Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the seminar on Women, Peace and Security held at Hanasaari, the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre, 6 June 2007

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Human rights belong to everybody – men and women, boys and girls. Nevertheless, our sisters throughout the world often have to face difficult problems in conditions of extreme insecurity. In many places, the violence experienced by women and girls in war and other conflicts is becoming increasingly serious. Also poverty often has the face of a woman. Protecting women and girls and securing their rights is a human rights issue and a matter of global security.

United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, is based on UN human rights instruments. This Resolution, which binds all the Member States of the world organisation, contains very concrete demands for respecting the human and basic rights of women and girls in conflict situations and post-conflict conditions.

I support with all my heart the objectives of the Resolution, including the aim of strengthening the role of women in building peace, and in negotiations and decision-making aimed at peace. The role of women must be taken into account at all levels. At the UN Major Event summit in 2005, we decided to set up both the new Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, and I suggested then that we must ensure that enough women take part in the work of these bodies.

In principle, it is not difficult to respect for human rights and gender equality – the difficulty lies in the implementation. And this is particularly difficult in conflict situations. It is above all the duty of governments to ensure that human rights are respected, but we are all needed for this work. Protecting the rights of women and girls is very much a matter of attitude, and as mothers, fathers, workmates, teachers and managers we have to show this through our own actions.

Non-governmental organisations are extremely important in this work. Their encouragement, support and practical example are in many countries a crucial factor in improving the position of women.

Taking women’s experience into account and listening to their voice can make a difference. I believe that the actions of women at the local and grass-roots level, also in peace processes, increase the potential for reaching sustainable solutions.

In connection with the current situation in the Middle East, I myself have been cooperating with UNIFEM, the UN Development Fund for Women, which supports dialogue between Israeli and Palestine women. Last September, during the first week of the UN General Assembly, we organised an event in New York to make this project more widely known to the international community. Together with Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, I have agreed to be patron of this Israeli-Palestine women’s project. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the President of Liberia, also supports this initiative.

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It is a great pleasure for me to be able to confirm, particularly at this event, that Finland is in the process of drawing up a National Action Plan for implementing UN Resolution 1325. For this, part of the thanks belongs to Norway. A year ago, while I attended a meeting in Norway, I received a copy of the Norwegian Government’s corresponding Action Plan. The issue of drawing up the National Action Plan was already under consideration here in Finland but the Norwegian programme stimulated us to campaign even harder for the national programme.

The Finnish 1325 network, which is made up of non-governmental organisations, has been active in promoting the preparation of the national programme. The network has also done a lot of good work in obtaining publicity for the aims of the Resolution. The Finnish action programme will be drawn up in cooperation with non-governmental organisations and researchers. In this work, we need to look to the future and find concrete measures for national and international ways of furthering the aims of the Resolution.

For example, we must pay more attention to equality in recruitment for civil and military crisis management. Job descriptions for operational personnel must include clear areas of responsibility for the protection of women and girls and for ensuring their rights. Help of experts in women’s and girls’ rights should be made available in operations. Cooperation and open dialogue with national and local authorities in crisis areas as well as with civil society – especially women’s organisations – is also extremely important.

In the training of peacekeepers and civil crisis management personnel we must ensure that the people who set off for the operations are committed to human rights and the obligations of international and humanitarian rights.

And, we must continue to actively support the realisation of the aims of the Resolution in all international forums – in the UN, the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and in NATO. Next year, Finland will be chairing the OSCE, and this will give us the opportunity to continue to promote this issue within the framework of this organisation.

In the European Union, all the Member States have approved the conclusions on how the application of Resolution 1325 will be implemented in EU crisis management. In July 2006, during Finland’s Presidency, the Union adopted a list of measures in order to support respect for equality in EU operations. The monitoring of the actual implementation of the Resolution has also been agreed within the Union. From this point of view too, the preparation of Finland’s national action programme is extremely timely.

Your Majesties, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Your initiative to make Women, Peace and Security one of the themes of this State Visit is an excellent idea. I am certain that cooperation between Norway and Finland will continue closely to improve the status of women and girls.

Thank you for your attention.