Record number of women makes history at UN Security

Council

15 September 2014 – The United Nations Security Council has long been a bastion for
men selected to represent their countries on what many consider to be the Organization’s
most powerful body. But now, women ambassadors are filling over a third of the
Council’s 15 seats, making history at the venerable institution and sending out a strong
message about women’s empowerment.
“It’s a little strange that it’s taken us this long,” said Ambassador Sylvie Lucas of
Luxembourg. “I think that it is important to have women representing their countries in
the organ of the United Nations which is dealing with international peace and security.”

Sylvie Lucas (right), Ambassador of Luxembourg to the UN, speaking with an officer of the UN peacekeeping mission
in Mali (MINUSMA) during the Security Council's visit to Mopti, 2 February 2014. UN Photo/Marco Dormino

Ms. Lucas shares the distinction of being one of six women on the Council – along with
Ambassadors Joy Ogwu of Nigeria, Raimonda Murmokaite of Lithuania, Maria Cristina
Perceval of Argentina, Samantha Power of the United States, and Dina Kawar of Jordan –
all of whom recently sat down with the UN News Centre to share their views on
representing their nations and on making history.
Aside from the symbolism it offers, the question remains as to what difference having six
women on the Council will make.
“Permanent Representatives should be judged by what they do and the results they
produce rather than by their gender,” Ambassador Murmokaite stated.

Secretary-General Ban meets with Raimonda Murmokaite, Ambassador of Lithuania and President of the Security
Council in February 2014. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

“I think it’s a great Council, you have formidable personalities. You have very strong
characters. You have fantastic professionals who are working together. This Council is an
inspiration in so many ways because every single ambassador who’s there…you learn
lots from them…as individuals, as human beings, as professionals, as diplomats. But
also, you see that they care deeply about what they do, so it’s a fantastic environment to
work in ...
“In too many places around the world, women don’t have the opportunities, even basic
opportunities,” she added. “It is an enormous message of empowerment but also an
enormous message of what women can do, how women can contribute, if they are given
this opportunity.”
When asked if there is a difference in cooperation among the women diplomats, several
of them remarked that, whether male or female, the primary responsibility of
ambassadors is to represent the interests of their nations.

Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval of Argentina at the annual memorial service for UN personnel killed in the line of
duty between September 2012 and June 2013. UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz
“We have common positions on certain issues and we have differences in other
situations,” said Ambassador Perceval, a former senator who is the first woman to serve
as Argentina’s Permanent Representative to the UN. “But the most important [thing] is
that, in general, women value the power of dialogue.”
While it is “good news” that there are six women sitting on the Council, she added, they
have to represent the interests of their countries and the common positions of their
regions.
“You don’t see the women all voting in one direction and the men in another direction,
that would be crazy,” said Ambassador Power, a former journalist and Pulitzer Prize-
winning author who has served in her post for one year.

United States Ambassador Samantha Power addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine, 28
August 2014. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

“You do see women like me pushing for inclusion of women in peace processes around
the world. But that is not because I am a woman. That is because the United States
recognizes that when women are involved in peace processes they are more likely to be
durable, more likely to actually bring peace to societies over time.”
Ambassador Ogwu, a former Foreign Minister of Nigeria who was later appointed as the
country’s first female Permanent Representative to the UN, agreed. “The national interest
takes precedence over anything because we are representing sovereign States,” she stated.
“I’m sure that that is what inspires the curiosity of people – now that there are [six]
women, could there be a difference in the way we approach issues of conflict? Yes, in a
way, but at this time it is very, very subtle because the country does not send you there
just as a woman but the country sends you there to represent its national interests,” she
noted.
“But I believe in dealing with some humanitarian issues, the feminine attribute could
come into play, could help in decision-making, could help in consensus-building. Women
are naturally bridge builders; they are consensus seekers; they have their approaches to
peace and war.”

