On 25 September, in New York, U.S.A., Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, took part in the high-level event ‘Women, Peace and Leadership 2024’ - Connecting the International and the Local: UN Security Council Resolution 1325 at the Local Level.

The event featured speakers from UN Member States, civil society and the UN, who shared their experience in implementing the Women, Peace and Security Resolution at the national and local levels, in particular by mainstreaming gender in foreign policy.

The panel discussion was joined by Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence of Ireland; Lotte Machon, State Secretary for Development Policy, MFA of Denmark; and Dr Victoria M. Sulimani, Director General and Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone.

Olha Stefanishyna thanked the organisers for the opportunity to discuss important issues related to the situation of women in war and to present Ukraine's position at the international level.

"Despite a full-scale war that has been going on for more than two years, we are celebrating a decade of strong implementation of gender initiatives in Ukraine," the official said. She emphasised that despite the challenges of war, Ukrainian women enjoy wide access to professional and personal opportunities without any barriers.

Olha Stefanishyna reminded that Ukraine had been the first country in the world to adopt a National Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security in times of war: ‘This is Ukraine's leadership, accompanied by the need to address the numerous challenges faced by women because of the war waged by russia in my country."

She also stressed that russia continued to use sexual violence as a tool of war, and underlined the importance of measures taken by the state to support victims.

"We understood that it was extremely important to provide an effective response to the increasing cases of violence committed by russians against our citizens and to provide comprehensive assistance to the victims. Therefore, in the shortest possible time, we improved the legislation and introduced effective response mechanisms, including the mechanism of urgent interim reparations," the official said.

Olha Stefanishyna also stressed that Ukraine's obligation is not only to end the war started by russia, but also to ensure justice for all affected citizens. She emphasised that Ukraine was fighting for its future, and at the same time for justice for those who may potentially face similar crimes in the future.

The event was organised by the International Peace Institute in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, in partnership with Our Secure Future and the Mexican Foreign Minister.