Mr President, following the end of the Cold War, the battlefield has shifted to small communities, streets and homes. Conflicts are more likely to arise within rather than between States. Wars and other conflicts have always been a male province, but the majority of victims – 90 per cent – are civilian. It is women and girls who, in addition, are exposed to special forms of atrocity. They are raped, abducted and kept as sex slaves. Those widowed by conflicts are forced to bring up children and look after the elderly by themselves. Women are nonetheless excluded from the peace negotiations, and their needs and priorities are overlooked. In the Commission for the Reconstruction of Tajikistan, which has 25 000 widows, only one of 26 participants was a woman. In the initial peace negotiations to bring an end to the conflict in Burundi, two out of 126 delegates were women. No Bosnian women took part in the peace negotiations which brought the war in Bosnia to an end, and this despite the fact that the whole world was aware of the systematic rape to which women were exposed and of the responsibility they would be forced to accept for reconstructing Bosnian society. In the negotiations which preceded NATO’s bombing of Kosovo four years later, there was only one woman in the delegation. When the stability pact for the reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe was created, no women at all were appointed in spite of their unique experience in peacemaking at grass roots level. They had even less of a role to play in the committee responsible for reconstruction. A house cannot be built on half a plot of land. If we exclude 50 per cent of the population, we shall not obtain a sustainable peace. Women must participate fully in all peace negotiations, in all reconstruction work and in peace-keeping operations. While formal peace processes are almost exclusively a male domain, international experience and declarations show the importance of women’s participation in resolving conflicts and building peace. In the few cases in which civil society and women have taken part in formal peace negotiations, it has, however, been successful, for example in South Africa, Guatemala and Cambodia. This is also apparent from a series of UN documents, most recently the resolution concerning women, peace and security adopted by the Security Council two weeks ago. It is a question of protecting the civilian population, refugees and asylum seekers, of combating exemption from punishment for rape committed in war and of promoting women’s active participation in resolving conflicts and building peace at all levels. These areas are the subject of my report, which has obtained broad support in committee. To make it possible for the Group of the European People’s Party to vote in favour of the resolution, I have gone along with compromise Amendment No 19 up to Paragraph 12, which is backed by both the Group of the and the Group of the European People’s Party . I propose a supplement to the fourth Geneva protocol whereby rape, forced pregnancy and sexual slavery are to be defined as war crimes in the same way as terrorism and torture. I urge the Member States to ratify the Treaty of Rome for a permanent international criminal court. Such a court is absolutely essential if the tendency to systematically use rape as a strategy of war is to be precluded. In addition, all peacekeeping personnel, men as well as women, ought to undergo equality training. This applies especially to peacekeeping forces. The goal should be to have at least 40 per cent women involved in all peace and reconstruction work. Local participation in the peace and reconciliation processes is important. I therefore urge the Member States and the Commission to support individual organisations engaged in conflict prevention and peace work at a technical, financial and political level. Despite the fact that only a limited number of women have been involved, studies show that women’s participation in the UN’s peacekeeping forces improves relations with the local population, as well as general morale. However, the presence of male peacekeepers leads to an increase in sexual violence and prostitution around the camps. UN soldiers, including soldiers from EU countries, have been sent home following complaints of sexual violence in Somalia and Mozambique. Peace is far too heavy a burden to be placed upon only one institution, one government or one sex. Sustainable peace cannot be created if half the human race is ignored. Peace can only be achieved if women participate fully in the peace process.

Political group: PSE