Dina Kawar, Ambassador of Jordan to the UN, presents her credentials to Secretary-General Ban. UN Photo/Evan
Schneider

The newest member to the club is Ambassador Kawar, who took up her post as Jordan’s
Permanent Representative in August, after having served for many in France. “Obviously,
we all represent our countries and certain positions of our governments. So, being a
female does not change that.
“However, I’ve noticed there’s a difference in approach to problems, and that is instead of
immediately coming up and talking about our Government position… we try to look at
problems and see how we can change that.”
She went on to add that each one of the women ambassadors has her own character and
personality. “But we do all respect each other. We have a lot of friendship amongst each
other and we encourage each other a lot.”
The women ambassadors chair a number of the Council’s important subsidiary bodies
ranging from those that oversee sanctions imposed on countries such as the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea and Sudan to the Counter-Terrorism Committee and the
committee concerning the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

U. Joy Ogwu (right), Ambassador of Nigeria to the UN, speaks with Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri of India (left), 17
October 2013. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

It seems fitting that more women are sitting on the Council, which in 2000 adopted a
landmark resolution (1325) that recognized the important role of women in the
prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping,
humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction, and stressed the importance of
their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and
promotion of peace and security.
The six women on the Council have also given visibility to the growing number of
women ambassadors and high-level diplomats at the UN – what Ambassador Ogwu
described as “an international sisterhood.” There are currently 31 women ambassadors –
out of 193 Member States – serving at UN Headquarters in New York.
“The issue about gender should not diminish,” stated Ambassador Ogwu. “The issue
about gender should help the world in its quest for peace, for security and for
development. Any nation that does not fully utilize half of its human resources is running
on one foot.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48711#.VBgFIMJ_sqM

UN refugee chief, special envoy Angelina Jolie, warn of

mounting crisis in Mediterranean

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres (right) and Special Envoy
Angelina Jolie (centre) listening to those involved in rescuing refugees in sea
operations in Malta. Photo: UNHCR/P. Muller

15 September 2014 – Urging European countries to take action to alleviate the harsh and
often deadly conditions migrants face on the high seas, the head of the United Nations
refugee agency (UNHCR) and Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie today warned about
the mounting crisis in the Mediterranean.
“We all need to wake up to the scale of this crisis,” stressed Ms. Jolie, a UNHCR Special
Envoy, during a visit on Sunday to the naval rescue headquarters in Malta.
“There is a direct link between the conflicts in Syria and elsewhere and the rise in deaths
at sea in the Mediterranean. We have to understand what drives people to take the fearful
step of risking their children's lives on crowded, unsafe vessels; it is the overwhelming
desire to find refuge.”
A UNHCR press release said Ms. Jolie and UN High Commissioner for Refugees
António Guterres met three survivors of one of the tragedies, who had been rescued by a
commercial vessel and brought to Malta by the Maltese authorities.
Just this weekend, new boat sinkings were being reported off Egypt and Libya claiming
more innocent lives. In all, more than 2,500 people have drowned or gone missing
attempting the Mediterranean crossing this year, including over 2,200 since the start of
June.
In the Maltese capital of Valletta, Jolie also visited Syrian refugee families who survived
a similar devastating boat tragedy last October. They included a couple from Damascus
whose three small children perished during the crossing, and a doctor from Aleppo whose
wife and three-year-old daughter drowned.
Upon meeting with the survivors, Ms. Jolie said that the situation in the Mediterranean
was part of a bigger problem of soaring numbers of people displaced by conflicts around
the world.
“Unless we address the root causes of these conflicts the numbers of refugees dying or
unable to find protection will continue to rise,” she stressed.
Some 130,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, more than double the
60,000 recorded in 2013. Italy has received over 118,000 arrivals, most of them rescued
at sea.
Warning that “we don't have many chances to get this right,” Mr. Guterres said Europe’s
response needs to be a truly collective effort. It must offer safer ways to find protection
while maintaining a strong capacity to rescue people.
“If it fails, many more lives will be lost at Europe's doorstep,” he warned.
To that end, UNHCR is calling for legal, safe alternatives for those fleeing conflict and
persecution, so that they are not forced to attempt the crossing into Europe by sea. Such
alternatives can include resettlement, admission based on humanitarian needs, private
sponsorship schemes, access to family reunification and student or employment visas.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48709#.VBgKM8J_sqM