TEHRAN – An international congress with the theme of “women, the architects of peace” was held here on Sunday on the occasion of the World Peace Day, which is annually marked on September 21.

The congress was held with the cooperation of the Institute for Protection of Women’s Rights (IPWR), The UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy (UNESCO CHRPD) of Shahid Beheshti University, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

President Rouhani proposed a world free of violence: UNIC director

Iran is one of the first countries to take steps in approving a resolution for a region free from nuclear weapons in 1960s, Director of United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Tehran Dr. Maria Dotsenko said referring to the rich history of Iran its peacekeeping stance.

One of the recent initiatives of President Hassan Rouhani has been suggesting a world free of violence which have been approved in a resolution by the United Nations, she added.

BARJAM, the acronym for the Iran nuclear deal, is a great achievement toward promoting peace and security in the region, Dotsenko stated.

29% of UN peacekeepers are women

Although at the first year of United Nations’ activity, women made up only one percent of peacekeepers, today, after seven decades, women compose 29 percent of peacekeepers, Dotsenko announced.

Women play a vital role in peacekeeping, she said, emphasizing that women’s presence in peacekeeping operations is protecting peace in the whole world.

Developing an approach to organizing peace in world is owing to women attempt on improving peace and women take responsibility of some part of peacekeeping operation.

The United Nations was created with the aim of removing war from the world and peace is the main priority of the UN, Dotsenko stated.

A number of 170 peace agreements have been signed during the long history of the UN and a number of 60 countries which were in war are currently in peace and security, she concluded.

NM/MG