Madam President, Excellencies,
First of all, I would like to thank Mozambique for having convened this meeting, and for this very important theme, and indeed the exchanges so far remind us once again that a lasting peace will be built by and with women, or it will simply not exist. In this context, the Women, Peace and Security Agenda is obviously not just a term, a word, a UN expression, but a reality. I can share that I had the opportunity to see it again last month, Madam President, during my visit to your country, Mozambique. In Maputo, of course, but also in Cabo Delgado, in Mueda, in Pemba, with President Nyusi, and the discussions I had there confirmed that women are committed to peace, both within their communities and at national level, and that they are thus helping to build a fair and equal political and economic future for their country.
Twenty-three years ago, the Member States of this Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. It is truly a landmark resolution, because it was, I believe, the first time that the Council recognized the key role played by women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. In this respect, it was also a real paradigm shift, as security was no longer understood exclusively in military terms, but focused primarily on individuals. This first resolution was, as you will recall, adopted thanks to the important and tireless work of civil society, in particular peace activists and also the women's movement.
This Women, Peace and Security Agenda is universal and its implementation is a daily priority task. The current crises and conflicts in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria or Yemen are unfortunately a reminder of this. The Security Council must continue to play its leading role in promoting this agenda. But what is extremely interesting in this context is that each state also has a role to play, directly at national level. This is probably one of the most striking elements of this resolution 1325, and in this sense it is very encouraging to see that more than 100 countries have adopted a national action plan, and you mentioned, Madam President, the plan adopted by Mozambique, and Switzerland of course also adopted a plan, and we were among the first countries to do so, in 2007.
It has now been 23 years, and in two years' time we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1325. This will obviously be a special moment to take stock. But, at the same time, we already know today what challenges need to be addressed urgently. Firstly, the fact that women are often the very first targets of violence, hate speech, threats and reprisals. These types of violence have unfortunately been known for a long time, and I am of course referring to sexual violence here. But they also take new forms, and I am referring here in particular to violence perpetrated in the digital space, especially hate speech.
This violence is structural. In other words, no country, no society is immune. And in each country, or all together, including within this Council, we can take concrete measures to deal with this scourge, through national strategies, through the commitment in our countries. And Switzerland, for example, has made the fight against gender violence a main focus of its Equality 2030 Strategy. To address the emerging challenges, which I mentioned earlier, well, we also support research on the links between cyber security and women and we actively promote the integration of the 1325 agenda into national cyber security strategies. Tackling these obstacles also requires networking. This is why we have created the network "Swiss Women in Peace Processes". It is not just a network that brings together the expertise and experiences of Swiss women in peace processes. We are of course collaborating with other regional networks - African, Commonwealth, Mediterranean and Nordic - to share good practices.
To this end, Madam President, I believe we must also remember that to ensure women's participation, there must be clear political support, and there must also be adequate resources. This is a condition that must be met if women are to be able to express themselves, if they are to be able to contribute to a lasting peace. This must be done safely, freely, and without fear of reprisal. This question of resources brings me to one of my last points. As we know, the mandates of this Council increasingly refer to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. This is very encouraging. But words must now be matched by concrete actions in terms of budget, in terms of personnel and in terms of policy.
In this sense, Switzerland is committed to ensuring that this Council implements the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in all the contexts and subjects on the Council's agenda. Our co-presidency of the informal group of experts, with the United Arab Emirates, and our support for the "Shared Commitments" are precisely part of the objective of making this approach a natural reflex, it must become a natural reflex in the work of this Council.
Madam President, the Agenda for Women, Peace and Security is a pioneering Agenda, it is an innovative Agenda, and I have already explained why. Because it is both global and local at the same time. Its implementation must now be accelerated. This Agenda must be a pillar of the Secretary-General's New Agenda for Peace and enable us to move forward on the road to lasting peace.
Our response to the current challenges, our response to the emerging challenges for peace must absolutely take into account these gender dimensions. It is absolutely central. I hope that we can celebrate the next anniversary of this resolution, in two years' time, with a real shared sense of achievement. And above all, that this feeling is shared by all those who work for peace around the world.