 Today is the third annual Sheikah Fatima Lectureship. It is going to really focus on what is our shared vision moving forward. We need to begin making sure women count as we understand war, as we understand security, and certainly as we understand peace-building. It is my great pleasure to welcome everybody here to the U.S. Institute of Peace for the third lectureship on a shared global vision for women in peace-building. It was through the generosity of Her Highness Sheikah Fatima that the Institute of Peace was able to name the North Atrium of our headquarters building the International Women's Commons, specifically to advance the progress of women as peace-builders. It is such a pleasure to be back here for the Sheikah Fatima Lecture Series, something I have come to look forward to over the last several years. But I especially want to welcome Her Excellency Reem Hashimi, who is thrilling to have you here. Thank you very much for having me. So what do we know about women in the peace process? We know that women are essential because they bring the societal aspects to a conflict zone. We know that when it comes to rebuilding communities, local women are more important than career advisers who are merely helicoptered in to help negotiate a solution. And we know that the U.N. recognizes facts some 15 years ago via Security Council Resolution 1325. And since that time, funding to support women, peace and security has been growing, as has awareness of the crucial need to incorporate or mainstream gender and conflict prevention and peace-building efforts. We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women that took place in Beijing. There has been a lot of assessment going on just in terms of what progress have we made, and we have indeed made genuine progress. But we also have a long way to go. When you talk about advancing the role of women, you don't do it because, you know, it's nice. You do it because you need it, because if you want to advance in your society, you have to. We know that when you have accountable, effective, inclusive governments, that they are better able to manage conflict that will inevitably occur. That requires that there be significant advances on bringing women into all levels of building and sustaining peace. We have to be really an integrated, engaged and forward-thinking world. I'm very optimistic that women and men engaged in peace-building will be an integrated process. Like every nation on Earth, we know there is still a distance to travel. But as you can see, we are proudly and confidently and endlessly making up that distance. We need to stick together, not just as women, but men as well. We must ensure that tomorrow's generation learns by this example to work alongside each other. Women truly are linked in a real way to peace and security. We don't need any more statements. We need the political will that will truly address these issues and help ensure women's full participation in really dealing with conflict situations.