Ms Saraswathi Menon:

I thank members for their suggestions and questions. On the issue of sexual violence in conflict, the important point was made that this did not only affect women. When the United Nations undertook an investigation in Libya, it found that the incidence of sexual violence against men was higher. This was an interesting finding. We need to address this issue.

A question was also posed about the situation in Syria.

The international community has made a significant breakthrough with a succession of resolutions at the UN Security Council. The shift was from looking at sexual violence from the perspective of women as sufferers and vulnerable victims, which they are, as rape is still used as a weapon of war. Nevertheless, there was a transformation of that perception to a different approach building on women's own abilities to transform their environment. The emphasis is on the role women can play in peace building and peacemaking, which is often undermined even when the UN does mediation work. We are pushing for the voice of civil society to be heard in mediation processes in the Middle East and Africa, in particular, among others. The UN Secretary General has committed to trying to ensure that whatever the UN does in fielding missions and providing advice, there should be inclusion not just of the presence of women but also advice on processes such as quotas and so on in any post-conflict reconstruction.

We have seen through analysis that where there are suggestions of having temporary special measures introduced within an electoral system - as is being introduced here - as opposed to where there is no such advice and countries have not introduced quotas, in post-conflict positions election results are very different. Where that advice exists from the UN, 30% of the elected body is often made up of women. There is a shift but that should not mean we will continue to ignore what is still happening with regard to violence against women and men during conflicts.

Our concern as UN women is to deal with the issue by exposing where it happens and finding solutions that are not just limited to a response. In other words we look at preventative action. I will not provide a detailed answer on the specific question of the national action plan as others from Ireland are better placed to answer it. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 not only calls for response to violence but for training peacekeepers to play a different role and training those engaged in negotiations and the diplomatic services. We have just begun a programme with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, which trains national civil servants, on the role of women in mediation, conflict resolution and so on. All this is an essential part of the resolution in any national action plan. When we consider sexual violence, we cannot only see it as a weapon of war but using that prism, we must unpack much more to give opportunities to women, civil society and activists to transform what comes out of conflict as much as the way conflict is carried out.

With regard to UN Resolution 1325, it would be wonderful if Ireland took a strong position on the national action plan soon as next Monday, 29 October, is the annual open debate on women, peace and security at the UN Security Council. All governments will speak on what they have done with their own action plans.

The attack on Malala Yousafzai took place one day after the first International Day of the Girl Child. It is a reflection of how we honour something in public but it does not translate to what is happening on the ground. I was intrigued by the comment that we are not doing enough internationally so I draw attention to the fact there is a major campaign - detailed on www.iammalala.org- which is seeking approximately 1 million people to sign up. This petition is to be taken by Mr. Gordon Brown, the UN Secretary General's special envoy on education-----