I thank you for convening today’s debate. Germany aligns itself with the statement by the European Union. There are many reasons why the pursuit of durable peace is too often unsuccessful. Some of those reasons reflect the difficult and protracted work of making and building peace itself. But some reasons exist because we choose to accept narrow, exclusive processes – processes proven to deliver worse results for peace and security.

Participation in peace processes is key. Let me start from two assessments:

First: Today, facing multiple crises, there is a need for more and for more participative peace processes.

And second: The participation of women is key to their success.

We need those directly involved to appreciate that sustainable peace is more realistic when it was achieved in an inclusive process, one in which women were equally and meaningfully involved. We call on those who convene or have influence on negotiations to ensure that women are able to shape decisions every step of the way.

What can we do to achieve this?

Germany strives to strengthen the role of women in political and peace processes through our foreign policy engagement. We work with partner organizations to ensure targeted and specific support to women peacebuilders. We have also tracked the participation of women in peace, mediation and dialogue processes supported by Germany. The results have been encouraging, but are far from satisfactory.

Germany has gladly joined the UN Secretary-General’s Common Pledge to increase women’s participation in peace processes and calls on others to do the same.
We work to ensure that WPS remains high on the agenda of multilateral platforms, including through our UN Peacebuilding Commission Chairpersonship last year.
Germany has been a steadfast partner and largest donor to the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, providing direct and flexible support to women-led civil society organizations who engage in peacebuilding efforts around the world, including in Colombia. We plan to contribute to the Fund substantially in the future as well. In addition, Germany provides support to various regional women networks that aim to enhance women’s leadership, such as the African Women Leaders Network and the UNIDAS Network in Latin America.
Collectively, we must improve our efforts to protect women peacebuilders from violence, intimidation, harassment and reprisals.
Engaging in favor of women peacebuilders is not merely a matter of doing the right thing or a matter of adhering to agreed standards. It is a matter of achieving the best outcomes possible.
It can mean the difference between building sustainable peace and continued hostilities.
Thank you.