In 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a historic resolution on “Women, Peace and Security”. The resolution called on countries to bring women into the heart of UN peace operations; into mediation and conflict resolution; into peace processes and at the table of peace settlements.

On the 20th Anniversary of this historic and landmark “Women, Peace and Security” Resolution, the UN Security Council convened a special Security Council meeting to discuss progress and share experiences on the implementation of the resolution. 2020 is a milestone year for advancing women’s rights; it commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, and the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution 1325.

Fiji participated in the United Nations Security Council Open Virtual Debate on, ‘Women, peace and security: twentieth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) at UN on Thursday 29th October 2020. The United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG), His Excellency, Antonio Guterres in his address at this special meeting of UN Security Council highlighted that ending discrimination against women was his first priority, as UNSG. The UNSG said that “COVID-19 pandemic has a ‘disproportionate negative effect on women and girls and there is rising gender- based violence.’

UNSG Guterres repeated his call for an ‘immediate global ceasefire, so that we could focus on our common enemy, the COVID-19 virus.’ He called ‘for a broader consideration of ways to prevent conflict, prevent gender-based violence and create peaceful, inclusive communities and societies.

Fiji, through its Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the UN Dr Satyendra Prasad “supported the call made by the UNSG H.E Antonio Guterres for an immediate global ceasefire and to focus all efforts on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and on the social and economic recovery”.

Ambassador Prasad said that “the COVID-19 pandemic has without doubt presented the gravest challenges yet, to advancing the women, peace and security agenda”.

Fiji is “committed to advancing women’s rights; promoting gender equality, and this is reflected in the increase in women in leadership; in public service and in parliament and Fiji is developing its National Action Plan to prevent violence against women and girls”.

Fiji reminded the UN Security Council that it has “continuously participated in UN Peacekeeping for over 40 years. For nearly 30 of these years, Fiji has been deploying women peacekeepers”.

“Fifty six percent of Fiji’s Police deployed on peacekeeping duties are women, and the female Police Commissioner in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan, Unaisi Vuniwaqa is from Fiji, an achievement which Fiji is proud of”.

“The Fijian Government is determined to increase the numbers of women in its military and police deployments across its Peacekeeping operations”.

Ambassador Prasad said that “UN peace operations from the Middle East to Africa are changing and evolving. There is far better integration of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding interventions across Peace Operations. There is far greater determination on overcoming the obstacles that women and girls face across conflict affected areas.”

In 2019, “only 6 percent of mediators were women, and only 6 percent of signatories to peace settlements were women. Only 13 percent of negotiators in peace processes were women”. This is an unsatisfactory starting point. UNSC 1325 envisages that women will be involved fully and equally in prevention of conflicts; in peace negotiations and peacebuilding; in humanitarian response; in peace keeping and more importantly in post-conflict reconstruction”.

The UNSC debate on the 20th Anniversary of this landmark resolution reaffirmed the need for greater global collaboration on the resolution “Women, Peace and Security.”

“Fiji will continue to support the UNSC’s efforts in every way it can as a significant troop contributing country” Fiji’s Ambassador reassured the UNSC.

Representatives from UN Women, UN Field Missions, Women’s NGOs and the UN Goodwill Ambassador for Gender Equality and Women’s rights, actress Danai Gurira also participated in the debate. All speakers stressed that while some progress has been made on women’s rights under resolution 1325, there is more that can be achieved.