment has increased in ensuring that informal justice systems deliver equal protection of the rights of women and girls, it remains an underutilized site of engagement. 63. Plural legal systems, where customary or religious law is exempted from constitutional equality and non-discrimination provisions, can be harder to reform, including in conflict and post-conflict settings. As the post-conflict phase is almost always accompanied by constitutional and legislative re forms, it is an important moment of opportunity to entrench gender equality and equal rights across all legal systems. Affirming the primacy of constitutional laws over religious and customary laws, as well as mandating that they be consistent with constit utional norms on equality, is a key step towards ensuring the protection and promotion of women 's rights (see A/HRC/29/40). This must be done by securing national buy-in and support. 64. Women's participation in all sites and forms of justice can have transformative impacts in itself. Data have shown that employing women on the front line of service delivery creates justice systems that are more gender -responsive. For example, increasing the number of female police officers correlates positively with an increase in the reporting of sexual violence. Evidence also suggests that women judges can create more conducive environments for women in courts and make a difference to outcomes in sexual violence cases. 32 Promoting women's participation can be facilitated by programmes encouraging women to pursue legal careers and through mandatory minimum quotas for women's involvement in the administration of justice. 65. In consultations for the global study, few issues resonated more universally than women's demands that justice be treated as inseparable from broader concerns about security and equal access to basic needs. For women, experiences of vulnerability to violence, as well as the consequences of the violations themselves, are related directly to their unequal status. Justice is as much about dealing with the past as it is about securing a better future, which includes guarantees of non-recurrence. Justice is fundamentally about its linkages with conf lict, human rights and broader development. For example, access to justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence should be comprehensive in nature. In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, UNDP, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and other __________________ 32 See UN-Women, Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice (New York, 2011). 15-15656 21/54 S/2015/716 partners support a large network of legal aid clinics to address impunity for crimes, particularly sexual and gender-based violence. These clinics include medical, psychosocial and legal aid, and more recently have begun to address the reintegration problems faced by victims through literacy classes, socioeconomic reinsertion support, education of community leaders on attitudes towards survivors and psychosocial support to victims. 33 One-stop centres that offer survivors medical care, psychological counselling, access to police investigators and legal assistance in one location are proving to serve as successful models for the integration of legal services with the broader needs of survivors through a coordinated approach between health professionals, who are often the first point of contact, and the police. Access to legal aid is also crucial for female detainees and prisoners to ensure a fair trial and sentence, especially considering that women prisoners frequently are victims of abuse themselves, may suffer from mental illness and continue to be the primary caretakers of their children. E. Preventing conflict: the origins of the women and peace and security agenda 66. In its report entitled "Uniting our strengths for peace -- politics, partnership and people", the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations found that prevention efforts remained "the poor relative of better resourced peace operations deployed during and after conflict" and called for more to be done to bring prevention and mediation back to the fore of international peace and security. Such efforts would be greatly enhanced by greater participation of women in short -term and structural prevention efforts, including the work being carried forward by my special political missions and Special Envoys. In 2000, when women peace activists took their call for a women and peace and security agenda to the Security Council, they were not only demanding the full and equal participation of half the world's population in addressing threats to global peace and security but also seeking a fundamental shift in how international peace and security is maintained and restored. Their objective was, at its core, the prevention of armed co nflict and a rollback of the escalating levels of militarization that was making homes, communities and nations less secure. These concerns and fears continue to resonate today. In consultations, women across regions expressed concern that the United Nations had lost sight of its own vision to beat "swords into ploughshare". In 2014, the global financial cost of violence was estimated at 13.4 per cent of global gross domestic product, or 14.3 trillion dollars. 34 The human cost and impact of conflicts, however, lasts for decades, contributing to renewed cycles of violence, devastation and despair. A militarized view of conflict prevention sells resolution 1325 (2000) short of its transformative vision of a more equal, just and peaceful world. 67. Recent research suggests that levels of gender equality, women's access to economic, political, and social rights and the security of women are key indicators of the level of peace within a State. Accordingly, greater investment in gender __________________ 33 34 See UNDP, Strengthening the Rule of Law in Crisis-Affected and Fragile Situations: Global Programme Annual Report 2014 (New York, 2015). See Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Peace Index 2015: Measuring Peace, Its Causes and Its Economic Value (2015). The index gauges global peace using three broad themes: the level of safety and security in society, the extent of national and international conflict and the degree of militarization. 22/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 equality and the empowerment of women, including in terms of educational and training opportunities, are intrinsically linked to stability, development, peace and human rights. The global epidemic of violence against women is often aggravated by conflict and may rise even further after conflict. This continuum of violence undermines peace for half the population of a society and stands as an obstacle to the participation of women in post-conflict recovery and governance. Genderresponsive conflict prevention must begin from an understa nding of insecurities, inequalities and human rights violations that permeate women's and girls' lives prior to, during and after conflict. Strengthening short-term and medium-term measures to prevent conflict 68. Few early warning systems effectively integrate gender considerations as a category of analysis, include adequate gender equality expertise or engage with local women. Women may be the first to be aware of and experience rising insecurity in society. Studies in Kosovo and Sierra Leone, for exa mple, found that women in those contexts had valuable information about the accumulation of weapons and violent attacks being planned, but had no means of reporting or sharing this information. 35 Rising tensions can result in restrictive freedom of movement for women, an increased risk of assault in public areas and an inability or a lack of willingness to access fields and gardens owing to threats. Rising levels of domestic violence and the specific vulnerability of women to gender-based violence within and outside the home often reflect rising tensions and militarization in society as a whole. 69. In addition, gender-specific indicators can be critical sources of information. Early warning indicators of conflict in Jonglei state, South Sudan, for example, include unusual movement of all-male groups, rising bride prices and an increase in pregnancy terminations. 36 These specific issues can be valuable indicators and sources of information if captured as elements of early warning mechanisms for preventative action. Women must participate in the design, implementation and monitoring of these systems, and the systems should include indicators that are gender-sensitive and specific to gender-based violations. 70. At the same time that new technologies are being leveraged to wage war, they are also being used to increase security and prevent conflict. Technologies such as drone and satellite monitoring systems, mobile phones and Internet platforms can be important tools for conflict prevention. In order for women and girls to benefit fully from conflict-prevention technology, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and Member States must ensure that women and girls have equal access and that those monitoring early warning signs through the use of new technology are trained and instructed to detect gender-specific security threats. MONUSCO has instituted a programme to provide women with mobile phones as part of a gender sensitive early warning system, giving populations direct access to the United Nations and related response mechanisms. __________________ 35 36 See Hannah Wright, "Gender and conflict early warning: results of a literature review on integrating gender perspectives into conflict early warning systems", Saferworld Briefing (London, 28 May 2014). See Pablo Castillo Díaz and Sunita Caminha, "Gender -responsive early warning: overview and how-to guide" (UN-Women, October 2012). 15-15656 23/54 S/2015/716 71. In my previous annual reports, I highlighted the importance of and the need to better support and strengthen community-level mediation, dispute resolution and conflict mitigation mechanisms. Innovative practices emphasized in the global study include the women's situation rooms employed in Kenya, Nigeria and elsewhere, the "peace huts" established in Liberia and the "peace communities" formed in some areas in Colombia where women community leaders have declared their area and population as neutral and free from armed conflict, demanding that combatants do not draw these communities into violence. 72. To achieve progress in such preventative efforts, gender e xpertise needs to be included across all relevant United Nations entities. Ideally, thematic specialists with solid expertise on gender, and on women and peace and security should be present in all relevant mission components. The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste set an early precedent for this approach. In my response to the High Level Independent Panel, I made a commitment to the effect that senior gender advisers be located in the offices of my special representatives, report directly to them and advise senior mission leadership at the strategic level. In terms of capacity, only 6 of the 11 special political missions active in 2014 had a dedicated gender adviser post. However, those 6 missions had a total of 25 gender affairs officers and all special political missions had appointed gender focal points. In comparison, while 9 of the 16 active peacekeeping missions had a senior gender adviser post, 7 of those posts were vacant at the end of 2014. In Headquarters, where gender expertise is necessary for the comprehensive mainstreaming and backstopping of the work of the missions, the Department of Political Affairs had just one core-budget funded gender adviser and two additional temporary extrabudgetary positions, while the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had three long-term core-budget funded posts. Addressing root causes 73. The international small arms trade is estimated at 8.5 billion dollars per year. Significant quantities of small arms are diverted from legal to illicit circle s, which increase the rates of violence and insecurity, in particular for women. For example, in Latin America, respondents to a survey of civil society organizations for the global study designated organized crime as the most pressing emerging issue for women and peace and security in the region. Data availability on the existence of national mechanisms for the control of illicit small arms and light weapons remains limited. 37 In 2014, 75 States voluntarily shared national reports through the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, set up under the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (see A/CONF.192/15). Out of these, 47 (63 per cent) reported having national coordination agencies on small arms and light weapons, while 2 were in the process of setting them up. Ninety -five per cent reported having a national focal point. Fifty-eight States (77 per cent) reported having legislation in place to regulate small arms and light weapons. Of the 14 conflict and post-conflict countries 38 that contributed reports to the Programme o f Action in 2014, 9 (64 per cent) stated that they had a coordination agency, 13 __________________ 37 38 Data for this indicator is compiled annually to monitor the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). See footnote No. 13 above. 24/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 (93 per cent) reported having a focal point and 11 (79 per cent) reported having legislation in place to regulate small arms and light weapons. In comparison, only 44 per cent of conflict and post-conflict countries reporting data in 2013 had such legislation in place, with 35 per cent of those indicating that their legislation was non-comprehensive. 74. The Arms Trade Treaty, which entered into force on 24 December 2014, mark s an important step towards regulating the transfer of arms and mitigating its impact on rates of gender-based violence. States parties must now implement the Treaty to address the proliferation of arms as a root cause of conflict and as a source of insecurity in the lives of women and girls around the world. Specific national -level responses have also evolved to address the flow of small arms and light weapons. For example, in response to the high levels of national gun violence in the Philippines, women's civil society organizations lobbied for the adoption of the Treaty and the inclusion of small arms control in the country's national action plan for the implementation of resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008), which contains an indicator on the adoption of regulations on small arms transfer and usage. 39 Capacity gaps and other challenges faced by State parties in implementing the Treaty require stronger attention. 