Minister Grlić Radman participates in R2P ministerial conference

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman on Monday attended a ministerial conference on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), held as part of a session of the UN General Assembly.

This year's conference focused on the role of women and girls in the prevention of mass atrocities. "The timing of this conference is right. Mass atrocities have been on the rise for decades, and Syria, Yemen and Ethiopia are just some of the more recent examples. We are witnesses to numerous human right violations, notably those of women and girls, as is recently evident in Afghanistan as well. But we are not giving up - quite the contrary," said the minister in his address.

Grlić Radman called for the analysis of mass atrocity threats and the efficiency of UN responses. "In May, we decided to put R2P permanently on the General Assembly's agenda, and now it's time to use this powerful tool in the best way possible," he said.

"It's clear that we need to better protect women and girls, and place them at the centre of protection from mass atrocities," the minister said. He underlined the importance of including women in peace building, citing a study by the International Peace Institute showing that women's participation in international agreements increased their chance of long-term viability. Despite such indicators, recent peace processes such as those in Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen did not include many women.

"The UN, member states and NGOs have to prompt and assist women in the development of their role in armed conflict prevention. Croatia can testify from its own experience that women bear the brunt in such conflicts and play the key role in preventing and ending wars, building peace and post-conflict management," Grlić Radman concluded.

During the first day of his visit to the U.S., the minister also held bilateral talks with foreign ministers of Kosovo, Libya and Mozambique, and met with representatives of the American Jewish Committee and B'nai B'rith.