(As delivered)
Statement by H.E. Mr. Yoshifumi Okamura
Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
At the Open Debate of the United Nations Security Council
On the “Role of Women in Prevention and Resolution of Conflicts in Africa”
28 March 2016
Mrs. President,
I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to the Angola’s initiative for dealing with this important issue. I also appreciate the informative briefings delivered by each speaker.
Mrs. President,
I have previously lived in Africa for three years. I was able to observe firsthand that the mobilization of the power of women was the key to addressing challenges in Africa. In my statement, I would like to share my opinion about the power of women in Africa and the roles they are playing, and introduce Japan’s efforts in unleashing the power of African women in preventing and resolving conflicts.
What exactly is the power of women in Africa?
First, women are managers. Japanese Embassies finance many grassroots projects, and I have found that the most qualified and best implemented projects were always those proposed by women.
It is women who are managers in daily lives. Why are women good managers? Many women engage in household management. Growing up children requires supervising. Cooking requires planning. Shopping requires calculation. If there is money, women use it for education and health care instead of just wasting it.
Second, women are entrepreneurs. Japan once provided financial support to a school canteen project in a village in Côte d’Ivoire. The idea was to support mothers who would cultivate a plot of land to produce rice and corn for their children’s school lunches.
Several years later, I made a visit to the village. The project was successfully realized. A school lunch was now assured, and more children were attending school than before. To my surprise, I also found a big chicken cage beside the rice and corn field. I asked if the chickens inside were also for lunch. But the answer was “no”.
These mothers became aware of their powers of production, and they decided to start a chicken farm to earn more money. The chickens sold well enough at the local market to allow the mothers to buy pencils and notebooks for their children.
Lastly, women are brave. They stand up for peace. On the eve of the Cote d’Ivoire crisis of 2011, everyone could feel the looming tension. Demonstrations of any kind might lead to a terrible crackdown. Then one day, the women of Abidjan started marching in the streets banging their pans with kitchen utensils, shouting “no” to violence. They demonstrated their courage by demanding peace in spite of the danger.
The security forces didn’t touch those women, because attacking women might be seen as an act of dishonor.
So my point, Mrs. President, is that when it comes to the role of women in Africa, it is not merely a matter of empowering or protecting women.
It is a matter of mobilizing the power of women. It must be acknowledged that African women themselves have great potential and are active players who contribute to peace and stability.
Furthermore, when it comes to peace and stability, we should think of how to best mobilize women’s power.
Mrs. President,
Japan places great importance on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Africa, and we will continue to cooperate in protecting the rights and interests of women and girls during armed conflict to make our efforts to best mobilize the power of women, particularly concerning the following aspects.
First, Japan underpins African efforts to establishing national action plans (NAPs) on WPS. Projects in Somalia and with the Arab League are now taking place through our financial assistance.
Second, as a member of the Security Council, Japan wishes to contribute to work of the informal expert group for WPS. We are pleased to see that the group has made effective inputs before the Security Council members’ visit to Mali earlier this month.
Also as an active member of the PBC, we welcome the efforts led by the Permanent representative of Kenya to introduce PBC gender strategy aligned with WPS efforts.
Last but not least, this year we will make a contribution of 14M USD to UN-Women as well as to the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflicts. This contribution is being made with an aim to mobilize the inherent power of African women.
Mr. President,
In closing, I would like to state once again that Japan has traditionally stressed great importance on its relationship with Africa through the TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) process. TICAD will be held in Kenya this year, for the first time on the African continent.
The role of women in prevention and resolution of conflicts is one of the key elements to be discussed at this year’s TICAD, and Japan wishes to build up its cooperation with the international community for this end.
I thank you, Mr. President.