75. The negotiations for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development created an unprecedented and inclusive debate on a universal and transformative global agenda for all countries to achieve sustainable development. In this context, the linkages between peaceful societies and effective government institutions and development have been reaffirmed. The African Union, for example, called for the inextricable links between development and peace, security and stability to be recognized as the sustainable development goals are agreed to and for a focus on conflict prevention and addressing its root causes. This growing political will should be translated into more significant action for building peaceful and inclusive societies in the post 2015 era. I am encouraged by the fact that the 2030 Agenda addresses factors that give rise to violence, insecurity and injustice, such as inequality, corruption, poor governance and illicit financial and arms flows. Furthermore, the 2030 Agenda emphasizes the need to redouble our efforts to resolve or prevent conflict and to support post-conflict countries, including through ensuring that women have a full and equal role in peacebuilding and State-building. F. Keeping the peace in an increasingly militarized world 76. In the past 15 years, the United Nations peacekeeping budget has more than tripled. While the number of civilian staff in peacekeeping missions has grown by 50 per cent, the numbers of uniformed personnel have tripled and missions now last three times longer (see A/70/95-S/2015/446). Recent mandates and doctrine have pushed for greater readiness to use force, including proactively, to uphold duties to protect civilians while operating in volatile environments where there is no peace to keep. These missions operate in an increasingly militarized world shaped by global counter-terrorism campaigns and sophisticated weapons technology that redefine the scope of the battlefield and blur lines between soldiers and weapons. The global __________________ 39 See Megan Bastick and Kristen Valasek, "Converging agendas: women, peace, security and small arms", in Small Arms Survey 2014: Women and Guns (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014). 15-15656 25/54 S/2015/716 study examines efforts by a range of actors, including security sector institutions, to engage on the women and peace and security agenda. These include mainstreaming gender perspectives into peacekeeping, increasing the integration of gender e quality expertise within key sectors, improving the gender balance in the military and police, training all categories of staff, protecting civilians and addressing sexual exploitation and abuse. Consultations for the study emphasized the need for a stronger focus on non-violent forms of protection, prevention of conflict and political solutions to crises. Efforts made to mainstream a gender perspective into peacekeeping 77. United Nation peacekeeping benefits today from an entire normative and institutional architecture that did not exist 15 years ago. In 2000, only a fifth of United Nations peacekeeping missions had a specialized gender unit. Currently, all multidimensional peacekeeping missions have gender units and are increasingly deploying women protection advisers, who are charged specifically with implementing key operational aspects of the resolutions of the Security Council on sexual violence in conflict. They are also currently assigning military gender advisers and focal points at all levels, including at the Office of Military Affairs at Headquarters. The Police Division in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations also has its own gender advisers. Almost every mandate of United Nations peacekeeping now includes specific provisions on women and peace and security, as well as precise elements on conflict-related sexual violence, although it varies from very general language to specific targeted provisions. Data compiled using the indicators in resolution 1325 (2000) 40 indicate that the majority of directives for military and police components of missions include instructions to protect the rights of and address women's and girls' specific security needs. 78. As of mid-2015, 73 per cent of the nine military strategic concepts of operations and six force operation orders valid across nine peacekeeping operations included some provisions to this end, up from 56 per cent in 2012. As for the United Nations police, in 2015 81 per cent of directives in 16 missions included measures to protect the rights of women and girls, up from 54 per cent in 2012. However, strong provisions in mandates and directives is not enough. Dedicated leadership, scenario-based gender equality and human rights training of all categories of staff, increased integration of gender equality expertise across mission sectors, adequate resources for effective implementation of gender-responsive protection measures, monitoring and accountability for results are essential for their effective application across all missions. 79. Most of the best practices over the past 15 years have been limited in scope and scale, constrained by several factors, including the systematic underresourcing of gender equality work within peacekeeping budgets. In addition, only a limited number of missions have established gender-sensitive benchmarks to track progress or guide their decisions about reconfiguration or withdrawal. This implies that peacekeeping missions could complete their withdrawal without evaluating if the __________________ 40 Data have been compiled by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations since 2012 for the indicator on the extent to which measures to protect women's and girls' human rights are included in directives issued by heads of military components and heads of police components of peacekeeping missions. 26/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 mission has addressed women's specific needs or the gender-specific provisions in that mission's mandate. Improving the gender balance in the military and police 80. Examples included in the global study show that since 2000 a growing number of countries have increased the percentage of women in their armed forces. 41 The number of countries, however, remains low overall, including among the largest troop-contributing countries, and this is reflected in the deployments to peacekeeping operations. On average, only 4 per cent of the mil itary in United Nations missions were women as of July 2015, and they are mostly employed as support staff. The number has not changed since 2011 and has barely inched up from 1 per cent in 1993, despite repeated calls for more women in peacekeeping since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). The situation affects the work of the mission in areas such as the implementation of protection innovations and the possibility of engaging with women in the community. The study puts forward suggestions for incentives to boost women's participation in the military contingents of United Nations peacekeeping missions, which should be carefully considered. 81. Increasing the percentage of women in the police component of missions has a positive effect on issues that affect women and has also been found to lower the rates of complaints of misconduct, improper use of force or inappropriate use of weapons, and authoritarian behaviours in interactions with citizens and lower ranking officers. 42 In 2009, the United Nations launched a campaign with the ambitious goal of ensuring that women would make up one fifth of all United Nations police components by 2014. Although the percentage of women has grown since then, the campaign has not yet met its target. 43 The Police Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has asked Member States to deploy the same proportion of women that they already have in their national police forces, and to review their recruitment policies and criteria for deployment to identify and eliminate any inequalities or admission barriers for women. Addressing sexual exploitation and abuse 82. Available data 44 show that in 2014, 79 new allegations of sexual exploitation or sexual abuse were made across United Nations entities that reported informa tion (including departments and offices of the Secretariat, agencies, funds and __________________ 41 42 43 44 See examples in the yearly national reports of NATO members to the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives, or in country submissions to the Secretary -General's annual report on women, peace and security. Several countries have specific action plans adopted by their defence institutions (e.g., Argentina, Bulgaria, Ireland). Charlotte Anderholt, Female Participation in Formed Police Units: A Report on the Integration of Women in Formed Police Units of Peacekeeping Operations (Carlisle, PA, United States Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, September 2012). The police component in the mission consists of individual policemen and women, and formed police units. Although women now comprise 18 per cent of the police that are individually recruited, the percentage drops to 10 per cent when adding formed police units. See "Gender statistics by Mission" (United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, May 2015). Data is regularly collected and published by the United Nations Conduct and Discipline Unit, under both the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support. This informs the indicator of resolution 1325 (2000) on the percentage o f reported cases of sexual exploitation and abuse allegedly perpetrated by uniformed, civilian peacekeepers and/or humanitarian workers that are acted upon out of the total number of referred cases. 15-15656 27/54 S/2015/716 programmes), compared with 96 in 2013, 88 in 2012 and 102 in 2011 (see A/69/799). In field missions, 51 allegations were reported in nine peacekeeping missions and one special political mission, with a majority (75 per cent) of allegations received from three peacekeeping missions: MONUSCO, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Of the allegations in field missions, 14 involved staff members or United Nations Volunteers; 24 involved members of military contingents or United Nations military observers; and 13 involved United Nations police officers, members of uniformed police units and governmentprovided correctional personnel. Eighteen allegations (35 per cent) involved the most egregious forms of sexual exploitation and abuse, including sexual activities with minors or rape of persons 18 years of age or younger. Paternity claims were associated with 12 allegations. 83. The majority of the allegations involving civilian personnel or police and military personnel with the status of experts on missions were referred to the United Nations for investigation, while allegations involving military contingent personnel were referred to troop-contributing countries. In the absence of a reply from Member States or a decline to investigate the matter, investigations were automatically undertaken by the United Nations. As at 31 January 2015, investigations into 18 allegations received in 2014 were completed, including investigations conducted by troop-contributing countries into five allegations (four substantiated and one unsubstantiated) and investigations conducted by th e United Nations into 13 allegations (five substantiated and eight unsubstantiated). A substantiated allegation involving one civilian personnel in a field mission was referred for disciplinary actions by the United Nations and possible criminal accountability measures. Regarding actions involving military and police personnel taken in 2014, troop- and police-contributing countries were informed that 16 military personnel and five police personnel would be repatriated on disciplinary grounds and barred from participating in field missions in the future for their connection to 18 substantiated allegations received in 2014 or earlier. For allegations received in 2014, responses from Member States indicated that disciplinary actions of an administrative nature were taken against two military personnel concerning two separate substantiated allegations of sexual exploitation, and two additional military personnel were imprisoned for another two substantiated allegations, one of sexual abuse and one of sexual exploitation. 84. I am profoundly concerned over any allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse that surfaces in peacekeeping contexts. When the United Nations deploys peacekeepers, it aims at protecting the world's most vulnerable people in the most affected places. I will not tolerate any action that causes populations to question this trusted role. The troubling allegations concerning the conduct of United Nations peacekeepers deployed to the Central African Republic in 2015 has shown that it remains an area where the Organization and its Member States must do much more. Those who work for the United Nations in peacekeeping and other humanitarian operations must uphold the Organization's highest ideals. Yet the outrageous and criminal actions of a few people tarnish the heroic work of tens of thousands of United Nations peacekeepers and other personnel. In my most recent report on special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (A/69/779), I have made a series of proposals to enhance the response of the United Nations, including its agencies, funds and programmes, to sexual exploitation and 28/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 abuse. I have also appointed a high-level external independent panel to look into the reports of sexual exploitation and abuse in the Central African Republic and the Organization's systemic response. Every allegation must be reported immediately, investigated thoroughly and acted upon decisively. Failure to do so will have clear consequences. Member States have the ultimate responsibility to hold uniformed personnel to account and they must take decisive preventive and punitive action. I welcome, in this regard, the emergency session of the Security Council that was held on 13 August 2015. I encourage regional organizations deploying peacekeeping personnel to do the same. My clear message to perpetrators is that everything possible will be done to pursue them and bring them to justice. I want victims to rest assured that the Organization will uphold its institutional responsibility to safeguard their security and dignity. The latter is an area where the international community must emphasize assistance and support, including for implementing and resourcing past commitments. Promoting unarmed means of protection 85. The global study and the report of the High-level Independent Panel of Peace Operations underscore the importance of promoting unarmed protection actions, including by military actors and their police and civilian partners. United Nations missions are meant to protect civilians not only through the provision of direct physical protection but also through dialogue, engagement and the establishment of a protective environment. A repeated theme in consultations for the global study was that the promotion of women's leadership is a protection strategy in itself. Early warning mechanisms continue to be underutilized and disconnected from proactive and immediate response. To protect the humanitarian space, many advocate for protection by presence, proven to be effective even if it is unarmed military personnel or unarmed civilian protection. G. Countering violent extremism: women and peace and security in a new context 86. The rise of violent extremism in addition to ongoing conflicts exacerbates the already complex threats faced by communities, States and regions, with a direct impact on the rights of women and girls. From forced marriage and the commission of systematic sexual and gender-based crimes, abuses of the right to physical integrity, to restrictions on education, access to health care and participation in public life, the escalation in violence and insecurity is perhaps one of the greatest threats to global peace and security at present, and one that affects women and girls in both unique and disproportionate ways. It also makes more evident than ever the clear linkages between gender equality, peace and security that the originators of resolution 1325 (2000) first drew to international attention. In the presidential statement adopted in connection to the open debate on women and peace and security in 2014 (S/PRST/2014/21), the Security Council expressed with deep concern that "violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrori sm, often results in increased displacement, and is frequently targeted at women and girls, leading to serious human rights violations and abuses committed against them including murder, abduction, hostage taking, kidnapping, enslavement, their sale and fo rced marriage, human trafficking, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence". Since then, this targeted violence is receiving increasing global attention. 