女性・平和・安全保障に関する平和構築委員会（PBC）大使級会合における志野大使ステートメント

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for organizing this meeting. I also thank each and every briefer for their insightful briefings based on their own experiences and knowledge.

I would like to begin by stating, a sign of Peacebuilding being one of our priorities, Japan recently decided to contribute an additional 3.7 million US dollars to the Peacebuilding Fund.
 
In relation to today’s topic, I wish to highlight three points.
 
First, I would like to commend the Peacebuilding Fund’s efforts to focus on gender equality in its peacebuilding initiatives across the world. It is noteworthy that in 2022, half of its funding was dedicated to the promotion of gender equality. Japan strongly supports the PBF and encourages other Member States to join such efforts by supporting the PBF.
 
Japan also advocates for women’s participation in decision-making processes within UN peace operations. In this regard, we have contributed to various initiatives such as the Senior Women Talent Pipeline initiative, which supported more than 200 women in the recruitment process last year.
 
Second, I would like to underscore that political will is key to enhancing investment in women’s participation across the peace spectrum. Japanese Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA, even before becoming a Minister, had established a cross-party parliamentary league on WPS, promoting the importance of the WPS agenda among parliamentarians. The parliamentary league also actively collaborates with political leaders of other countries to collectively advocate for the agenda. Not only parliamentarians, Minister KAMIKAWA set up a special task force within our ministry two days ago, and about 50 officials joined from different regional divisions and functions, breaking silos and bringing a gender lens in all Japanese diplomacy, as Ms. Curristine from IMF suggested.
 
Third, Japan believes that the advisory role of the Peacebuilding Commission should be more extensively leveraged to support and enhance women’s participation and leadership throughout the peace continuum.
 
The Security Council should proactively seek and apply the PBC’s advice in their deliberations, including on mandate renewals of peace operations to promote full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in conflict resolution, transition, and prevention.
 
In this context, Japan regrets that the PBC was not able to provide written advice to the Council last year ahead of its Open Debate on WPS. We hope that this year, PBC members will engage constructively in providing substantial advice prior to Security Council meetings.
 
In conclusion, I thank Ambassador Šimonović and his team for a successful 2023. Japan will continue to promote women’s equal participation throughout the peace continuum and looks forward to working closely with Member States and the new chair of the PBC and the UN system in this regard.
 
I thank you.