The international community should encourage women to take a greater part in social life and educate youth to resist the ideological influence of violent extremism, a Chinese envoy said Monday.
Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a Security Council meeting on peace, security and women, saying that women should be given a greater role in building a culture of harmony and inclusiveness in the global community.
Acknowledging that many women are victims of violence, and meanwhile they are an increasingly important player in the prevention and resolution of regional conflicts, Liu said the international community should step up protection of the interests of women in conflict and give them a greater role to play in preventing and resolving conflicts.
"It is incumbent upon the international community to adopt effective measures to maximize security assurances for women affected by conflicts," said Liu. "Humanitarian assistance to conflict areas should pay particular attention to the needs of women and other vulnerable groups."
He also noted that the international community should work hard to help bring about political solution to regional conflicts and overcome differences through dialogue, and women should be encouraged to become important players in part of that.
In addition, Liu said the international community should step up economic empowerment for African women, help African countries to achieve poverty reduction and promote economic development, since regions like Africa have long been mired in war and conflict.
African women should be provided with vocational skills training and funding support for entrepreneurship to improve their livelihood, thus eradicating the root causes of the conflict, he said.
"China stands ready to continue working with the international community to jointly help women to achieve full development and fully engage in political, economic and social life so that women can contribute more to the peace, development and prosperity of the African continent," added the envoy.