15-15656 29/54 S/2015/716 Yet, even as violent extremist groups place the subordination of women at the forefront of their agenda, the promotion of gender equality has remained an afterthought in national and international responses to the spread of their violence. As the Organization mobilizes against violent extremism, synergies must continue to be built between the agendas on counter-terrorism and on women and peace and security. Promoting women's participation, leadership, human rights and empowerment increases the chance of success in addressing this scourge. Deliberate targeting of women's and girls' human rights 87. A common thread shared by violent extremist groups is that their advance has been coupled with attacks on the rights of women and girls -- such as rights to education, to participation in public life and to decision -making over their own bodies. According to reports, abductions of and sexual violence against women and girls have been used as a deliberate tactic, for example, by Boko Haram. Reports estimate that as many as 2,000 women and girls may have been abducted since the start of 2014. Research also indicates that abducted women and girls held in captivity by Boko Haram experience a range of violations including physical and psychological abuse, forced labour, forced participation in military operations, forced marriage to their captors, and sexual abuse and violence, including rape and forced pregnancy. 45 Sexual and gender-based violence is being used as a deliberate tactic of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. In my previous report on conflict-related sexual violence (S/2015/203), I highlighted the use of sexual violence as integrally linked with the objectives, ideology and funding of violent extremist groups. 88. As violent extremist groups continue to grow in power and influence, international actors have focused on military and security solutions to stop their progress. This approach is not sufficient to address the evolving problem, and can result in human rights violations that can further fuel grievances. At its heart, violent extremism is also a manifestation of governance and development shortcomings as well as a lack of respect for human rights and the rule of law. Building societies that are conflict-resilient and able to permanently address the conditions conducive to violent extremism requires investing in policies a nd programmes that support good governance and sustainable and rights -based development. As evidenced in the global study, this must involve policies and programmes that integrate human rights of women and their empowerment and active participation of women. 89. Women are, however, not only victims, they can be active participants and leaders in perpetrating extremist violence. Their roles vary according to each group and have included carrying out suicide bombings, participating in women 's wings or all-female brigades within armed organizations, gathering intelligence, and serving as recruiters and mobilizers. Women play an important role in social media, which can be used as a recruitment tool, publicize and celebrate activities of extremists, and build interest in their causes. 46 The efforts of Member States and international actors __________________ 45 46 "`Our job is to shoot, slaughter and kill': Boko Haram's reign of terror in north-east Nigeria" (Amnesty International, 14 April 2015). Shiv Malik, "Lured by ISIS: how the young girls who revel in brutality are offered cause", The Guardian, 21 February 2015. Available from http://www.theguardian.com/wor ld/2015/feb/ 20/push-pull-lure-western-women-isis. 30/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 must be informed by a nuanced gendered lens on the conditions conducive to terrorism, understanding the grievances that move women and men towards violent extremism, and supporting the dynamics that strengthen their resilience against them. 90. Women are impacted both by violent extremist and terrorist groups as well as the strategies used to counter them, which can result in their being squeezed between terror and anti-terror. Efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism that are not grounded in human rights have had an adverse impact on gender equality and women's organizations, including women human rights defenders. The disempowerment of women, and the harmful social norms that accompany the rise of violent extremism, is not incidental but systemic, weakening the foundation of resilient and stable communities. One-sided security-driven solutions heighten women's insecurity, with militarized counter-terrorism operations disrupting economic and social activity and destroying civilian infrastructure that is not used for military purposes. Displacement leaves women and girls vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence and other human rights violations. The failure to preve nt these negative impacts results in women's re-victimization, and ultimately in more poverty, more desperation, and greater radicalization that can lead to violent extremism. 91. I recommend that Member States and United Nations entities invest in gender sensitive research and data collection on identifying the drivers that lead individuals to join violent extremist groups and the impacts of comprehensive counter -terrorism strategies on women's human rights, in order to develop targeted and evidence based policy and programming responses. This would entail designing a context and gender-sensitive approach to programming based on local needs and community perceptions including those of women. 92. The world is clearly witnessing a strategic moment in the evol ution of the counter-terrorism agenda where women's participation and empowerment has become recognized as a necessary part of a comprehensive response to securing peace and security in line with resolution 1325 (2000). The Security Council has increasingly referred to women in resolutions and statements related to terrorism. In resolution 2178 (2014), the Council recognizes for the first time the need to empower women as part of preventative measures to the spread of violent extremism and radicalization. However, there is a certain disconnect between the rhetoric and the degree of investment in relevant programming on the ground. 93. The women and peace and security agenda provides a platform for analysing how conditions may be conducive to terrorism, particularly prolonged unresolved conflicts as identified under Pillar I of the United Nations Global Counter -Terrorism Strategy, and how the drivers of radicalization affect or are impacted by gender dynamics. In resolution 2122 (2013), the Security Council e xplicitly mentions terrorism as one of the thematic areas where the Council intends to increase its attention to women and peace and security issues, a theme reaffirmed in resolution 2129 (2013). 94. I urge Member States and relevant United Nations entiti es to continue building synergies between the agendas on counter-terrorism and on women and peace and security. This must involve strengthening the integration of a gender perspective, including women's participation, leadership and empowerment, into counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism frameworks. It also requires ensuring mechanisms and processes mandated to prevent and respond to violent extremism have the necessary gender expertise to fulfil their mandates. This includes United 15-15656 31/54 S/2015/716 Nations entities providing relevant capacity-building and other assistance, sanctions monitoring teams, bodies established to track terrorist financing and conduct fact-finding and criminal investigations. 95. Violent extremists have made effective use of social media to advance their objectives, whether through propaganda, radicalization or recruitment. In the same way, media channels can be used to counter the narratives of violent extremism and develop messages on gender equality, good governance, and conflict prev ention. Employing the media to educate men and boys to change discriminatory practices, including through non-violent conflict resolution, rethinking masculinities and stereotypes about gender roles also creates pathways for women and girls to engage in efforts to counter violent extremism. Counter-narratives to violent extremist messaging also need to be developed and targeted at male and female audiences. Training religious leaders to work as mentors in their communities and increasing women's access to education to amplify their voices against violent extremist narratives are other important strategies. H. Addressing obstacles to implementation: the role of key actors 96. The present section includes an examination of the initiatives taken by different stakeholders to accelerate action, measure progress and deliver better results on the ground. Good practices, gaps and challenges are highlighted, identified through the preparations for the global study and the high-level review of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). It concludes with a critical look at the financing of the women and peace and security agenda and a strong call for greater investment in its full implementation. Planning for action and monitoring results at the national level 97. Since 2002, the Security Council has encouraged the development of clear strategies focusing on the integration of gender perspectives in conflict and post-conflict response (see S/PRST/2002/32). As highlighted in my annual reports on women and peace and security, a range of national and local implementation strategies have evolved since, of which dedicated national action plans on women and peace and security have received significant attention. They provide an opportunity for national stakeholders to identify priorities, determine responsibilities, allocate resources, and initiate actions within a defined time frame. As of March 2015, 53 countries had adopted a national action plan (24 in Europe, 17 in Africa, 8 in Asia, 3 in the Americas and 1 in Oceania). Several national action plans are due to be updated and almost 20 additional countries are in the pro cess of preparing their first action plans. Similarly, a wide range of women and peace and security "localization" initiatives have been developed. 98. The increasing adoption of national action plans is often welcomed as an illustration of growing commitment of Member States to implementing resolution 1325 (2000). However, national action plans are simply processes and facilitators of action, not ends in themselves. Building on past lessons and good practices, the global study puts forward a set of common elements necessary for a national action plan to be able to facilitate coherent, targeted and impactful action. These include strong leadership and effective coordination, inclusive design processes, costing and allocated budgets for implementation, monitoring and evaluation and flexibility to 32/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 adapt to emerging situations. National action plans are also stronger when they link to other planning processes like United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks and strategies to implement the 2030 Sustainable D evelopment Agenda. 99. It is promising that several of the countries that are implementing their second or third generation national action plans have made efforts to address earlier deficits across those areas. Yet, deeper analysis shows that many gaps re main. For instance, a review of 47 national action plans undertaken in 2014 showed that only 11 had a specified budget attached to their implementation. In addition to government leadership, effective national implementation strategies call for broad parti cipation by all relevant actors as well as affected communities. There is a need to identify better avenues for sharing results, lessons learned and good practices at the national, regional and global levels. 100. Some Governments have appointed high-level champions for genderresponsive foreign policy and development cooperation. Australia established in 2011 the role of Ambassador for Women and Girls as an advocate for the promotion and protection of women's human rights around the globe and to ensure that gender equality is a central focus of Australia's diplomatic, peacebuilding and development efforts. In 2015, Sweden appointed an Ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Issues and Gender Equality to coordinate Sweden's feminist foreign policy, which aims at guaranteeing women's rights, including participation in peacebuilding and peacemaking and preventing violence. Such an explicit and strong political stand to promote gender equality and the human rights of women and girls marks a good practice that could be replicated by more governments. 101. Besides national action plans specific to women and peace and security, national policies and plans on issues such as national security, human rights, development, including development cooperation, gender equal ity, violence against women, peacebuilding and reconstruction and disaster management provide significant entry-points for advancing progress on women and peace and security. As such, it is essential to ensure that the issue of women and peace and security does not become an under-resourced strand of government policy, isolated from larger policy and programme initiatives, and that synergies between various initiatives are promoted. Strengthening linkages between human rights mechanisms and Security Council resolutions on women and peace and security 102. In my previous reports, I have called upon Member States to follow up on recommendations put forward by international, regional and national human rights mechanisms (S/2013/525, para. 64, and S/2012/732, para. 64). I have also highlighted the remarkable achievements made at the normative level for the protection of the human rights of women and girls in conflict -affected settings (S/2014/693, para. 2). In particular, the adoption of General Recommendation No. 30, on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in 2013 was a landmark achievement. In 2015, UN-Women issued a guidebook on the general recommendation and related Security Council resolutions on women and peace and security. In addition to the Committee, there are eight othe r treaty bodies charged with monitoring implementation of the major human right s treaties. Their work 15-15656 33/54 S/2015/716 plays an integral role in ensuring respect for the rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings, informing Member State policies and a ssisting in documentation for other parts of the United Nations system. 