While women are often the first victims of armed conflict, they must also be recognized as a key to the solution. We must strive to integrate women more effectively in peace processes worldwide. It is increasingly realized that women possess particular skills and experiences that enable them to contribute to all stages of a peace process. In times of conflict, it is often women who take over the running of homes, farms and villages. Women understand the root causes of tension and know which power groups within communities and countries are most likely to support peace initiatives.
Women are able to work together and communicate across barriers and divides.
We must make greater use of that potential. We must ensure that these experiences are replicated at all levels, in national and international arenas. We must act on the understanding that women's full participation in preventing and resolving conflicts is essential for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security in the 21st century. On this International Women's Day of 2001, let that be our credo for a more peaceful millennium.