A/HRC/31/21 communities. It will also recommend best policy options and courses of action that will allow coordination of the two educational systems, thus contributing to a viable, sustainable and functional bicommunal, bizonal federation. 29 H. Gender perspective 52. In its resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, the Security Council called upon all actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective, including (a) the special needs of women and girls during repatriation and resettlement and for rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction; (b) measures that support local women’s peace initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution, and that involve women in all of the implementation mechanisms of the peace agreements; and (c) measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary. 53. With regard to Cyprus, the Security Council reiterated in its resolutions 2197 (2015) and 2234 (2015) that the active participation of civil society groups, including women’s groups, was essential to the political process and can contribute to making any future settlement sustainable. It recalled that women play an important role in peace processes, and welcomed all efforts to promote bicommunal contacts and events, including on the part of all United Nations bodies on the island. 54. The Security Council also welcomed the efforts of UNFICYP to implement the Secretary-General’s zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse and to ensure full compliance of its personnel with the United Nations code of conduct. It also requested the Secretary-General to continue to take all necessary action in that regard and to keep the Security Council informed, and it urged troop-contributing countries to take appropriate preventive action including the conduct of predeployment awareness training, and to take disciplinary action and other action to ensure full accountability in cases of such conduct involving their personnel. On 12 February 2015, Cyprus ratified the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, which entered into force on 1 June 2015. 55. While welcoming the measures taken by Cyprus to promote gender equality, including the adoption of the new National Action Plan on Gender Equality 2014-2017, and the increase in the representation of women in a number of senior public positions, the Human Rights Committee remained concerned about the generally low rate of representation of women in many decision-making positions and about their limited participation in the peace process. The Committee recommended that Cyprus strengthen its efforts to increase the representation of women in decision-making positions in public administration, if necessary through improved education opportunities and appropriate and timely special measures, and to ensure that women’s participation in the peace process was guaranteed at all stages, including in decision-making, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) (see CCPR/C/CYP/CO/4, para. 8). 56. In 2014, the Gender Advisory Team, a group of academics and civil society activists from both sides of the divide working on gender equality from a peace-building perspective, published a policy brief entitled “Towards a Gendered Peace: Interventions in 29 14 See joint statement by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Mustafa Akıncı, and the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, 25 November 2015. Available at www.uncyprustalks.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/12/2015-11-25-EBE-Joint-Statement.pdf.