Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland has been a long-standing champion of the Women, Peace and Security, WPS, agenda at the UN. It is a key priority for our two-year membership of the Security Council. This agenda recognises the differential impacts of conflict on women, but also their critical agency in conflict prevention and resolution and in peace-building.

Ireland co-chairs the UN Security Council’s Informal Expert Group on Women, Peace and Security. In doing so, we are working closely with senior UN leadership on the implementation of WPS on the ground. So far in 2021, Ireland has co-chaired meetings on South Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Mali.

The meeting on Mali took place on 29 April. It was timed to contribute to upcoming discussions on the renewal of the mandate of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali known as MINUSMA. It was addressed by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of MINUSMA, Joanne Adamson. Representatives of UN Women and the Office of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict also participated. In advance of the meeting, Irish representatives met with Malian women from civil society to ensure their views were taken forward into the informal expert group.

Women’s participation in the Malian peace process, and the issues of gender and WPS, are priority actions in the MINUSMA mandate. The mission plays a vital role in building political will on the part of the Malian authorities to promote women’s participation in peace and security matters, and supporting locally-led processes.

At the UN Security Council briefings and consultations on Mali and MINUSMA, Ireland has highlighted the key role of MINUSMA in advancing the women, peace and security in Mali. In particular we have focused on supporting women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the implementation of the Mali Peace Agreement.

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