103. The Human Rights Council process of universal periodic review also performs a critical function since it is the only universal mechanism to regularly assess every four years the human rights situation of each Member State and compliance with international humanitarian law. I encourage Member States participating in universal periodic reviews to consider women and peace and security obligations and commitments in their questions and recommendations to peer Member States and in their submissions to the Human Rights Council. I also applaud the efforts of civil society to strengthen accountability processes through submissions to the Human Rights Council and treaty bodies, and by using review outcomes to advocate for change in their home countries. 104. The special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council have also drawn important attention to the rights of women and girls in conflict -affected countries. For example, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, issued a seminal report on reparations which has furthered the acceptance of the need for justice to transform structural inequalities affecting women and girls; the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice issued its first thematic report on discrimination against women in public and political life, including in times of transition; and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances adopted a general comment on gender and enforced disappearances. The global study highlights the importance of increasing synergies between the Security Council and the special procedures, including by inviting special procedures to brief the Council on is sues relating to women and peace and security. For instance, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of internally displaced persons briefed the Security Council in October 2014 during the open debate on women and peace and security (see S/PV.7289). The Human Rights Council also has the power to establish commissions of inquiry and expert fact-finding bodies to investigate, analyse and report on situations of armed conflict. As an important tool for accountability, the ability of such bodies to report on sexual and gender-based violence must continue to be strengthened, and information flows further encouraged with the Security Council and other relevant actors. 105. Regional and subregional human rights mechanisms support the promotion and advancement of women's rights and hold States accountable to commitments for gender equality in conflict-affected contexts. For example, the African regional human rights system has some of the strongest normative frameworks for wo men's rights, including the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples ' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the first regional human rights instrument to include provisions on the right to abortion (see A/HRC/29/27, para. 17). National human rights instruments and mechanisms form another critical link in the chain of accountability (S/2014/693, para. 18). In addition to the responsibility of ensuring general compliance of Member States with their human rights obligations, they are uniquely placed to take the lead on implementing the recommendations put forward by international and regional human rights mechanisms, setting timelines, benchmarks and indicators for success, including for women's human rights. 34/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 Stepping up implementation at the regional and subregional levels 106. In the light of the regional nature of many conflicts, cooperation in the area of peace and security between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations such as the African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the European Union has generally intensified, for example in the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia and the Sudan, as well as with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Afghanistan. The adoption of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region by 11 countries under the auspices of the African Union, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the United Nations in 2013 is a n example of intensified cooperation and new partnerships. 107. Regional consultations for the global study highlighted the range of ways in which regional and subregional organizations have integrated global women and peace and security obligations and commitments within their security, crisis response, human rights or peacebuilding efforts. As of May 2015, five organizations -- ECOWAS, the European Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), NATO, and the Pacific Islands Forum -- had adopted dedicated regional action plans on women and peace and security. Other notable regional initiatives since 2010 include the development of a strategy on the theme "Protection of Arab women: peace and security" by the League of Arab States (to be complemented by a regional action plan on women and peace and security in 2015), the adoption of an action plan for the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) in support of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region, and the launch by the African Union of a new five-year Gender, Peace and Security Programme for 2015 -2020. In a number of regions, stronger focus on the women and peace and security agenda by key regional organizations has contributed to an increase in related national action plans by Member States and facilitated the sharing of lessons learned across regions. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, for example, in cooperation with the Peace Research Institute Oslo published a study analysing the 27 national action plans in the region highlighting good practices, gaps and challenges. 108. Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations to address conflict-related sexual violence has also intensified on the basis of frameworks of cooperation signed between the African Union and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region with the Office of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The frameworks essentially strengthen collaboration to ensure that conflict-related sexual violence considerations are systematically reflected in the work of those organizations. A similar cooperation framework has been agreed with the League of Arab States and is to be formally signed during the seventieth sessio n of the General Assembly. I also welcome the adoption of the NATO Military Guidelines On The Prevention Of And Response To Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which is currently before NATO Member States for ratification. 109. Data show that despite low levels of women's representation in senior positions in regional organizations, there has been an upward trend since 2012 15-15656 35/54 S/2015/716 (S/2014/693, para. 12). 47 However, uneven data availability prevents robust trend analysis. Information provided by NATO showed that women held 6 out of 38 (16 per cent) executive leadership positions at NATO headquarters (international staff, excluding international military staff and delegations) as at December 2014, and two out of seven (28 per cent) positions in country offices. In addition, one of the two NATO special representative positions was held by a woman, bringing the overall rate of women holding leadership positions to 19 per cent. In the European Union's External Action Service, women held 3 out of 28 (11 per cent) headquarters-based executive positions (down from 13 per cent in 2013) and 31 out of 135 (23 per cent) in country offices and missions (slightly up from 21 per cent in 2013). One of the two European Union's External Action Service mediators in 2014 was a woman, while only 1 out of the 10 (10 per cent) special envoy and representative positions was held by a woman. In the case of the Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, women held four out of seven (57 per cent) headquarters -based executive positions, but the rate of female special representatives or envoys was low, namely, 5 per cent (2 of the 36 ministers). For the African Union Commission, parity has been reached among its Commissioners, and in terms of top leadership and the appointment of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the African Union Commission Chairperson in 2012 signalled an important development. 110. As a result of strengthened gender equality architecture and use of technical gender expertise in regional organizations such as the African Union, European Union, NATO and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, tangible changes are visible in the ways these organizations work. For example, a well functioning network of gender advisers and focal points is now in place across both civilian and military elements of NATO institutions and field commands. The planning process of the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, the first mission where allies and partner nations made the required gender expertise available at all levels from the very start of the mission, illustrates that integrating a gender perspective is now an integral part of the entire mission planning cycle. The African Union established civilian protection and gender units in its field missions and included gender experts in post-conflict needs assessment teams. All 16 common security and defence policy missions currently deployed by the European Union have either a gender adviser or a focal point. 111. As seen in the NATO and African Union example, the appointment of h ighlevel representatives or envoys on women and peace and security is not only contributing to a stronger gender focus across the work of those organizations but is also strengthening partnerships with the United Nations as manifested through the adoption of memorandums of understanding, joint missions and initiatives. For instance, since her appointment in 2014, the African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop has undertaken solidarity missions to the Central African Republic, Nigeria and Somalia. In March 2014, the African Union Special Envoy was appointed as a member of the African Union Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan. Her engagement facilitated close interactions with South Sudanese women, ensuring that there was a specific focus on the crimes committed __________________ 47 See, for example, S/2014/693, box 12. Executive positions, including headquarters high-level executives (equivalent to International Standard Classification of Occupations No. 88, Major Group 1: Legislators, senior officials and managers), special representatives or envoys, heads of country offices, heads of missions and mediators. 36/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 against them during the conflict. In July 2015, the European Union External Action Service announced the creation of a Gender Adviser post. 112. Efforts made by regional and subregional organizations to build systems for monitoring progress and evaluating results enable them to hold the organizations and their member States to account for the implementation of obligations and commitments on women and peace and security. For example, the Council of the European Union has adopted a set of indicators to assess progress on their comprehensive approach to the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008). 48 Building on lessons learned and as a result of the monitoring undertaken during the past few years, efforts are currently under way to enhance the measurability and effectiveness of these efforts. For example, NATO has included a monitoring and evaluation framework with indicators in its 2014 action plan for the implementation of policy on women and peace and security. Allies and partner nations are briefed every six months on progress made and the NATO Secretary-General publishes an annual report on the implementation of the policy on women, peace and security. In 2015, the African Union initiated th e development of a continental results framework on women, peace and security in Africa. The framework will build on policy-level advancements across the continent in recent years and will include recommendations for improving the collection of data disaggregated by sex, particularly in fragile and post-conflict settings, including through the deployment of gender experts, capacity -building, technology development and the strengthening of national statistical institutions. Ensuring more robust leadership, coordination and accountability within the United Nations 113. In 2010, I committed to undertaking efforts towards the development of a more comprehensive and measurable approach to implementing resolution 1325 (2000) and enhancing accountability. Since then, a set of indicators to measure implementation has been designed (see S/2010/489), the Seven-Point Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding (see A/65/354-S/2010/466) has been put in place and the strategic results framework on women and peace and security has been devised. All three frameworks are closely related, and yet their purposes are slightly different. The frameworks have been useful to highlight are as of progress and stagnation, such as women's representation in managerial positions in the United Nations system and the financing of the women and peace and security agenda. However, significant overlapping between frameworks and measurability issues stemming from inadequate formulation of indicators and targets have hampered the efficient use of the frameworks for accountability, advocacy and programming. I call upon all actors in the context of the women and peace and security agenda to focus on data collection where baselines do not exist, addressing any gap areas and stimulating better implementation of the frameworks before 2020. 114. Gender experts must be represented at all levels of the United Nations peace and security architecture, including amo ng leadership positions. Recent trends show fluctuations between 15 and 25 per cent in the proportion of peacekeeping and __________________ 48 The full list of indicators is available from http://register.consilium.europa.eu/doc/srv?l=EN&f= ST%2011948%202010%20INIT. Data is compiled and reported biannually, but availability is still low for some of the indicators. 15-15656 37/54 S/2015/716 special political missions headed by women since 2011. 49 An all-time high was reached in May 2015, when women led almost 40 per cent of peacekeeping missions. The proportion of women deputy heads has increased from 17 per cent in 2011 to 24 per cent in 2014. Considerable efforts are still needed to achieve the gender parity goal for the positions of special representatives and special env oys, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 58/144. 