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sive, and in some situations has become systematic.” Resolution1325, therefore, calls on all parties to armed conflicts to take specialmeasures to protect women and girls. It is our duty and our responsibilityto work towards the end of all forms of gender-based violence.In this regard, the Secretary General has launched a multi-year andsystem-wide campaign on violence against women. This initiative,which seeks to address gender-based violence under all circumstances,also addresses the need for better protection of women and girlsin situations of armed violence.I hope that this meeting will identify concrete ways of ensuring thatwomen and girls are adequately protected, and how to respondto the challenge of impunity in conflict situations. Member States,non-state actors and all parties involved in conflicts must be held accountablefor acts of violence against women and girls.Fortunately, the international community has taken actions to addressthese serious instances of the violation of the human rights ofwomen. In the mid-1990s, the Security Council established two adhoc tribunals to try the perpetrators of the grave human rights violationsthat took place in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. Theirstatutes and jurisprudence, together with the Rome Statute on theInternational Criminal Court, have played a crucial role in addressinggender-based violence in situations of armed conflicts. In 2002,the Secretary-General Study on Women, Peace and Security documentedthe collective experience of the United Nations system andanalyzed the impact of armed conflicts on women and girls.While much progress has been made at the international level, a lotstill needs to be done at the national level. Unfortunately, eight yearsafter the unanimous adoption of 1325 in October 2000, many governments,institutions and people working on issues of peace, security,gender equality and women’s empowerment have not factoredits implementation in their activities, despite the need for it.Our exchanges during the next three days when we share experience,identify good practices and reflect on how best we can achieveeffective implementation of the Resolution and the commitmentsunanimously made by the Security Council, are crucial. This meetingwill benefit from the experiences from all sub-regions of Africa incoming up with solid recommendations.242 Part Five