The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the UN and the Commonwealth and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, will travel to New York this week, during the final days of the UK’s Security Council presidency.
The Minister will use her two-day visit to signal UK support for more women mediators within the UN system. She will outline the UK’s next steps on the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) and discuss UN peacekeeping performance and reform.
On Monday, the Minister will meet with a range of senior representatives within the UN system. She will co-host events focused on increasing the number of women mediators within the UN and tackling sexual exploitation and abuse within peacekeeping missions. She will also meet with NGOs to discuss modern slavery.
On Tuesday, she will host an event to mark five years of the UK-led Initiative to end sexual violence in conflict , at which she will promote draft Principles for Global Action aimed at tackling the stigma attached to sexual violence in conflict. She will meet the new US Permanent Representative, Nikki Haley, participate in a number of meetings on sustainable peace, and will host Permanent Representatives from other Commonwealth countries, ahead of the UK-hosted Commonwealth Summit in April 2018.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Baroness Anelay said:
This visit to New York will allow us to make real progress on a range of UK priority issues at the UN.
As the UN increases its focus on gender and conflict prevention, I will be pushing for an increase in the number of women mediators in the UN system. Involving women in peace processes increases the chances for reconciliation and leads to stronger, more sustainable peace.
I will mark the five-year anniversary of the UK-led initiative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative during my visit. We must continue to build on progress to better support victims, and address stigma.
I also welcome the opportunity to discuss next steps in tackling sexual exploitation and abuse, to restore trust between peacekeepers and those they serve. I welcome the new UN Secretary General’s leadership on this issue.
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