Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the conference "Women: Stabilizing an Insecure World" in Brussels, 6 March 2008

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It is a great pleasure for me to attend this conference. I would like to thank you, Madame Commissioner, for bringing us women together to this round-table discussion on the eve of International Women’s Day.

I firmly believe that taking women’s experience into account and listening to their voice can make a difference. Actions of women, including at the local and grass-root level, can certainly increase opportunities for reaching sustainable solutions. After all, according to many estimates women are a majority in the world, not a minority.

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Two weeks ago, I paid a state visit to Indonesia. During the visit, I had an opportunity to visit Aceh and witness the progress made in the reconstruction process following the tsunami as well as in the practical implementation of the peace treaty. I also met with representatives of women’s organisations in Aceh and had a very good and substantive discussion with them on the actual situation of women in the region. Women in Aceh are willing to take an active part in the building-up of the region. Post-conflict situations are always crucial for the future development of a society. The international community must be vigilant to ensure that women can play their full role in the different phases of reconstruction process.

We have seen in many countries – including in my own – that in wartime women are obliged to take more responsibilities in the society while men are at the front. When life returns to normal, there is a risk is of women being expected to step back and return solely to household activities. With the end of conflict, the situation of women can become even worse and equality between men and women is not established. The EU and ASEAN Monitoring Mission in Aceh was a success but – for the future – we should ensure that gender issues are automatically included in the tasks of operations.

Another example is Afghanistan. Under the Taliban regime, women were not allowed to attend school or go to work – or even laugh out loud. Today, their situation is far from satisfactory but progress is being made. The new constitution guarantees equality for women and 25 per cent of the seats in the Lower House of the Parliament are reserved for women. These are positive steps.

The nation-building process will take time and the situation in Afghanistan calls for a long-term commitment by the different international actors. Promoting the role of women is a part of this exercise. Education plays a crucial role in empowering women. In Afghanistan, more than 80 per cent of women have no formal education, and only 1 per cent of girls in rural communities go to school. Building schools and providing opportunities for education for girls must be a key priority in Afghanistan.

In my own country, women entered the universities more than one hundred and thirty years ago. Finnish women were given the right to vote and stand for political office more than one hundred years ago. From the start, women brought a new emphasis to politics – such as the right to free education, the public day-care system as well as health and social services. Finnish women have played a strong role in defining our welfare state model, which every Finn enjoys today.

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Both conflict prevention and crisis management have become increasingly important for the European Union. When I myself as Minister for Foreign Affairs and my Swedish colleague Lena Hjelm-Wallén submitted an initiative on developing the crisis management of the Union, we did not dare to expect rapid progress. But contrary to our expectations, our proposal led to a provision in the Treaty of Amsterdam. Today, the crisis management policy of the EU rests on the combination and efficient co-ordination of military and civilian action.

In the Union, we need to continue to mainstream gender and human rights into all crisis management operations. Decisions taken during the Austrian and Finnish EU Presidencies in 2006 on gender aspects and the European Security and Defence Policy must be implemented fully.

In Finland, we are currently finalising our national action plan on the implementation of the United Nations Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Among other things, the Resolution places a great deal of emphasis on women's participation in crisis management. The presence of women can make operations more effective – as female staff may have a better chance of reaching out to the local population. The power of positive examples should be taken into account, too. Finland has a long experience in training staff for international operations. Respect for human rights and high ethical standards are necessary to gain respect of local communities for foreign presence in conflict areas.

Similarly, it is important to support local and grass-root level activities of women. Let me give one practical example: the UNIFEM International Women’s Commission Initiative in the Middle East. I believe that the active dialogue and cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian women under this initiative can help in making progress to find a sustainable solution in the region.

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Tomorrow's conflicts and security challenges may be wider and different by nature than the ones we see today. For example, climate change and its impacts on ecosystems, human health and food production can have huge implications for international peace and security.

Last year, mitigating climate change finally became a fundamental worldwide goal. I am hopeful that the sense of global responsibility will grow. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali last December was a step forward, and I believe it was the start of a new path. We must work together and ensure that global development is both socially just and environmentally sustainable.

Finland welcomes the emergence of a gender perspective in the climate change debate. In many developing countries, women's disadvantages – their limited access to resources, restricted rights, limited mobility and muted voice in shaping decisions – make them highly vulnerable to climate change.

On the other hand, women are also powerful agents of change, and they can effectively contribute to curbing the impacts of climate change. Women's knowledge and responsibilities can be critical to community survival. This also relates to children who are often closely dependent on women.

All aspects connected to climate change – not only mitigation and adaptation, but also policy development and decision making – should include a strong gender perspective.

Next year, an International Colloquium on Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security will be organised in Liberia. I am happy to be a co-convenor of this conference together with the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Finland is actively involved in the Colloquium preparations. The former Irish President Mary Robinson has proposed that the issue of climate change and gender would also be included in the conference agenda. We in Finland support this idea. I hope that the Colloquium can send a strong message on the importance of the gender perspective in climate change to the United Nations climate change meeting, which will be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

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Women’s networks are important. It is essential that we exchange views on global and regional issues and that we provide examples that women do play a prominent role in promoting peace and stability around the world. We women can show and assume leadership on security issues worldwide. I hope that we will have lively and fruitful discussions throughout the day.