115. Improvement has also been slow at the managerial level (P -5 to D-2 levels); 21 per cent of positions were held by women in peacekeeping missions in 2011, compared with 33.4 per cent in 2014. In special political missions, the rates increased from 18 to 29 per cent in the same time period. In other United Nations entities in conflict and post-conflict countries, 50 this proportion varies widely, with entities such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNFPA or UN-Women reaching or even surpassing equal representation of women, and others such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and th e Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) falling below the 20 per cent mark. In most United Nations entities the rates of women representation were higher in lower grade professional positions than at managerial levels. UNDP and UNAIDS scored high on gender balance across all levels, reporting overall rates beyond 40 per cent. 116. As of May 2015, four women were appointed in my good offices capacity, including as special envoys, advisers or coordinators. Six (19 per cent) of a total of 31 resident coordinators in conflict countries were females. As recommended by the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations in its report ( A/70/95S/2015/446), efforts must be strengthened to appoint more women t o senior mission leadership positions and to support the promotion of current staff through mentoring programmes. In order to accelerate progress, the Department of Field Support, the Office of Human Resources Management and the UN -Women Office of the Focal Point for Women are currently implementing efforts to ensure the participation of at least one woman in selection panels and of at least one woman candidate to be shortlisted for mission leadership per position; strengthening the talent pipeline for recruiting, promoting and retaining women senior managers; and addressing the barriers identified in past reviews. 117. The dedication of United Nations senior managers, male and female, to ensuring gender equality and the empowerment of women sends a strong s ignal about the legitimacy of the issue and builds credibility at the working levels. It is critical to ensure that gender equality goals are included in all key mandates, instructions, operational guidance, terms of reference and senior -level compacts and that those who do not deliver must be held to account. I welcome the request of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations for compacts to be established between the Secretary-General and the Heads of missions in order to specify performance indicators relating to gender. 118. To complement the support provided to missions by the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations , the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations highlighted in its report that missions should have full access to the policy, substantive, and technical support from UN -Women on implementation of 1325 (2000) and successive resolutions. The call for greater __________________ 49 50 Data points registered annually as of 31 December. See footnote No. 13 above. 38/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 coordination and coherence between UN-Women and peace operations has similarly been made by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. I encourage the strengthening of these partnerships since it would allow for capitalizing on limited human and financial resources and leveraging each entity's comparative advantages, including linkages with different civil society organizations and the work of United Nations country teams. Greater cooperation would also address concerns raised in the report with regard to fragmentation in the system as well as issues raised by the Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture in its report (A/69/968-S/2015/490), including the silos regarding the implementation in the system of the women and peace and security agenda. The role of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and other United Nations country team members responsible for delivering on women and peace and security commitments in the field should equally be recognized, and greater efforts should be made to ensure coordination involving all actors. Enhanced partnerships between all key entities with technical gender expertise in conflict and post-conflict settings are necessary as well, including through the development of rosters of experts and improved inter -agency forums. I note with concern the lack of senior-level leadership on women and peace and security for the United Nations system as a whole, as highlighted by Member States and civil society during the preparation of the global study. I call upon UN-Women, given their role on women and peace and security coordination and accountability, and upon all relevant entities to ensure that their senior leadership is fully seized of the women and peace and security agenda and that they play their role in bringing relevant information to the attention of the Security Council. In addition, I take note of the recommendation of the global study on the need for dedicated high-level representation in UN-Women on the women and peace and security agenda to further its accountability, visibility and imple mentation. Boosting data availability and national statistics 119. Data on women and peace and security remains scarce, although important efforts are under way to increase its production and quality. For instance, data to monitor the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) is compiled annually, and it is contained in the reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council (for example, see S/2014/693). However, data is still not available for 36 per cent of the indicator series (see S/2010/498) designed for this purpose. Existing figures mostly refer to work of international entities or implementation proce sses. It is worth noting that with the establishment of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements under Security Council resolution 1960, the United Nations system has considerably increased its capacity to gather timely, reliable and objective information on incidents and trends concerning conflict-related sexual violence (see S/2015/203). 120. However, data collection at the national level continues to lag behind. Reasons for the lack of national statistics on women and peace and security include inadequate coordination between peace and security institutions and national statistical systems, lack of political will and understanding of the critical role that quality statistics can play in promoting peace through targeted interventions, limited statistical capacity in fragile and developing settings, safety concerns affecting household survey data collection and administrative record keeping, and confidentiality concerns and statistical laws preventing t he dissemination of security-related data. 15-15656 39/54 S/2015/716 121. As detailed in the global study, however, numerous international and regional initiatives are driving coordinated methodology for data production relevant to women and peace and security. For instance, the Statistical Commission of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Secretariat recently endorsed the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes, which is intended to enhance the registration and comparability of crime statistics, includ ing statistics on violence. Efforts by the Friends of the Chair to the Statistical Commission on the indicators on violence against women led to the adoption of a core set of nine indicators (see E/CN.3/2009/13) in 2009 that the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics has taken forward for the refinement and production of methodological guidelines and the design of model survey questionnaires. Perception surveys such as those conducted within the framework of the Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa are a prime example of a bottom -up initiative that is making a difference in the official measurement of governance, peace and security issues across Africa, including from a gender per spective. 51 Data for the Minimum Set of Gender Indicators (see E/CN.3/2009/13) and other sector specific initiatives launched by United Nations entities, 52 are also relevant to measure progress towards the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda. In addition, the Praia Group is expected to play a pivotal role in jumpstarting the production of country-level governance, peace and security statistics to inform sustainable development goals monitoring and to integrate gender as one of its key thematic areas. 122. To accelerate progress both in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the women and peace and security agenda, I reiterate the call for all national Governments to prioritize the production of statistics on women and peace and security and to increase their use for policymaking. Financial and technical support from bilateral and multilateral actors is necessary in order for this become a reality. I expect all national Governments, international and regional entities to address the production of data related to women and peace and security in a holistic manner. Supporting civil society 123. The essential role of civil society, including women 's organizations in conflict prevention, peacemaking and post-conflict recovery, is addressed in the women and peace and security agenda. One of the aims of preparing the global study was to capture the diverse voices of civil society activists working for peace, security and gender equality by undertaking consultations, conducting a global survey of civil society organizations, inviting on-line submissions and forming a high-level advisory group comprised mostly of representatives of civil society. These steps __________________ 51 52 The Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa is a continent -wide effort to generate comparable statistics for decision-making in Africa. It covers the adoption of international standards adjusted to African realities, as well as efforts to enhance coordination and production of harmonized statistics. As a result, two "add-on" household survey modules and two schedules of administrative items have been developed, one on Governance and one on Peace and security statistics. Implementation of data-collection exercises utilizing these modules is either ongoing or has already been undertaken in at least 13 African national statistics offices. Entities include Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicators on world humanitarian data, UNHCR statistics on refugees, asylum -seekers, internally displaced people and other populations of concern, the Gender and Land Rights Database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the human rights indicators o f the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 40/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 have helped to ensure that, in policymaking circles, including the Security Council, attention is paid to the expertise offered by civil society during the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000). 124. Women's organizations play a vital role in mitigating conflict and building peace, delivering services, monitoring government action and holding Governments to account on their human rights obligations and commitments to women and girls -- contributions I have recognized and encouraged in previous reports (see S/2013/525 and S/2012/732). Despite this important work, members of civil society and women human rights defenders are often the targets of threats and violence during and after armed conflict (see S/2013/525), and laws and regulations are increasingly imposed in order to shrink their space for engagement. I echo the findings of the global study that inadequate engagement with civil society is a missed opportunity for Member States, regional organizations and international entities. Greater political and financial support is needed, including for grass -roots organizations and those representing women victims of intersectional discrimination. Civil society is often in the best position to share local concerns with national leaders, bringing the perspectives of women and girls at the grass roots level to the national, regional and global levels and to deliver services. Exploring the role and power of the media 125. In the years since the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), there has been a broad change in the abilities of women and girls to represent themselves and their causes in the media, ranging from traditional and less gender -inclusive mediums such as television and printed news, to newer and more widely accessible platforms, including social media. Media outlets can play a pivotal role in spreading messages relating to women and peace and security, with information that is tailored and accessible to women and girls and which is representative of their experiences. In Fiji, the feminist media network FemLINK PACIFIC uses radio and television based dialogue to draw rural women and government officials together to discuss development and human security challenges. The global study also highlights the role of investigative journalism in bringing greater visibility to issues such as conflict-related sexual violence, breaking taboos and galvanizing action. 126. Portrayals of empowered women in the media continue to be rare. A 2015 analysis undertaken by the Global Media Monitoring Project in 15 conflic t and post-conflict countries found that only 13 per cent of the stories in th e news media on peace and security-related themes included women as the subject and that women were central to the story in only 6 per cent of stories. The analysis also found that a woman was more than twice as likely as a man to be identified as the victim in a story, as opposed to one having a leadership role. 127. In my previous annual reports, I have described the gender -specific threats and violence women journalists face in conflict environments (see S/2013/525 and S/2014/693). Since 2000, 446 journalists have been killed on the job in conflict and post-conflict countries, 53 and 64 per cent of all women journalists killed died in conflict countries. A shocking 70 per cent of women journalists killed worldwide were murdered, the others having been killed in crossfire or as a result of dangerous assignments. The global study echoes my urgent call to ensure the protection of __________________ 53 Available from https://www.cpj.org/killed/. 15-15656 41/54 S/2015/716 women war correspondents and all media personnel reporting on women's rights issues (see S/2013/525), while also encouraging a more inclusive and participatory approach to media, which empowers women and girls affected by armed conflict. Financing the women and peace and security agenda 128. The failure to allocate sufficient resources to implement commitments on women and peace and security has been one of the most persistent obstacles to achieving progress over the past 15 years. Although the gender focus of bilateral aid, multilateral interventions, funding to civil society and national public expenditures has modestly increased in the past decade, the shift has neither been sufficient nor transformative. 129. In conflict and post-conflict settings, where domestic finance is often depleted and private finance, technology and innovation investments are equally lacking, international donor funds make up the bulk of financing for development. Analysis of bilateral sector-allocable official development assistance data from OECD-DAC donor countries shows that support for gender equality and women 's rights in fragile states has grown by 10 per cent on average per year since 2008. 