Explanation of vote on draft resolution on Women, Peace and Security

Estonia is making the current statement in explanation of its vote on the draft UN Security Council resolution contained in document S/2020/1054 of 29 October 2020.  

Estonia considers Women, Peace and Security an integral part of the agenda of the UN Security Council. We have welcomed and supported the steps forward made in its development, including through the co-sponsorship of key Council decisions on WPS during more than 10 years. Estonia continues to implement the WPS agenda nationally and has made WPS one of its priorities as an elected member of the Security Council.

Estonia therefore appreciates the attention devoted by the Russian Federation on the issue of Women Peace and Security during its Presidency, including the debate organised on 29 October on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325(2000). Estonia believes that the anniversary should be used to enhance the commitments made on Women, Peace and Security and to promote the full implementation of all UNSC resolutions in this regard.

While Estonia believes that the Security Council has already established a comprehensive normative framework on Women, Peace and Security, we have engaged constructively and in good faith in the negotiations on the draft resolution before us with an objective to ensure a Council outcome that would add value to the agenda and its implementation.

Our engagement has also been based on the conviction that we cannot take a step back on our commitments. We believe that the ownership of the WPS agenda lies with numerous Member States, civil society organisations and women peacebuilders who have worked determinedly to advance it, and that we have no right to diminish it.

Our proposals made repeatedly in the discussion of the draft before us reflect these considerations. We strongly regret that several of our suggestions, which were closely based on the Council’s agreements to date, are not reflected in the draft contained in document S/2020/1054.

  • The text as it stands excludes key elements with respect to civil society involvement of the WPS agenda, including the requirements for their protection and support. Given the serious threats and reprisals against women human rights defenders, this is a stark omission of the role of our key partners in the implementation of 1325.

 

  • The text inadequately reflects the foundation of international human rights law, upon which the WPS is based, including the CEDAW General Recommendation 30. It fails to sufficiently address the link between the restrictions on women’s full enjoyment of human rights and the challenges related to their participation and protection. It also does not address the structural barriers faced by women.

 

  • It does not adequately reflect the importance of the full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership of women in peace processes – which is a major shortcoming in the implementation of the WPS agenda – and means to ensure this. The draft also discounts the role of women’s leadership in tackling the COVID-19 epidemic.
  • The Security Council has taken a decision to integrate WPS concerns across all country-specific situations on its agenda. Yet the draft fails to mention this key aspect of the implementation of the WPS agenda. It also overlooks the importance of gender mainstreaming in the work of the entire UN to support the full implementation of the Council decisions on women, peace and security.

 

We highly value the cooperation of all Council colleagues who have engaged in discussions on this text. We believe that the expertise and openness brought by them to these deliberations would have provided us with solutions for a consensual Council product, which would do justice to the 20th anniversary of the WPS agenda. We regret that so many of their suggestions went unheeded throughout several rounds of negotiations. We underline the need to ensure a true dialogue, transparency and openness in any Council deliberation.

We sincerely regret that the draft text fails in the objective that it set out at the start of this process. We believe that the WPS belongs to all of us and therefore it is our responsibility to make sure we stand with the commitments we have made to women as part of our goal of ensuring peace and security.