Ms Áine Hearns:

This is more about women in peace building, rather than in the peacekeeping forces. However, I am delighted that the Defence Forces does indeed have women peacekeepers. Our peacekeepers have been on the ground for over 60 years. They have a great reputation internationally, which is great to see. On the women in peace building, Deputy Brady mentioned the importance of getting women into peace processes. I know he has a particular interest in Mali. Indeed, as I said earlier on our role in the United Nations Security Council, this is one of the issues that we consistently feel like banging on the table about. Right across the thematic files, the country files and the peacekeeping mandates, we want to raise the role of women who are involved in peace processes.

We have had a peace process ourselves in Northern Ireland. We have seen how effective the women's coalition in Northern Ireland was. Because of this, we do lesson sharing across the globe to assist other women peacekeepers. For example, Ms Bronagh Hinds, who some of you will know from the coalition, has been working with Yemeni and Afghan women, building their capacity to participate at the table. This is key. We cannot have women at the table for the sake of having them sitting there. They need to be able to engage and have confidence to sit there. It should not be tokenistic. That is not what we want. A man can sit at a table and representing women's views if there is no woman to do it. However, we are putting effort and support into grassroots women peace builders. I mentioned we produced a report last year. Also, we are bringing women peace builders to the United Nations Security Council. At the Arria meeting in March, we had a young Yemeni woman peacebuilder. We also brought Ms Hinds along. It was key to see both the young woman peace builder and Ms Hinds, who has that experience, addressing the United Nations Security Council about the challenges and where to take it from.

I reassure the committee that we are promoting this issue widely, across all the themes on the United Nations Security Council. I mentioned the Generation Equality Forum. Coming out of that is the women, peace and security and humanitarian action compact, WPS-HA Compact. It will be launched on 2 July 2021 in Paris. We are now board members on the compact. We look at how we can promote women peace builders. We have been actively involved in the women's participation in peace building working group and what is coming out of that. I reassure the committee that this is on our radar. It will, however, take time. It needs quite a bit of support. Certainly, when any of the mandates come up from the United Nations Integrated Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, on Mali, we are in there. We do not just talk the talk; we bring it to the attention of the United Nations Security Council and the people who can do something with it.