54 Nevertheless, in 2012-2013, just 6 per cent of all aid 55 to fragile States and economies targeted gender equality as the principal objective. 56 Large disparities exist beyond these aggregates; Sweden, for instance, has increased the proportion of its aid towards gender equality fivefold since 2000, and 43 per cent of Canada 's interventions in fragile States in 2012-2013 had gender equality as a principal objective. 130. Most international donor aid in support of gender equality in fragile States is allocated to social sectors such as education and health, while significant gaps remain in economic and peace and security sectors. Within the peace and security category, 57 only 28 per cent of allocations had a gender equality focus in 2012 -2013, and only 2 per cent targeted it as a principal objective. Allocations to support civilian peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resolution were the most gender sensitive in this category; 41 per cent of aid to these sectors targeted gender equality as a significant objective and 4 per cent as a principal objective. I encourage all aid providers, including non-Development Assistance Committee donor countries, to record the gender focus of all aid contributions, disseminate the information and utilize it to enhance aid effectiveness and inform policymaking, planning and budgeting to accelerate change. I also encourage donors, including those supporting the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States and providing humanitarian aid, to target long-term development outcomes, reduce aid volatility and consistently integrate a gender perspective throughout all interventions. 131. Multilateral donors such as development banks have an important role to play in furthering gender equality in conflict settings through their interventions. Notably, 97 per cent of World Bank allocations in 2014 to fragile States were gender-informed operations, which address gender in the analysis, actions or __________________ 54 55 56 57 See footnote No. 10 above. When quoting OECD-Development Assistance Committee figures, "aid" refers to bilateral sector-allocable official development assistance allocated by DAC members only. Guidelines for marking aid as having principal or significant objective available from http://www.oecd.org/investment/stats/37461060.pdf. According to one of the OECD-Development Assistance Committee subcodes, the description is "Conflict prevention and resolution, peace and security". 42/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 monitoring of the projects with data disaggregated by sex and other indicators. However, the allocations were much lower in fragile States ($3 ,382.4 million) than in non-fragile countries ($34,156.8 million). In 2014, 54 per cent of the Asian Development Bank projects, loans and grants approved for fragile States in Asia and the Pacific were rated as having effective gender mainstreaming, while only 14 per cent focused specifically on promoting gender equality. 58 The African Development Bank has made a commitment to introduce a marking system in the course of 2015. I applaud the efforts undertaken by these entities to track the gender focus of their interventions, and I encourage all development banks to further strengthen the gender focus and tracking of financial allocations in conflict settings. Donor conferences are critical for donors to identify a country's post-conflict priorities and to plan interventions accordingly. A review of 22 major donor conferences 59 held since 2010 indicates that women were not consistently invited to formal proceedings; however, when formal participation mechanisms existed, gender equality interventions were often targeted in donor pledges. 132. At present, only 15 per cent of United Nations entities that reported data on the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, have systems to track the gender focus of their resource allocations, although efforts are under way to roll out gender marker systems across more entities. Differences in methodology, however, limit full comparability and, while some entities screen the totality of their allocations, others, especially emergency response and humanitarian agencies, encounter challenges in gender marking, which results in an unreliable picture of whether commitments to gender equality are being met. 133. Available data for specific interventions in conflict and post -conflict settings indicate that, although the proportion of allocations targeting gender equality as a principal objective has generally increased since 2011, much stronger efforts are needed. For instance, the UNICEF proportion of these allocations has increased from 11 to 19 per cent in three years, while the UNDP proportion has largely remained constant, standing at 4.2 per cent in 2014. The UNFPA proportion was 11.6 per cent in the same year. In absolute terms, however, UNDP funded the largest volume of interventions, a total of $71.7 million, which largely targeted the improvement of women's livelihoods ($13.6 million) and access to justice, redress and citizen security ($7.2 million). By comparison, UN -Women field-level programme expenses in peace, security and humanitarian action totalled $17.75 million in 2014. 134. Despite the good practices in effect, the goal of allocating a minimum of 15 per cent of peacebuilding funds to projects whose principal objective is to address women's specific needs and to advance gender equality, as set out in t he Seven-Point Action Plan remains unmet. Only 2.1 per cent of Peacebuilding Fund interventions met this criteria in 2011. Owing to efforts such as the Gender Promotion Initiative, that figure rose beyond 12 per cent in 2013 and stood at 9.3 per cent in 2014 (a total of $8.22 million). As highlighted in the global study and recognized by the Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the __________________ 58 59 Data available from http://adb.org/projects/search/48419,21303?keyword=. For Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, the Sudan/Darfur, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen and Palestine. 15-15656 43/54 S/2015/716 Peacebuilding Architecture (A/69/968-S/2015/490), an additional push is needed not only to meet it but preferably to surpass it. 135. Much larger sums are consistently allocated to interventions that target gender equality as a "significant objective", an extremely important category to ensure that gender is effectively mainstreamed in large-scale interventions. UNDP allocated $357.3 million in 2014, or 20.3 per cent of all funds to conflict and post -conflict countries, compared with 23 per cent in 2011. 60 In the case of UNICEF, these have shifted from 48 to 52 per cent. Only the Peacebuilding Fund has achieved a substantial improvement, from 66 to 81 per cent, in the same time period. Trend data is not available for UNFPA, but the figure was 46 per cent in 2014. Large volumes of resources remain unmarked, however, in United Nations e ntities that do not use gender markers. For instance, the total peacekeeping funding for the fiscal year 2014/15 amounted to $8.47 billion, and the annual budget for special political missions was approximately $590 million, 61 neither of which was marked for gender focus. Each United Nations entity should therefore establish reporting systems to track the gender focus of relevant budgetary allocations where pos sible, including in non-project-based interventions and in field missions. 136. In resolution 2122 (2013), the Security Council called upon Member States to develop dedicated funding mechanisms and to increase their contributions to civil society at the local level. However in 2012-2013, only $130 million of aid from OECD-Development Assistance Committee countries went to women's organizations, a small amount compared with the $31.8 billion of total aid to fragile States over the same period. 62 Data compiled between February and March 2015 on the basis of 317 completed surveys from 72 countries and 16 focus group discussions indicates that most organizations receive the largest amount of funding for work on advocacy and technical capacity-building (43 per cent), with very few organizations (11 per cent) receiving most of their funding for core functions. Challenges on accessing resources have been intensified as a result of a shifting funding environment and donors giving preference to large organizations capable of meeting specific reporting and auditing requirements. I encourage bilateral and multilateral donors to increase resources and access to capacity-building for women's organizations in fragile settings. 137. Special funds, such as the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women and the United Nations Fund for Gender Equality, both of which are managed by UN-Women, and the Multi-Partner Trust Fund of the United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict 63 have been __________________ 60 61 62 63 The figures reflect gender marker ratings for the countries and areas of which the Security Council is currently seized and which have been considered by the Council at a formal meeting during the period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014 ( S/2014/10); and countries with a peacekeeping or special political mission in 2014. For 2014, the countries and areas are Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea -Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, Ukraine, Western Sahara and Yemen. See footnote 10 above. Managed by the secretariat of United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, with the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office of the United Nations Development Programme serving as the administrative agent. 44/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 important multilateral funding sources exclusively dedicated either to support gender equality work or address conflict-related sexual violence, despite their relatively small envelopes. While these funds support some projects in conflict and post-conflict settings, a significant funding gap still exists. To fill the gaps, the global study proposed the creation of a Global Acceleration Instrument for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, a pooled financing mechanism backed by Member States, United Nations entities and civil society. In considering the creation of such an instrument, it is essential to ensure that it does not duplicate or undermine existing structures such as the Multi-Partner Trust Fund of the United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, which has been an important arrangement to foster coordination and innovation. 138. National spending on military defence largely surpasses investments for sustainable peace and development. In 2014, global military spending ($1.7 trillion) 64 was thirteen times higher than development aid allocations (approximately $130 billion). Moreover, inequality has increased in almost all countries, and public institutions are unable to address the basic needs of all. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development created an unprecedented debate about the opportunities for all countries to achieve development. Although the need to ensure peaceful societies is globally recognized at the heart of the Charter of the United Nations, practical discussions on resourcing and policy shifts are needed to translate those aspirations into reality. The global study suggests the reduction of excessive military spending as one concrete measure in this regard. I. Security Council 139. The Security Council has played a central role over the past 15 years in establishing the normative framework for women and peace and security. However, the findings of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations are echoed in the global study, in which deficits in the implementation of the agenda are highlighted. The global study describes how improved Counc il working methods, combined with enhanced gender conflict analysis, can trigger a shift towards viewing the women and peace and security agenda as a tool to enhance the Council's own objectives and effectiveness. Strengthening the quality of information and analysis flowing into the Council 140. With resolution 2122 (2013), the Security Council set out mechanisms to improve its information flow, including through regular briefings on issues regarding women and peace and security from the head of UN -Women, my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, special envoys, the Departments of Political Affairs and Peacekeeping Operations, commissions of inquiry and other relevant United Nations entities. In addition, it stressed the importance of en suring that mission mandates include provisions on women and peace and security, such as the availability of expertise on gender-related issues and of mainstreaming a gender perspective into disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, security sector an d judicial reform and electoral assistance. It is important to maintain the progress achieved with setting up the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements to ensure that the Council receives timely, reliable and objective information on __________________ 64 Data available from www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/recent-trends. 15-15656 45/54 S/2015/716 conflict-related sexual violence and that increased efforts in this regard are made by the broader United Nations system, Member States and civil society. 141. Analysis of country-specific and thematic reporting to the Security Council since 2000 shows that issues on women and peace and security have received increased attention over time, as has the use of data disaggregated by sex. In 2000, only 50 per cent of country-specific reports to the Council contained references to women and peace and security, compared with 89 per cent in 2014. 65 Data compiled using the indicators related to resolution 1325 (2000) 66 confirm this trend since all 23 (100 per cent) periodic reports submitted in 2014 by special political missions included references to women and peace and security, and 32 (84 per cent) of 38 periodic reports submitted by peacekeeping missions included such references. Prevalent topics in reports included political participation, sexual violence and justice-related issues, with increased mention of civil society, re fugees and internally displaced persons. However, it is still necessary to improve the quality of women and peace and security issue analysis and to strengthen links between reported information and actionable recommendations, to include these into outcomes of the Security Council and to ultimately ensure their implementation by designated stakeholders. Efforts being undertaken by field missions and United Nations departments 67 to register and measure the depth and quality of gender analysis in mission reports are commendable and need to be supported. I call for increased investment in capacity to compile, analyse and report relevant data in all United Nations missions. 