Ladies and Gentlemen,
The topic of the International Women's Day could not be more timely. Through the last year we have witnessed strong efforts, not only from women themselves, but also from men who recognize the importance of the involvement of women in Peace work, to create a platform that stresses the issue within the framework of the United Nations.

Women ambassadors to the United Nations have been most active in pushing the issue forward, seminars have been held around the world, perhaps the most crucial being the conference in Windhoek, resulting in the Windhoek Declaration and Namibia Plan of Action. Finally, in 31st October, the turning point was reached through the adoption of the Security Council Resolution 1325, that repeats most of the demands of the Windhoek Declaration.

The involvement of women through the whole Peace process, and even before, in the preventive diplomacy, is crucial for sustainable peace. The Resolution urges Member States to ensure the increased representation of women on all decision-making levels, both nationally and internationally. It further urges the Secretary-General to appoint more women as SRSG:s and envoys. That means of course that Member States have to provide female candidates. I have proposed that the Members States must offer two candidates - one woman, one man. That gives SG room for manouvre.

Why is it then so important to have women involved in the Peace Process - could not the men continue to solve problems like they have done for centuries?

Who are the victims of every war? Of course one could say that they are the soldiers, who lost their lives, or became invalids for the rest of their lives. That is one part of the truth. Though, if we look at the world history, in all the conflicts, greedy warlords have tried to prolong the war, just to gain more. The same men have been at the negotiation tables for peace, when all other means have come to their end.

In the peace negotiations economy, reconstruction of infrastructure, roads, bridges, industries are on the top of the list. I am not denying their importance. But all the material reconstruction is useless, if the minds of the people are crashed, if no program is created to reconstruct the humanity of the suffering people.

The suffering people during and after a conflict, a war, are mostly women and children. I have personally met too many women whose husbands and sons are to be found in massgraves, women who lost everything of value, family, home, dignity. I have met the orphans, not to mention the raped women and children, who never can be expected to find a normal life after their experiences I have cried with children who stepped into landmines years after war has ended, loosing their legs, their right to the same life as their friends. Unfortunately this will continue for years, the landmines don't get tired, they don't choose their victim.

Women, and their organisations, the numerous NGO:s, give the early warnings, if only somebody would listen to them seriously. The very day the conflict will be there, the best experts to create programs for the ordinary people are the local women themselves.

In my own country, Finland, the women had a training organisation before the II World War, Lotta Svärd, to train women in skills for survival in crisis. They were ready to function when the war broke out, keeping the machinery of the society rolling when the men were fighting at the frontline.

The organisation is not existing anymore, but about 300.000 women in Finland are members of a new organisation giving vonlontary training needed in different types of civilian crisis that can hit everyone in a modern society: natural disasters, environmental catastrophies, accidents, even drug misuse, violence in the streets and in the family. Special weight is given to handling of traumas caused by experiences of chock. The training is given in close cooperation with the Defence Ministery.

Population observed, there are always more women than men in a society after a war, husbands and fathers are missing, they lost their lives. It is extremely important to find programs that give the women and their children an outcome other than prostitution. The children must be guaranteed education as well as psychotherapy when needed. Urgent and active help is important to ensure the women roles as actors instead of passive victims. With all respect for men, women themselves have more interest and knowledge to take into account the special needs of the female victims of war.

A typical example is the Dayton Peace Agreement, gender issues were not mentioned at all. I strongly believe that this is one of the many reasons why the implementation has been so slow, the misery is still there, and the word reconciliation sounds sometimes like a very bad joke and a hypocritical promise with no schedule for fulfilment.

You can of course also ask: if there are programs for women, if the reconstruction of human beings, not only infrastructure, is taken into account: why is it important to have more women serving as Secretary-Generals Special Representatives?

My own experience has shown me, that in a certain situation the victims trust one woman more than several men. They are afraid of speaking out to the men in high position, whereas women are easier to approach. Women seldom try to create their dignity through bodyguards, armoured vehicles,being distant to the people. Personally I tried to avoid all this elements. People in Bosnia and Herzegovina understood that I relied upon them, I was treating them like my friends.

I gladly accepted invitations to Soccer and Basketball games, Junior Athletics, Weddings and Funerals, I wanted to be present in the real life of the people as much as possible. I shared their food in the mountains and was pleased to follow the tracks they pointed out for me - free from landmines.. I was holding hands, crying together with mothers who lost their sons, trying to touch the broken hearts, show a human face behind the initials UN. Myself being a mother of four and a grandmother of eleven.

Sometimes men show a specific efficiency in leadership, but women are also capable of being effective leaders.

Every SRSG will have her or his own methods of leadership. For United Nations itself, and the image of the organisation, it is most important to show that we are not only on a mission, we are there to show that we really care about the people. In BiH United Nations lost a lot of their good image during the war. My personal challenge was to regain the confidence of the people, to help them trust there is a human face behind the UN actions.

Holding hands is not a bad way of creating trust and peace.