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Germany aligns itself with the statements delivered by the European Union, by the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security and by the Group of Friends of the AWLN.

First of all, let me thank Gabon for hosting this open debate and for choosing such a relevant theme: “Strengthening women’s resilience and leadership as a path to peace in regions plagued by armed groups”.

I would like to thank the Deputy Secretary-General and the Executive Director of UN Women for their insightful briefings. Thank you also for the valuable contributions of the civil society briefers. We appreciate your first-hand accounts and recommendations.

October 2022 marks 22 years since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, which for the first time recognized the importance of women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in peace processes. While we value the normative achievements of the WPS Agenda with its now ten Security Council resolutions, we must acknowledge that women’s participation remains often minimal in peace processes, humanitarian action and strategic decision-making at all levels.

What is more, often we see how women, peace and security and gender equality commitments are deprioritized in conflicts despite abundant evidence that gender equality offers a path to sustainable peace and conflict prevention. Germany is very concerned about the largescale pushback against the gains in women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the fact, that far too many are still opposing full gender equality. As pointed out in the Secretary General’s 2022 report on WPS, we are witnessing record numbers of violent conflicts since 1945, military expenditures, military coups, displacements and hunger. All of this is compounded by the worsening climate crisis.

We must reverse these trends and fully take advantage in the potential that lies in greater participation from all genders and from marginalized Groups.

Germany remains a committed supporter of the WPS Agenda.

We will continue to support women peace builders, peacekeepers and women-led organisations. They are the ones working day to day towards equal, just and peaceful societies, often putting themselves in danger in their pursuits. We need to listen to them, support them and protect them. For instance, Germany will continue supporting the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, whose largest donor we were in 2021.

We will continue to support the growth of regional networks, where women civil society activists and leaders come together in safe spaces to work together and exchange their experiences. As such, Germany will continue supporting the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and the UNIDAS network, which connects women from Latin America, the Caribbean and Germany. Germany has also initiated the Action Network on Forced Displacement – Women as Agents of Change with the aim of supporting women in displacement contexts.

We will continue to fight for equal rights in letter and in spirit, with full, equal and meaningful participation and equal resources for women and girls in all their diversity, and marginalized communities. That is why Germany has committed to feminist foreign and development policies as an indispensable foundation for securing peace, stability and prosperity for all. Our engagement for the Women, Peace and Security agenda is a cornerstone of these feminist policies.

The Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda remains a priority for Germany in the UN. You can count on Germany’s unwavering support in putting it into Action.