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06:55 GMT
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah addresses the UN Security Council session on the potential of national action plans for advancing Women
KUWAIT, Jan 25 (KUNA) -- Support for the role of women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region requires international collaboration, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
Speaking at a UN Security Council session on the potential of national action plans for advancing Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in the MENA region in New York late Thursday, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said "this" session is vital and underlines UNSC's - in addition to GCC, Arab League and IOC - keenness and awareness of women's "pivotal" role, especially in relation to resolution 1325.
The resolution acknowledges the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls. It calls for the adoption of a gender perspective to consider the special needs of women and girls during conflict, repatriation and resettlement, rehabilitation, reintegration, and post-conflict reconstruction.
Shedding light on the matter, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled branded as "genuine" women partnership in achieving stability, safety and advancement on political, economic and social scales.
In this vein, he pointed to Kuwait's commitment to fulfill international requirements to provide women with the equal and decent living standards enjoyed by men.
The meeting was convened by members of the Security Council: Germany, Peru, and the United Kingdom, and presided over by Heiko Mass, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany. Kuwait has a non-permanent seat in the council and continues its membership throughout 2019.
Voicing support to efforts aiming at preventing conflicts, the Kuwaiti top diplomat also welcomed endeavors to involve women in resolving crises in the MENA region, especially the ones in Syria and Yemen.
The meeting also featured panelists from Iraq and Lebanon, who provided insights on common barriers to implementing the WPS agenda in the Middle East, and their efforts to overcome these challenges.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled's delegation to the meeting consisted of Assistant Minister for the Affairs of the Foreign Minister's office Ambassador Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Kuwait's Permanent Representative at the UN headquarters in New York Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi and a number of senior officials at the Foreign Ministry. (end)
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