On 20 February 2024, the Embassy of Latvia in Italy organised a discussion on the implementation and challenges of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security from different national perspectives.
Addressing the audience, the Latvian Minister for Justice, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, highlighted Latvia’s success in guaranteeing gender equality in employment and entrepreneurship, as well as the proportion of women in leadership positions, scientific research and politics. At the same time, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere underlined the challenges that Latvia still faces and which need to be addressed. In the context of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Latvia, the Minister for Justice pointed to the National Action Plan for 2020–2025, which includes specific tasks and in the implementation of which several State administration institutions and non-governmental organisations are involved.
In addition, the Latvian Minister for Justice stressed: “During Russia’s war against Ukraine, Russia has abducted 20 000 Ukrainian children, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. A clear identification of this crime and an immediate solution by all possible means are needed to achieve a result.”
The Embassy’s discussion also included a speech by Maria Tripodi, Italy’s Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Italy’s implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security and the priorities it sets out in its National Plan. Maria De Fátima Jardim, Ambassador of Angola to Italy, Mary Ellen Miller, Chargé d’Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Italy, and Loredana Teodorescu, Head of the Women in International Security Association, made similar contributions to the exchange of views.
At the end of the discussion, the Ambassador of Latvia, Solvita Āboltiņa, thanked the participants for sharing their perspectives on the current situation in Latvia, Italy, Angola and Australia with the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and she highlighted the attention Latvia is paying to this resolution, also in the context of Latvia’s candidacy for the UN Security Council elections in 2025.
The event is part of the public diplomacy programme in support of Latvia’s lobbying campaign for the UN Security Council candidacy and to promote Latvia’s visibility.