Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ

The Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, 27th Governor General of Canada and Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Ottawa,

Ambassadors and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

President Jacques Frémont and Vice-President Sanni Yaya and distinguished professors, deans, and guests of the University of Ottawa,

I am delighted to be back here. The signing ceremony of this cooperation agreement between the United Nations and the prestigious University of Ottawa on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence through the establishment of a Gender Peace and Security Collaboratory is a momentous event for us all. Our cooperation could not be more timely. Today, the world is experiencing a reversal of generational gains in women’s rights while violent conflicts, military expenditures, military coups, displacements and hunger continue to increase. Implementation of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵSCR 1325 (2000) remains slow with many challenges including the lack of empirical evidence, data and research. Expanding the circle of allies to include academia and research institutions is key to addressing these knowledge gaps.

Some of the key themes featured in this year’s Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence for urgent research and they include:

• Increasing recourse to mercenaries and private military and security companies and contractors by parties to conflict;
• Conflict-related sexual violence, as a chronic feature of the political economy of war;
• The use of sexual violence by non-State armed groups, including United Nations-designated terrorist groups and networks, to consolidate their control over territories, populations, and lucrative natural resources;
• The alarming patterns of abduction for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced marriage in several settings.

I am pleased that the University of Ottawa, which is founded on bilingual excellence, relevance, and impact with a unique internationally distinctive interdisciplinary expertise in international security and development, is the first academic institution with which I am formalizing such cooperation agreement. This partnership between our two organizations shall foster collaboration among scholars, policymakers, practitioners in addition to community activists, women’s rights leaders and survivors in conflict-affected countries. The merging of great minds will allow for the production, sharing, and dissemination of innovative and transformation research by the Gender, Peace, and Security Collaboratory to inform not only policy but practice. Our partnership also provides us with space for critical reflection, constructive dialogue and exchange of ideas on peace and security issues, that will enhance our understanding of the complexities of peace and security challenges and create more harmonized approaches in addressing them.

Je suis convaincue que ce partenariat amènera le Mandat des violences sexuelles liées aux conflits vers de nouveaux horizons. Le Co-laboratoire sur le Genre, Paix et Sécurité nous permettra d’explorer tous ces domaines complexes et sous-documentés de l’agenda des violences sexuelles liées aux conflits, dans lesquels nous manquons de recherche. Notre collaboration nous aidera à passer des engagements aux actions concrètes, et permettra de tirer parti de l’expertise du système des Nations Unies dans son ensemble, de la société civile et du monde universitaire pour réaliser la promesse de ne laisser personne de côté. Je conçois cette alliance comme une construction sur le travail de mon bureau et du réseau des Nations Unies contre la violence sexuelle dans les conflits [le réseau ‘Ģ¹½ÊÓƵ Action’], notamment dans le développement de la prévention des violences sexuelles dans les conflits et dans la mise en pratique des principes de l’approche centrée sur les survivant(e)s. J’envisage ce partenariat comme une initiative de démarrage, qui sera amenée à se développer et devenir un mouvement mondial dans lequel les universitaires et les praticiens de terrain pourront se réunir, apprendre les uns des autres, et se nourrir mutuellement dans le but de protéger les générations futures du fléau des violences sexuelles en temps de guerre.

Nous encouragerons à travers ce partenariat le partage des connaissances entre le Nord et le Sud, notamment par le biais d’un programme de bourses de recherche, un programme de co-formations, et la création d’une communauté de chercheurs, d’étudiants, d’activistes et de décideurs, dédiée à la question Genre, Paix et Sécurité. Ce partenariat doit nous permettre plus que jamais de basculer dans le domaine de l’innovation et de la technologie pour tirer parti des nouveaux horizons que nous offrent les technologies numériques, dans le plus noble des objectifs – prévenir la récurrence des violences sexuelles dans les conflits.

The ‘Women and Peace and Security’ Agenda is not just an answer to historic wrongs and marginalization, but an opportunity to do things differently. Our partnership can, no doubt, open the door to inclusion and participation, and result in giant steps forward in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. As we celebrate the signing of this cooperation agreement today, I wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in bringing this vision to fruition.

In conclusion, let us affirm our shared commitment to empower women and promote a more peaceful and secure world. Let us use this Collaboratory as a platform to champion gender equality and amplify the voices of women everywhere.

Thank you.