New York: Europe and the Arabs
Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said that commitments to gender equality are being ignored in many regions of the world, noting that women bear the brunt of the global decline in human rights. She stressed that young people deserve opportunities to shape their future.
DiCarlo's statements came during her briefing before a Security Council session held yesterday, Tuesday, to discuss the role of women and youth in maintaining peace and security.
The UN official explained that armed conflict exacerbates the structural obstacles that prevent women from achieving full equality, and that "institutional failure or collapse, impunity, and lack of security lead to exposing women to exacerbated risks."
She added that more than half of the incidents of political violence recorded against women around the world occur in countries affected by conflict.
“Eliminating structural gender inequality is a matter of equity and rights, but it is also a powerful way to improve the chances of success of peace and political processes,” DiCarlo said.
She pointed to the role of Yemeni women, for example, in strengthening the United Nations’ ongoing work to relaunch official high-level negotiations, through the community mediation efforts they carried out with the aim of releasing prisoners or achieving a local ceasefire.
Member states can make a difference by committing to specific, targeted measures to strengthen women's leadership, including their role as mediators, she said, noting that "in UN-led peace operations, we ensure that women are strongly represented."
"missed opportunity"
The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs spoke about the role of youth, stressing that “they are not adults in the making, but rather they are full human beings who have hopes, aspirations, ideas, and energy to contribute now.”
She cited the United Nations Secretary-General's report on youth and peace, which stated that youth participation in peace processes remains at a minimum, adding that this matter "is a missed opportunity."
She said that according to the United Nations Development Programme, electoral violence hinders the participation of 82 percent of young people in 65 countries, describing that statistic as “painful.”
She stressed the importance of national action plans for youth, peace and security in playing an effective role in institutionalizing meaningful youth participation, as well as regional efforts that strengthen those national actions.
She pointed to the United Nations' recent support for the Arab Regional Strategy for Youth, Peace and Security launched by the League of Arab States, adding that with the help of artificial intelligence, young peacebuilders from 14 Arab countries were able to develop an action plan for their region.
Transforming visions into reality
DeCarlo touched on young people's demand for a role in building environmental peace, saying that young women are often on the front lines of dealing with scarce resources and defending the environment.
She called for recognition of the roles of young men and women as environmental defenders, community leaders, activists, mobilizers and peace builders.
Concluding her briefing, Di Carlo stressed that gender equality and realizing youth aspirations are essential to achieving sustainable peace and security around the world, adding that the Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security agendas “provide us not just a vision, but a roadmap. It is incumbent on all of us to We must do more to make the transformative vision of these programs a reality.”
Amani's story
Sima Bahouth, Executive Director of UN Women, addressed the session, presenting examples of women who lost their lives in conflict zones and wars, and whose deaths constituted “another painful reminder of the reality of war for women and girls, and of the disproportionate harm inflicted on women during wars and conflicts that are not of their making.”
Among them is Amani, a psychotherapist in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, who was 34 years old and specialized in helping patients deal with the trauma of living in conflict, and whose story was published by the Commission in November last year.
Research said that Amani was killed with her four children on May 7, one of more than 10,000 women killed in the past seven months, adding that “just yesterday, dozens of women and children were horribly killed in Rafah, in a safe area, while they were sleeping in Tents in a camp for displaced people.
Bahouth added, "For her (Amani) and their sake, we demand a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the resolute pursuit of peace and a two-state solution. This war must stop."
Meaningful and full participation of young women
The Executive Director of UN Women stressed that young women and girls face double discrimination, which becomes more severe during conflict, which is discrimination based on their gender and age.
What must be done, she said, is to ensure that we work to break down the power structures and harmful norms that hinder the full and meaningful participation of young women and girls, and that diminish their voice and crucial contribution as leaders, calling for the protection of women and girls’ education, their independence, and their freedom to make decisions about all their choices in life. .
Research identified three priority areas that require “our collective attention, efforts and commitment,” the first of which is that young women must be placed at the heart of the actual decision-making process.
She also called for the fight against division, hatred and misinformation, and for young women to be much better represented at the peace table and in parliaments.
She stressed, "Young women are tomorrow's leaders and today's change-makers. We must deal with them in this capacity, with the commitment and urgency they deserve. In this complex landscape of conflicts, crises, and challenges, we must recognize their aspirations everywhere, as universal aspirations."

She concluded her briefing by saying, "Let us adhere to a vision of a future in which every girl becomes all that she can be, in which her hopes for a peaceful and vibrant future are our North Star, and in which we finally act in accordance with our shared responsibility with determination and sincerity."