On October 28, Ambassador Endo Kazuya delivered the national statement of the Government of Japan at the International Conference on Women, Peace and Security 2024, held in Manila, Philippines.
The conference, hosted by the Government of the Philippines, commemorates the 25th anniversary of the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). With the theme of “Forging Collaboration and Convergence for Advancing Women, Peace, and Security”, the conference aimed to bring together governments, civil society, international organizations, and other stakeholders to evaluate the progress of the implementation of the WPS agenda to promote women’s participation in all stages of peacebuilding.
In his statement, Ambassador Endo conveyed the Government of Japan’s active promotion of gender equality and women empowerment to further strengthen cooperation in the international community. He also mentioned Japan’s support for the Mindanao Peace Process for over 20 years. He introduced two (2) new projects to promote the WPS agenda in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Ambassador Endo also announced that Japan, together with Norway, will serve as co-chairs of the WPS Focal Points Network in 2025, and extended an invitation to the Focal Points Network Capital-Level Meeting, which will be held in Tokyo from February 4 – 6, 2025. Ambassador Endo then delivered an important message from former Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko who is the chair of the WPS Parliamentarians’ Network Japan citing his WPS agenda as one of the main pillars of foreign policy.
In closing, Ambassador Endo reiterated Japan’s commitment to further cooperating with the Government of the Philippines and the international community to strengthen international solidarity and keep advancing the WPS.
