GOVPH

 PRESS CONFERENCE

International Conference on Women, Peace, And Security

28 October 2024, PICC, Manila

REMARKS

HON. ENRIQUE A. MANALO

Secretary for Foreign Affairs

Republic of the Philippines

 Thank you for joining us.

Today, the Philippines commenced its hosting of the International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security. All in all, more than 700 participants including Ministers, Vice Ministers and other senior officials from over 80 countries and 130 organizations have converged to share best practices, renew commitments, and identify actionable steps in advancing the Women, Peace, and Security agenda worldwide.

We deliberately structured the conference to inspire practical and actionable solutions and foster global partnerships for the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. This morning, we opened with impactful remarks from esteemed leaders, including United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

Our program in the next three days is centered around key themes essential to making real progress.  Today’s high-level panels focus on two vital areas – first, on strengthening regional cooperation for sustainable, gender-responsive peace frameworks, and second, on implementing practical strategies that promote women’s roles in all phases of peace and security.

In these high-level panels, Ministers from different regions will be sharing experiences and best practices, offering invaluable insights on integrating gender perspectives into peace processes and addressing barriers that prevent women’s full participation.

This afternoon, we hope to adopt the Pasay Declaration on Women, Peace, and Security.  This Declaration underscores our collective commitment to women’s participation, protection, and empowerment in all areas of peace and security.  It reaffirms foundational commitments set forth in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and related resolutions, calling for accelerated efforts to achieve gender equality and enhance women’s meaningful participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and recovery processes.

Tomorrow, our sessions will delve into the essential role of women in peace processes, with a particular focus on National Action Plans for Women, Peace, and Security.  These thematic discussions will spotlight countries that have taken significant strides in implementing their plans, offering a forum to explore common challenges and innovative approaches.  This presents a unique opportunity for policymakers, experts, and civil society representatives to collaborate on ways to advance the WPS agenda at both the national and international levels.

Succeeding sessions will also address important issues such as the intersection of climate and security and financing for WPS initiatives.  A special forum on regional partnerships will encourage dialogue across borders, allowing delegates from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other regions to share their experiences and solutions.  Through these discussions, we hope to forge meaningful partnerships and practical solutions to the shared challenges we face.

The conference also includes 23 side events tailored to enhance global and local cooperation on the WPS agenda.  These side events include dialogues on interfaith collaboration, the role of youth in peace processes, and initiatives supporting women in the security sector.  There are also sessions that focus on women’s health, security, and justice access, especially in conflict-affected regions.

The scope and breadth of the activities in the conference underscore that Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) is inherently a multi-stakeholder agenda, drawing strength from partnerships across governments, regional institutions, international organizations, civil society, and local communities. It also shows that the agenda has evolved in the last 25 years and must continue to evolve to address emerging challenges which are very real to nations and communities.

At this juncture, I wish to call to mind the reason why the Philippines decided to step up and host this International Conference: this is to contribute to international stocktaking in shaping a new consensus on the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda ahead of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) - that will be next year in 2025.

Thank you for your presence, your commitment, and your support on the transformative events that are taking place in this International Conference and how the Philippines is taking on a leadership role in international diplomacy. 

Women Peace and Security is an advocacy that resonates so deeply with our own national story and our own pursuit of peace, reconciliation and inclusive progress.

Thank you very much for being here and that ends my presentation. I am open to receiving questions and observations you may have.