142. The United Nations system as a whole would also benefit from increased resources for data collection on women and peace and security. The indicators related to resolution 1325 (2000) are intended to gauge progress across the agenda 's issues. The indicators are included in my annual reports on women and peace and security and should be reflected in country reports received by the Security Council. The global study recommends that all of the reports of the Secretary -General to the Council include data disaggregated by sex as part of their analysis. 143. Civil society organizations and women human rights defenders are key actors for implementation, often being the only ones delivering services and sustaining dialogue in conflict-affected communities. Over the past 15 years, the Council has regularly heard from women civil society leaders during the annual debate on women and peace and security. In recent years, it has also heard from such leaders during the annual debate on sexual violence in conflict. On occasion, Council members have heard from women on specific country situations, such as the Arria Formula meeting on women's participation in resolving the Syrian conflict, held on 17 January 2014. Consistent engagement with women, acting as information __________________ 65 66 67 Both the Security Council and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security monitor and report on how issues regarding women and peace and security have been reflected in the reporting to and outcomes of the Security Council. Since 2010, the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations have reported data on the indicator entitled "Extent to which United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions include information on violations of women's and girls' human rights in their periodic reporting to the Security Council". The Department of Political Affairs of the Secretariat, for instance, compiles and reports data annually on the average number of paragraphs per report devoted to women and peace and security, the proportion of reports including data disaggregated by sex and the main thematic areas in each report. 46/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 providers and partners in civil society organizations, is needed during thematic debates and country-specific deliberations. Consistent leadership on women and peace and security within the United Nations system 144. The global study describes a number of steps the United Nations can take to address many of the current implementation gaps, through consistent direction from the Organization's leadership. In addition, as a good practice, there has been notable interaction between the Security Council and the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who has briefed the Council not only on her broader mandate but also on country-specific situations. The global study recommends that the Security Council act on its intent to extend that practice to the Executive Director of UN-Women with greater frequency, which I have also recommende d (see S/2013/525), in particular when the Council is considering a mandate to support post-conflict structures in a country-specific situation, which should ensure broad participation and decision-making by women. 145. Regarding Security Council missions, whenever the women and peace and security agenda has been incorporated into the terms of reference of the visit, the Council has engaged with stakeholders on the ground, albeit to varying degrees. However, when such issues were not included, concerns about women and peace and security have been subsequently overlooked. I encourage the Security Council to act on its commitment to meet with local women and women's organizations in the field, by consistently incorporating a gender perspective into its terms of references for missions, including specific visits focused on the issue of women and peace and security. I also welcome a possible Security Council mission focused on women and peace and security, pursuant to resolution 2122 (2013). I am confident that such an exercise would set a good practice benchmark for future missions. 146. In 2014, the Security Council undertook two field missions: Mali in January and February; and Europe (Belgium and Netherlands) and Africa (South Sudan and Somalia) in August. For Mali, references to women and peace and security were included in the mission terms of reference (see S/2014/72), the briefing on the mission's findings (see S/PV.7120) and in the mission report (S/2014/173). For the mission to Europe and Africa, specific references to women and peace and security were included in the terms of reference for the South Sudan and Somalia legs of the mission (S/2014/579) and in the briefing on the mission's findings (S/PV.7245). 147. Sanctions are a key tool used by the Security Council to enforce peace and security. Since the mid-1990s, the Council has adopted targeted sanctions on specific entities and individuals who are suspected of bearing the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international law. Overall, there has been a general trend to more systematically refer to gender issues in Council resolutions related to sanctions regimes. According to the global study, as of April 2015, among the 75 resolutions linked to 16 sanctions regimes currently active, 22 included references to gender and women's rights (29.3 per cent). The Council is increasing the application of targeted sanctions and has used individual sanctions to explicitly address sexual and gender-based violence in armed conflict in four instances. The global study highlights four areas where gender considerations could be better operationalized in sanctions regimes: designation criteria, referral processes, delisting and humanitarian exemptions. I continue to encourage the Council when 15-15656 47/54 S/2015/716 adopting or renewing targeted sanctions in situations of armed conflict, to include designation criteria pertaining to violations of women 's rights, including, inter alia, acts of sexual violence and death threats or killings of women human rights defenders and journalists. I also recommend that gender experts be included in monitoring groups, teams and panels of relevant sanctions committees in order to enhance information-gathering on alleged gender-based war crimes. Advancing the women and peace and security agenda in the daily work of the Security Council 148. The Security Council adopted 63 resolutions in 2014, 38 of which (60.3 per cent) contained references to women and peace and security according to the global study. This proportion is significantly lower than the 76.5 per cent figure of 2013 and 66 per cent of 2012. Specific references to resolution 1325 (2000) and related resolutions were made in 37 per cent of the total resolutions in the period, while 70 per cent included broader references to gender. It is encouraging that the focus on sexual and gender-based violence that dominated many resolutions is now accompanied with an increased focus on participation. Notably, 44 per cent of the 2014 resolutions included mention of women's participation, either in peace processes, post-conflict peacebuilding, politics, national security institutions or within the United Nations system. 149. According to the global study, of the 20 resolutions in 2014 that concerned the establishment or renewal of mandates of all missions, 18 (90 per cent) contained references to women and peace and security, an increase from 70 per cent in 2013 and 47 per cent in 2012. I remain concerned, however, about the lack of requests for analysis across resolutions. Only 19 per cent of them included such references. In addition, the global study highlights the meagre reflection of the important efforts women's organizations play in peace and security contexts, since less than 10 per cent of Security Council resolutions included related references. Regarding sanctions, only resolution 2153 (2014) on the situation in Côte d 'Ivoire included the issue of sanctions with regard to sexual violence. 150. Political will and consistent oversight by the Security Council are central to improving follow-up on the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda. The global study recommends that, together with the permanent members who lead the Council on the women and peace and security agenda and the issue sexual violence in conflict, elected members of the Council take on an informal co-leadership role to address these concerns. It also recommends the addition of a mechanism to mainstream a gender perspective into all Council outcomes, connect the Council to the security challenges and participation barriers women face and make better use of analysis from gender advisers and other United Nations system actors. I encourage the Council to review the recommendations and to act upon them as soon as possible. III. Concluding observations and recommendations 151. Consultations and research undertaken in preparation for the global study emphasized that the peace and security context of today is different from that of 15 years ago. Entrenched cycles of conflict and fragility ha ve been exacerbated by mass displacement, new weapons and media technologies, emerging threats such as 48/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 climate change, increased involvement of armed non-State actors and the rise of violent extremism. The imperative to achieve peace is both more challengi ng and more necessary than ever before. Against that backdrop, there is now an unquestionable body of evidence proving that women's meaningful participation increases the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance, the credibility and quality of peacekeeping, the pace of economic recovery in post-conflict settings and the sustainability of peace agreements. Women's participation is therefore central to building inclusive and peaceful societies based on equality and respect for human rights. 152. The 15-year anniversary and high-level review of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) has raised high expectations for renewed commitment to the full realization of the women and peace and security agenda. The global study is a call to accelerate action on the transformative vision of resolution 1325 (2000) and puts forward a set of critical recommendations targeted at Member States, regional and international organizations and civil society. Together, these form a strong agenda for action. I will personally task the senior leadership of the United Nations to make a priority of implementing recommendations related to women and peace and security across all three peace and security reviews relevant to the United Nations system. I will hold them accountable to demonstrating concrete results by the end of 2016. I expect other actors to take action as well. To deliver results, all stakeholders must significantly step up action in the five key areas set out below, which together are fundamental to achieving the changes envisioned in resolution 1325 (2000). 1. Bringing women's participation and leadership to the core of peace and security efforts, including responses to new and emerging threats 153. More must be done to adopt targeted measures to re move obstacles and incentivize the effective and meaningful participation and decision -making of women in peace and security, shift attitudinal barriers, demonstrate impact and support innovative actions. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/303 on strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution, I will continue to appoint women as chief or lead mediators and as members of mediation teams in United Nations sponsored peace processes, as well as ensure adequate gender expertise for all United Nations processes. I invite similar efforts by Member States, and national, regional and subregional organizations. 154. I encourage all actors involved in peace processes to make quantifiable, time sensitive commitments to ensure the direct and meaningful participation of women during all phases of the process. This entails including women's perspectives and gender-responsive provisions in all meetings, consultations and agreements; training all parties on gender-responsive obligations within their area of expertise; and acknowledging and providing holistic support for women's groups that are engaged in track II diplomacy efforts. Unique opportunities exist to further support for, and leverage the leadership and engagement of, women at the community level and to link the efforts to high-level, national processes. The important role that women and civil society can play in exerting influence over parties to armed conflict illustrates the continuing need to increase the participation of women at all stages of mediation and post-conflict resolution and to increase the consideration of gender -related issues in all discussions pertinent to conflict. I encourage all actors to move beyond 15-15656 49/54 S/2015/716 limiting the participation of women's groups to the role of observers and urge instead their meaningful participation in formal and informal processes. 155. In view of the critical roles played by donor and friends groups, I encourage such groups to incentivize women's participation in peace talks, donor conferences, national and regional dialogue processes and other peace and security forums. All women, including those who have been displaced or who form part of marginalized groups, must be engaged. 156. Women's leadership in politics, public institutions and the private sector is also essential for the maintenance of peaceful societies and the full achievement of sustainable development. Women must be engaged at all levels in violence prevention and response, security, justice systems, educational institutions and the media. Women's capacity and leadership must be promoted in national peace and security institutions, which bear the ultimate responsibility for the implementation of peace agreements and for the prevention of armed conflict. They must also be key participants in strategies aimed at building the resilience of communities, countries and regions against the spread of violent extremism. In November 2015, I will present my plan of action to prevent violent extremism to the General Assembly. It is informed by the increasing recognition of the gendered aspects of violent extremism, including in recruitment strategies, and the need to promote women's participation and empowerment in efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism. I call upon Member States and United Nations entities to invest in gender-sensitive research and data collection in order to identify the drivers that lead individuals to join violent extremist groups; and to examine the impacts of counter-terrorism strategies on the lives of women and men in order to develop targeted and evidence-based policy and programming responses. 157. Building the capacity of women and civil society groups to effectively engage in efforts to counter and prevent violent extremis m is critical. National Governments should ensure that in implementing the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, they do not unwittingly or purposefully restrict or control the work of civil society organizations, including those promoting ge nder equality and women's participation and leadership. In that connection, the Security Council should include in future pronouncements about the Task Force the necessary safeguards to discourage abuse and unintended impacts, including the effect of counter-terrorism on humanitarian principles. 