Sri Lanka will continue to support the UN Secretary-General in his endeavors to push for gender parity at all levels at the institution, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Mohan Peiris told a recent Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting titled “Call to Lead by Example: Ensuring the Full, Equal and Meaningful Participation of Women in UN-led Peace Processes.”

“We commend the Secretary-General for the leadership that he has taken to improve the gender parity at the UN, particularly at the senior leaders’ level and amongst the UN Resident Coordinators. In UN field missions, women’s leadership is at 41%,” he said.

Permanent Representative Peiris said that Sri Lanka was proud to have had a long association with United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, having served as a member of the 1956 Advisory Committee that led to the establishment of the first “classical” peacekeeping mission – UNEF 1, deployed during the Suez crisis and later deployed as UN Peacekeepers to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in 1960.

Having engaged in a humanitarian struggle with a terrorist organization that used human shields, suicide bombers and child soldiers, Sri Lanka’s armed forces and Police had been sharing expertise in handling difficult and complex terrains of the humanitarian engagement field, in difficult areas of the world, he said.

“Since then, with over 20,000 Sri Lankan Peacekeepers, having served in UN Peace Missions across the world providing critical services to conflict affected communities in the most difficult and dangerous terrains, they are widely recognized for their valor and capabilities and appreciated by the UN Peacekeeping Missions they serve in. Over the years, Sri Lanka has consistently made efforts to encourage women peacekeepers and currently we have 12 women peacekeepers serving in South Sudan. We believe that women peacekeepers improve overall peacekeeping performance, have greater access to communities, help in promoting human rights and protection of civilians and encourage women to become a meaningful part of peace and political processes,” he said.

Peiris said that while it was useful to share the experience among the international community on the obstacles faced by women and the prescriptions needed to alleviate from such setbacks, the UN should also be sensitive to the diverse situations and circumstances, in which the proposed programs and strategies had to be implemented.

“The role of women in society is different in varied cultures and as such a one-size fits all policy cannot be applied in the pursuance of their rights. It is imperative for policies in this regard to be formulated, in tandem with domestic compulsions and requirements,” he said.