Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like to express our thanks and appreciation to you for convening this meeting. We are also grateful to Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed for her opening address as well as other briefers for their insightful remarks.

Türkiye is proud to join the Group of Friends of Women of the Sahel. It is our hope that the Group will provide critical support in terms of incorporating a gendered lens in addressing the challenges faced by Sahel at regional and national levels.

The Sahel is a region with rich cultural heritage and immense potential. At the same time, the countries in the Sahel face multiple crises that are well known.

The security of this region is a source of concern not only for the countries in the Sahel but also for the whole continent and beyond. Against the backdrop of the surge of insecurity in the region, we are working with our partners in the Sahel within the framework of various international and regional organizations as well as at bilateral level, with a view to addressing their concerns.

In this regard, we were pleased to host H.E. Mr. Maman Sambo Sidikou, Executive Secretary of G5 Sahel, as he paid a working visit to Türkiye in April 2021. During his visit, Mr. Sidikou and his counterparts had the opportunity to review our cooperation and mutual priorities.

Mr. President,

The complex and multilayered humanitarian, security and development challenges facing the Sahel region call for a comprehensive approach to security.
Women’s full, equal and meaningful participation to peace processes is a vital component of that approach.

In this regard, I would like to acknowledge the role of women peacebuilders who spearhead efforts in their communities to prevent and mitigate crises in the Sahel region.
Women and girls are not only disproportionately affected by the ongoing challenges, they are also main agents for transformation in their societies and active drivers of progress. They are often first responders and bridge builders. The efforts to empower and create opportunities for women and youth, particularly those in rural regions and vulnerable situations need to be supported by all of us.

In this sense, we hope that the Group of Friends will be a vehicle for engaging with women in the region, increase awareness on the situation of women in the Sahel and provide a platform to share our experiences in assisting the countries of the region, including the promotion of capacity building and institution-building in order to lay a solid foundation for long-term sustainable development and peace.

While doing so, it is essential to coordinate our collective action towards the region consistent with national and regional priorities of Sahel countries, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2063 Agenda of the African Union and the Security and Development Strategy of the G5 Sahel.

In this respect, I would like to stress the importance of national and regional ownership of these efforts and welcome the leadership by the countries of the region as well as regional and sub-regional organisations, including the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the G5 Sahel to address the multidimensional challenges in the Sahel region.

Mr. President,

Last year we marked the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council resolution 1325, which set the foundation for the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Since then, a solid normative framework has been developed, including through the subsequent resolutions of the Council.

At the same time, there is still much work to be done to fully translate our commitments into action. The disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls is posing a great risk of reversing our hard-won gains on gender equality and women’s empowerment globally.

Therefore, it is critical to give impetus to the concerted efforts and commitments of the UN entities and the Member States, as well as regional organizations and the civil society. We welcome the launch of the Group of Friends of Women of the Sahel also as an important contribution towards this end.

It is imperative to have greater and meaningful participation of women in all forms of mediation, prevention of conflict, UN Peace Operations, post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding processes. The Network of African Women in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (FemWise-Africa) has been an invaluable platform for advocacy, capacity building and networking aimed at enhancing the implementation of the commitments for the inclusion of women in peacemaking in Africa.

Further efforts are required to see more women gain positions of leadership at the negotiating table, enhancing their engagement in political and economic decision-making, as well as for the implementation of peace agreements.

Mr. President,

In closing, I would like to reiterate our support for the Group of Friends and the equal and meaningful participation of the women of Sahel in all spheres of life, fully contributing to the security and prosperity of their countries. We look forward to further contributing to the work of this Group of Friends.

Thank you.