''Living together peacefully in a diverse world''

Professor Ozerdem, distinguished panelist, excellences - ladies and gentlemen.

It is truly an honor for me to address this distinguished group gathered here in Baku to discuss such an important topic as living together in harmony. I am very appreciative to Minister of Culture Mr Garayev for inviting me and allowing me to share my perspectives and present NATO’s work on women, peace and security.

“It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” Eleanor Roosevelt

I believe in peace, not only peace for some, but peace for every man, woman and child on earth. I believe in the core values of NATO: democracy, human rights, rule of law and individual freedom. And I work for peace as the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security.

My main message today is: we cannot talk about peace and security for all, we cannot talk about diversity and inclusiveness, without including a gender perspective.  If women are not fully included in decision making, conflict resolution and peace building, how can we achieve peace for all? How to ensure a broad public support for peaceful and cultural diverse societies? Bring the women onboard.
I am pleased to have this opportunity to briefly explain NATO’s policy and contributions to the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions on women, peace and security.

There are two main messages embedded in our policy: 1) how conflicts affect women and 2) women as a resource.

1. As this audience knows very well, war comes with very high costs and conflicts have devastating consequences for civilians. Due to the social structures in many societies, women and children are often harder hit and often lose access to basic services, education and economic opportunities. We see in conflicts also sexual violence used as a weapon of war.
2. However, it is important to understand that women are not only victims; they represent an under-utilized resource. Today, women constitute more than the 50% of the world population. If our intellect, abilities, competences and experiences are not included in conflict prevention and resolution, we miss out opportunities to resolve the problems. We cannot afford not to include women. This is not simply a question of what benefits women, but of what benefits the whole society - men and women, boys and girls.

Unfortunately, continued under-representation of women in peace processes remains a serious impediment to building sustainable peace. This is a concern that we, at NATO, share with the UN and the broader international community. Progress in including women in peace processes is too slow. Way too slow. 

In 2011, women were included in only four of the 14 peace process delegations that the UN supported. And only 2 out of 9 peace agreements reached in 2011 included provisions on women, peace and security. These figures are disappointing and we need to work altogether in order to reverse that trend. My hope is that all ongoing and future peace processes, including the OSCE Minsk Group, will have a higher representation of women delegates and will see a fully inclusion of women peace and security related issues. 

NATO’s contributions to the implementation of the resolutions on women, peace and security have emerged from our consultations with partners in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and operational partners in Kosovo and Afghanistan – such as Azerbaijan. By working together with partner countries and other international organizations, we want to prevent armed conflicts. A secure and peaceful future can only come through cooperation, cooperation within communities and cooperation among countries.

We need to show continued leadership in the area of women, peace and security. First and foremost nations and governments need to step forward, but also other actors continue to be crucial to drive this agenda. NATO recognizes the important role of civil society being opinion leaders and in keeping us accountable.

Excellences, ladies and gentlemen

We human beings are so quick to stereotype and draw false conclusions without knowing the character of a person. We should not allow bias and ignorance to stand in the way for peaceful and prosperous societies. We should allow all people to achieve their potential as human beings. We should embrace diversity in our societies and welcome the contributions from every human being. All people, men and women, should have equal rights and opportunities. Reaching this objective is our collective responsibility. Only through cooperation and dialogue we will be able to progress.

Thank you for your attention.