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Madam President, I wish to thank the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ambassador Patriota of Brazil and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee for their briefings. My delegation aligns itself with the statement to be made on behalf of the European Union. In my national capacity, allow me to underline the following points. Issues pertaining to development naturally fall within the purview of the General Assembly and ECOSOC. However, as noted in the Council PRST of February 2011, there is an intrinsic link between security and development.

Poverty, exclusion, and marginalisation fuel many a conflict, including those on the Security Council’s agenda. One cannot break the cycle of violence and build durable peace as long as significant inequalities prevail and issues relating to economic, political and social inclusion remain unaddressed.

Inclusivity begins with respect for the basic human rights for all, which in their turn can only flourish where there is established a solid framework of the rule of law, democratic governance, and accountability. Freedom of expression and freedom of information support transparency, foster participation, and reinforce the necessary checks and balances within the political system, which act as safeguards against corruption, abuse of power, cronyism, and graft.

Consequently, promoting the fundamental freedoms of opinion, expression, assembly and association  as well as supporting  free media are essential for inclusive development and peace. We are concerned by an increase worldwide of attacks on and killings of journalists and social media workers who seek to expose impunity, corruption, and abuse of power.  Their reports from the conflict zones in particular expose human rights abuses, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and help to rally the international community in support of the rights of the marginalized and the vulnerable, and by extension, to protect civilian lives. We call on the Council to remain vigilant and actively engaged on the issue of the protection of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society activists.

We have seen time and again that human rights violations are often the first, early warning signals of a conflict to erupt. When unaddressed, ongoing human rights violations also become an obstacle to reconciliation and peacebuilding processes, and therefore, to inclusive development. That is why my delegation  strongly supports the Rights Upfront initiative, which, in our view,  should lie at the core of all preventive, peace building and development efforts.

Sustainable peace requires that no group of the society is discriminated against or left behind. National reconciliation and peacebuilding cannot work if certain groups or minorities live in fear of persecution, are denied their rights and the ability to voice their demands or access to essential resources, and are excluded from power-sharing arrangements and governance. Exclusion and discrimination on whatever grounds- be it for gender, religion, ethnicity, race, age, or any other reason –weaken the society by robbing it of its creative and productive potential, reinforce a sense of injustice, harden lingering grievances, and threaten the very stability and security of that society, threatening to ignite or rekindle the cycle of violence and thwarting development efforts.

In particular, peace and development need women's full and systematic inclusion in all aspects of the society’s life, as equal partners in the decision making processes and state-building, from conflict mediation and resolution, to reconciliation, peace building, and post-conflict development. Women’s full, unfettered participation in the political, economic and other domains of the society is a key driving force  of societal transformation and economic prosperity.

Numerous studies have shown that societies where women play active roles enjoy higher levels of well-being and prosperity. This Council has created a solid normative base, starting with its Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. While notable progress has been achieved in this respect, we are not there yet. This year's review of the implementation of Resolution 1325, as well as peace-keeping and peace building reviews offer important opportunities to move this agenda further, especially on the implementation side. The Council must make sure that every single mandate it creates should have a strong women’s empowerment component. That would definitely benefit people’s aspirations for inclusive development which is the focus of today's debate.

Madam President,

Peace and development cannot be sustained without accountability. Abuse of power, failure to address lingering grievances, lawlessness and impunity are deeply erosive as they sow mistrust, hamper reconciliation, and can rekindle conflict at any moment. In today’s turbulent world, such grievances and abuses can also be conducive to alienation and radicalization and thus compound the complex task of fighting terrorism in its many manifestations.

Conversely, the rule of law which is at the core of democratic governance offers a framework of justice, fosters empowerment and equality by providing a common set of rules for all members of the society and  guaranteeing their equality before the law. Taking resolute action against impunity is essential in order that victims of abuse can regain confidence in the society and proceed towards reconciliation and durable peace.

It is also important as a preventive, deterrent tool, sending the message to would-be perpetrators that their crimes would not go unpunished. Therefore support for building the rule of law and national judicial and law enforcement capabilities must be addressed early on within the context of peace -keeping and peace-building efforts, and systematically sustained as countries move from conflict to durable peace. We welcome strengthening rule-of-law components in UN peacekeeping and peacebuilding mandates and call on the Council to pay greater attention to rule of law issues in its debates.