UN Women’s top official to visit East Asia

From 28 May to 4 June, Lakshmi Puri, Acting Head of UN Women and UN Assistant Secretary-General, will undertake a week-long official trip covering Malaysia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Ms. Puri’s first stop will be the “Women Deliver” Conference hosted this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she will speak at the Opening Panel “Investing in Women’s Reproductive Health Equals Investing in Economic and Social Progress for Everyone.” At the Conference, Ms. Puri will highlight the urgent need to improve all systems—from the health system to the justice system to the financial system —for women to be able to exercise their basic rights, such as access to sexual and reproductive health. She will also speak 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.

Both sessions will be webcast live at https://new.livestream.com/womendeliver at 8:45 a.m. on 28 May and at 2:45 p.m. on 29 May (Malaysian Standard time — GMT +8 HOURS). Archived versions will also be made available on the UN Women website.

From 30 May until 2 June, Ms. Puri will be in Japan, where she will meet with high-level Government officials, as well as Members of Parliament. The trip will also allow Ms. Puri to meet with the UN Women National Committee in Japan, the private sector and media. On 1-2 June, she will attend the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), where she will meet with several African Heads of State and Government. She will also deliver remarks at a session on “Driving African Development through Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,” where she will highlight the importance of women’s full and equal participation in all spheres of life on the continent, from trade to peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

Ms. Puri will conclude her visit to East Asia in the Republic of Korea, where she will meet with senior leaders, including from the Minister of Gender Equality, and take part in interactive discussions with students, media and the private sector.