158. United Nations entities, international financial institutions and Member States must ensure women's participation and representation in all peacebuilding initiatives. Previously agreed targets, including the Seven-Point Action Plan, must be met. 2. Protecting the human rights of women and girls during and after conflict, especially in the context of new and emerging threats 159. Despite 15 years of attention paid to the women and peace and security agenda, the protection of women and girls remains an area of deep concern. Record levels of displacement, ongoing crimes of sexual violence and other forms of abuse of women and girls, deliberate attacks on women's rights defenders, including by new groups of violent extremists, and the risks and complications added by climate change and new technologies, are posing significant challenges to the safety and human rights of women and girls. International, regional and national responses must address the full range of violations on the rights of women protected under 50/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 international humanitarian, refugee, and human rights law, from sexual and gender based violence to their right to health, education, food and water, land and livelihood, nationality, and access to justice and remedy. I commend the increased attention being paid to women's rights in conflict settings as a result of the universal periodic review, and the reporting mechanisms of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other human rights bodies. I encourage a rights-based approach to the issue of women and peace and security that recognizes the need to address gender-based discrimination as part of our efforts. 160. The global study and its consultations highlighted that protection m ust be underpinned by participation and that participation in itself is a measure of protection. This means that more women should occupy decision -making positions or positions of seniority within national justice and security institutions. United Nations entities and Member States must plan, implement and monitor security sector reform and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration with the aim of improving security for women and girls and ensuring women's participation in the design and roll-out of such processes. Gender-sensitive security assessments must include proper vetting and prosecution of alleged perpetrators. I urge Member States to address the obstacles to women being recruited into national militaries and to move beyond the barriers to the representation of women in United Nations peacekeeping troops. I am committed to exploring ideas to incentivize greater numbers of women peacekeepers, in accordance with the recommendation of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations. I also enco urage all actors to adopt an approach to the re-establishment of the rule of law and justice in post-conflict situations that is premised on providing victims with legal, medical, psychosocial, reparative justice and comprehensive services, including for health and reproducive health, alongside broader institutional reforms, in an effort to further gender equality. 161. The emphasis on the rights of women and their leadership must also apply to humanitarian action. The global study reconfirms that promoting women's empowerment and gender equality improves outcomes for everyone. More must be done to address women's rights to asylum and nationality; involve local women and women's organizations, including youth-led organizations, in the planning and implementation of protection interventions; provide non -discriminatory services for survivors of gender-based violence in line with international humanitarian law; protect the reproductive health and rights of women and girls; improve the access of girls to education in the context of armed conflict; and provide livelihoods for women, including young women and adolescent girls. I hope that the World Humanitarian Summit will bring all humanitarian actors together to agree on how to take these important issues forward. 162. Significant progress has been made in promoting efforts to address the conflict-related sexual violence agenda within the peace and security arena through the consistent focus of the Security Council, strategic leadership in the United Nations system and more coordinated action of all relevant United Nations entities. Today, there is more reliable and timely information and analysis to inform advocacy and action, increased focus on accountability as a vital aspect of deterrence and prevention, greater awareness of the needs of survivors and resources for comprehensive services. It is crucial for the Organization to build on the momentum generated in this area in order to consolidate and reinforce efforts, 15-15656 51/54 S/2015/716 and apply some of the lessons learned to advance other important dimensions of the women and peace and security agenda. 3. Ensuring gender-responsive planning and accountability for results 163. Consultations for the global study highlighted the missed opportunities for advancing gender equality when gender analysis and women's participation are not included from the outset in policy and programme planning. Locally driven and conceived solutions offer the best chances for success when coupled with adequate analysis, planning and resources. I call upon all actors involved in humanitarian response, peacemaking or peacebuilding efforts to ensure that gender analysis and women's participation are part of all planning processes. I recommend that United Nations entities populate data in existing women and peace and security frameworks, address any gaps, eliminate overlap and work to meet targets by 2020. Similarly, I encourage Member States to ensure adequate analysis and implementation of related commitments through enhanced compilation a nd analysis of national statistics on women and peace and security. 164. Within the United Nations, it is critical that the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda is actively supported by senior leadership, including, but not limited to, my special representatives, special envoys and resident coordinators. To ensure this, mandated priorities related to women and peace and security should be included into senior leadership terms of reference, and their performance should be assessed against these criteria. I reiterate my commitment to revising senior leadership compacts to better mainstream gender considerations. 165. At the national level, Member States must also play their role on accountability by investing in the collection of statistics on women and peace and security and by utilizing them to inform national development strategies, national security strategies and related international frameworks. Both conflict and non -conflict countries are encouraged to adopt national and regional action plans through broadscale consultations, which are informed by best practices, are led by key ministries and contain monitoring frameworks with specific indicators, accountability mechanisms and dedicated financing. Better integration of the women and peace and security agenda into national planning frameworks, such as United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks and post-conflict and disaster needs assessments should be prioritized. The global study also suggests the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism run by women's civil society groups to track compliance of humanitarian assistance with normative frameworks and performance on gender equality. 166. From the policy level to the grass-roots level, reliable information and analysis are lynchpins to better action on women and peace and security. As mandated by the Security Council in resolution 2122 (2013), more actionable information must be provided to the Council to better inform mission mandates, drawdown benchmarks and policymaking. Members of the Council can use the direct questioning of reports and briefings during meetings of the Council as a means to increase accountability on the implementation of resolution 2122 (2013). I encourage the Council to carefully consider the relevant recommendations of the global study aimed at strengthening its own implementation of commitments, including the establishment of an appropriate mechanism or procedure of the Council for monitoring commitments and improving the flow and quality of information to the Council on 52/54 15-15656 S/2015/716 women and peace and security, strengthening sanctions regimes and ensuring greater engagement with civil society and relevant Human Rights Council mechanisms. 4. Strengthening gender architecture and technical expertise 167. In order for the United Nations to accelerate the implementation of commitments on women and peace and security, more must be done to ensure coherence, coordination, adequate capacity, the use of comparative advantage and targeted expertise. The global study recommends a range of measures to strengthen the system's capacity, including a dedicated high-level representative in UN-Women to drive implementation in the system and beyond. I commit my senior leadership to look into this recommendation, and call upon all Member States to provide adequate resources to ensure that the women and peace and security architecture at Headquarters, within missions and within United Nations country teams is better staffed and resourced at the senior level, including in particul ar the gender capacity of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs at Headquarters and in the field, and in UN -Women country offices in conflict-affected settings. As outlined in the report of the High -level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, I have decided to request that Senior Gender Adviser s for United Nations peace operations be deployed in all special political missions and multidimensional peacekeeping missions. I request the support of M ember States to ensure that the advisers be housed in the offices of my Special Representatives, supported by gender experts located within mission components. I also take note of the recommendation of both the global study and the High -level Independent Panel on Peace Operations that missions should have greater access to UN -Women policy and technical expertise, alongside existing arrangements. Efforts to strengthen coherence and coordination within the system and to maximize the use of comparative advantage must be prioritized if the Organization is to meet the current peace and security challenges. I am pleased that UN -Women, the Department of Political Affairs and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations are working on arrangements to do so in the field missions. I commit to ensuring that UN-Women, which is mandated to lead, promote and coordinate the accountability of the United Nations system on gender equality and women's empowerment, participates in relevant senior management forums on peace, security and humanitarian affairs, namely, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee/Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs secretariat and the senior adviser group on peace and security. 168. More must be done to achieve gender balance in staffing at all levels in the United Nations, but particularly senior leadership in missions. Diversity in leadership brings different perspectives and strengthens the credibility of the system as a whole. I commend the efforts made by initiatives such as the senior women talent pipeline of the Department of Field Support, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs, and encourage them to implement past recommendations and explore innovative solutions such as those suggested in the global study. I also repeat my encouragement to Member States to put forward more names of women for consideration in positions of senior leadership. I commend the efforts of a growing number of Member States and regional bodies to appoint high-level representatives on women and peace and security and to encourage others to do the same. 15-15656 53/54 S/2015/716 5. Financing the women and peace and security agenda 169. The consultations and research conducted for the global study confirmed that the lack of sufficient funding for women and peace and security is a major challenge for the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda. Findings show that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are still not prioritized in financial interventions and peace and security responses. Women 's civil society organizations continue to face significant funding shortages despite often being at the frontline of responses to crises. I call upon all actors, including Member States, multilateral organizations and development banks, to ensure robust financing of the women and peace and security agenda, including by adopting specific targets and monitoring progress. I regret that within the context of the United Nations efforts have fallen short of the target to allocate a minimum of 15 per cent of peacebuilding funds for projects whose principal objective is to address women's specific needs and advance gender equality. I urge all relevant United Nations entities to ensure the target is not only met but surpassed by 2020. That recommendation was reiterated in the report of the Advisory Group of Experts on the Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture. I further recommend that a similar 15 per cent financing target be applied to all projects to address new peace and security threats, including violent extremism, in recognition of the fact that these threats will not be eliminated and sustainable peace will not be built without the adequately resourced participation of women. 170. I am encouraged by the efforts of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to integrate greater gender analysis in budget planning, and recommend that gender budgeting be utilized more systematically by peace missions, where possible, to better plan and track resources for work related to the women and peace and security agenda. Although the usage of gender marker systems and the indicators to monitor the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) have helped increase awareness of gender at the planning stage, I recommend that humanitarian and peacebuilding programmes improve their ability to track gender at the implementation and evaluation stages as well, thus ensuring that it becomes a non-negotiable part of programming. I welcome the establishment of a pooled financing mechanism, the Global Acceleration Instrument for Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Response, and call upon Member States to make significant pledges so that the Instrument can make a transformative impact on the implementation of the agenda. 171. While some of these goals and proposed actions, in line with th e 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, may take longer to fully achieve, I strongly encourage Member States to convene another review of the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda in 2020 in order to assess whether recommendations an d commitments put forward in 2015 have been acted upon. I hope that the joint track record in delivering results for women and girls will be strengthened across all regions and that a path can be charted at the global level towards a durable peace that benefits all. 54/54 15-15656