Lakshmi Puri visits Malaysia, Japan and the Republic of Korea

From 28 May to 4 June, Lakshmi Puri, Acting Head of UN Women, undertakes a week-long official visit to Malaysia, Japan and the Republic of Korea. During the visit, she will underline the need to prioritize investments in gender equality and women’s empowerment and promote women’s participation in all spheres of society. Read the web release announcing her visit.

MALAYSIA

Press Statement by Lakshmi Puri at the Women Deliver Conference

On 28 May, Ms. Puri participated in the Opening Panel of the Women Deliver Conference, entitled “Investing in Women’s Reproductive Health Equals Investing in Economic and Social Progress for Everyone.” Read Ms. Puri’s Remarks at the Opening Panel

Watch an archived webcast of the opening plenary:

If you have difficulty viewing the webcasts here, please visit: https://new.livestream.com/womendeliver

On 29 May, at the “Women Deliver” Conference, Ms. Puri spoke on a panel on Ending Violence against Women, focusing on concrete solutions and the need for accelerated action to prevent all forms of violence against women, protect and provide services to survivors, and prosecute perpetrators.

“Gender inequalities affect health outcomes and must be addressed accordingly,” said Ms. Puri at a meeting hosted by H4+ and the Inter-agency Task Team on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV among Pregnant Women, Mothers and Children on 29 May 2013. She reiterated that women need to be made aware of their rights, in order to actively demand access to services for their sexual and reproductive health. The event was part of the Women Deliver Conference, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Read her remarks here.

Watch an archived webcast:

JAPAN

On 1-2 June, UN Women Acting Head Lakshmi Puri attended the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), where she met with several African Heads of State and Government. She also delivered remarks at a session on “Driving African Development through Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,” where she highlighted the importance of women’s full and equal participation in all spheres of life on the continent, from trade to peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Read her remarks here.

Ms. Puri also had extensive meetings on the sidelines of the TICAD Conference with ministers and senior officials in the Japanese Government. These included meetings with the Gender Equality Bureau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. She also met with a number of female parliamentarians and the Mayor of Yokohama.

Ms. Puri’s visit to Tokyo and participation at TICAD V was widely welcomed by national partners, as the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality has gained momentum in recent discussions and plans related to the economic growth of Japan. Topics of discussion included: women’s economic empowerment, Japan’s collaboration with UN Women to end violence against women and girls worldwide, and the Japanese Government’s undertaking of key initiatives to increase women’s participation in all sectors of the economy.

KOREA

In the Republic of Korea from 3-4 June, Ms. Puri had an opportunity to meet with new counterparts following the recent election of the country’s first female President, Park Geun-hye. This included meetings with the Minister and Vice-Minister for Gender Equality and Family where the discussion focused on concrete ways of implementing the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry and UN Women.

In addition, Ms. Puri met with National Assembly members including the Chair of the Congressional Committee on Gender Equality and Family, where the focus was on increasing women’s political and economic participation and the ways in which the Republic of Korea is moving forward in these areas. There was also discussion of the Republic of Korea’s support to increase women’s participation in peacebuilding and ending violence against women and girls, particularly in conflict.

Ms. Puri also met with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to explore ways of deepening their partnership with UN Women. At Ewha Womans University, Ms. Puri met with the President of the University regarding the memorandum of understanding between the two institutions, and participated in a roundtable discussion with Ewha faculty on women’s leadership, the post-2015 development framework and strengthening partnerships with academia.

Related links:

Web release announcing Ms. Puri’s visit