I am very pleased to be here for this Open Day on Women, Peace and Security. I would like to thank the Municipality of Tyre for hosting this event today, Mr. Abed Mohsen Husaini for his opening remarks and my friend and colleague General Luciano Portolano and the staff of UNIFIL for working to make this event possible.
In recent weeks, I have met Lebanese women in Tripoli who have survived repeated rounds of violence. I have visited an impressive center in the Borj al Barajneih refugee camp where Palestinian women have themselves come together to help their families and community build a better life. In the Bekaa I have heard harrowing stories from women refugees of their experiences in Syria and heard of the challenges facing the communities hosting them. As diverse as these experiences are, two main themes emerged: women experience conflict differently from men, and women have a vital role to play in ending conflict and bringing communities together so that they can emerge stronger and more united in addressing the root causes of conflict and preventing its re-occurrence.
Today we will hear from you, women of the south, on your views of what can be done to advance their participation in peace-building, prevention and the inclusion of a gender perspective in all aspects of peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. These are the terms of Security Council resolution 1325. But these must not just be words on paper, together we, must turn them into meaningful action which will have a positive impact here in the south and thus later on across the rest of Lebanon. For us to act, it is important that we understand the real issues and concerns that women face. The questionnaire that the three groups from Tyre, Bent Jbeil and Marjayoun have completed are an important base for our work going forward.
I hear from many Lebanese, men and women, of the under-representation of women in political life. As you all know, Lebanon has one of the lowest rates of female representation in parliament in the world with just four out of 128 MPs being women. There is only one woman in the Council of Ministers. For most of my time here there was none. I use these as examples of a broader issue. Women are insufficiently represented in municipal councils, in the courts, in law enforcement, in the army and in other institutions of the state. It is not that there are not a number of women in these bodies, but they rarely rise to leadership positions.
In the UN, we are trying to embody the transformation into more gender inclusive leadership. During the tenure of Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, there have been more women appointed to senior positions than ever before. It is still not enough, and hopefully we will see more women appointed to head departments and field missions in the future.
There are other elements to this. Gender equality is not just a women’s issue but a human rights issue. Men must be partners in gaining equal rights for women and preventing the abuses that women face.
The issues in Lebanon are often similar to those faced by women elsewhere. Implementing resolution 1325 is a global challenge and around the world open days on Women, Peace and Security are being held to hear the specific concerns and aspirations which different communities of women face.
Here in the south, as elsewhere in Lebanon, you have experienced conflict directly over many years. For eight years there has been relative calm here, thanks to Resolution 1701, to UNIFIL and to commitment of all concerned to sustaining the cessation of hostilities. But the country has become a refuge for those fleeing the conflict in Syria. Lebanon has absorbed an unprecedented number of refugees relative to its size and the Government and host communities have been consistently generous towards the refugee population. In visits to different communities here – Nabatiyeh last week, Shebaa in the summer, around Saida and Tyre a while ago - I hear of the good relations between host communities and the refugees here in the south. I am aware, of course, that there are also occasional tensions. As women who have lived through conflict, I urge you to be the bridge-builders with those in refugee communities who after the war in Syria has ended will once again be your neighbours. For our part we will try to ensure that the burden of the refugee presence is better shared, and that host communities receive more of the help they need to cope with it. As we speak my colleagues in Beirut are putting the final touches with the government to the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan which is designed to help to that end.
I would like to thank the three women’s groups for all of your hard work in completing the questionnaire and in helping us to understand your perspectives better. It is my hope that the strong experience of UNIFIL in working with you to form these groups and carry out this questionnaire will be extended to the rest of Lebanon in future.
Thank you.