Together, we can make 2030 an expiry date for gender inequality — Executive Director

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Distinguished Speakers of Parliament,

Honourable parliamentarians,

Distinguished guests and friends,

Good morning.

I am honoured and delighted to address you today. My predecessor at UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, very much enjoyed her dialogue with you in Panama in 2011.

I look forward to a lively and robust exchange of ideas today. 
In this room we have a gathering of people whose business is service to the citizens of the world.

A service to those whose rights need to be protected.

A service to those whose voices are muzzled.

A service to those who make our countries worth dying for and living in.

A service to the young, old, to men and women. 

A service to humanity.

Without parliaments and lawmakers we revert to the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest. Lawlessness is harshest on women and children. Parliaments must be a buffer between order and chaos. At its best, this is the job of the finest in our midst.

So I am here today to make a call to you to seize the moment and make the 21st century a century to end gender inequality. This will be the finest tribute to the founding mothers and fathers of our democracies on whose shoulders we stand.

The best we can do is to correct centuries of wrongs that generations of women and girls have endured. 

Let me set the scene further. The United Nations, like the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), is the collective expression of the wishes of the nations — in service and defense of its people, and their hopes and dreams.

Half of the people you represent, whether in the IPU or the United Nations, are women and girls. Their hopes and dreams are in the hands of their leaders, in parliaments, cabinets, local governments, and those who represent them in the many difficult negotiations in international bodies.

As the world forges the post-2015 development agenda, reviews its progress in implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action and learns lessons from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), this is a critical juncture and a unique moment for the people who represent you in the United Nations to make history for women and girls.

There has not been a moment like this since 1995 in Beijing. It is a critical juncture for all of us to play a decisive role in influencing the new world of post-2015. We now have evidence from the MDGs on what is to be done to end poverty, inequality and to give peace a chance.  

We know for sure that without a clear roadmap for gender equality, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are not achievable. Gender equality is a precondition for sustainable development.

Your actions and decisions can make the post-2015 agenda a high point in the history of our nations, by passing resolutions and giving direction from your parliaments that will make the outcomes of post-2015 destiny-changing and by giving a clarion call to those who will speak for you in the negotiations in New York. 

It is for you to follow up and to bridge the disconnect between the positions taken in capital and those who negotiate for you and for your electorate — 50 per cent of whom are women and girls. That disconnect can be very costly to the agenda of nations.

Mr. President, Excellencies,

There is a unique historical moment. The moment is the year 2015.It is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and you are the leaders in this moment. 

The moment is:

Marking 20 years after Beijing — 1995 to 2015;

Marking the end of 15 years of MDGs — 2000 to 2015; 

Marking the ushering in of 15 years of SDGs — 2015 to 2030;

Marking 15 years of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security — 1995 to 2015. 

For women and girls, 2015 cannot be a year for business as usual. It is historic.

For you and for us at UN Women, we must rise to the occasion and seize this moment.

Our actions can be informed by what we already know about the situation of women and what has been done, what we know from the experiences of the internationally agreed initiatives and agreements I just mentioned. 

We have a body of knowledge and collective experience to propel us to life-changing experiences — not just for girls, but for humanity.

It is time to make bold and far-reaching decisions that will make 2030 a year of triumph for humanity, women and girls.

The moment cannot be lost in the detail, in lack of resolve, courage or inertia.
Mr. President, here is the deal. 

To date, the Open Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals has included a stand-alone transformative goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment, which must deliver a new outcome by 2030 or even sooner, plus a commitment to the comprehensive integration of gender equality concerns across all the goals.

You have a decisive role to play at the global level in making sure that the goals and targets continue to evolve in the right direction. The negotiations are yet to begin. This is in your hands. 

Let us not forget — we already have a binding commitment to this, made by Member States in the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

This is one of the most ratified conventions ever. I quote from its introduction: “The Convention establishes not only an international bill of rights for women, but also an agenda for action by countries to guarantee the enjoyment of those rights”.

In this critical moment, the women and girls of the world need your support to bring this convention to life in your own country, in parallel with the post-2015 international processes.

We need you to embed gender equality in development, and to do that we must construct and reinforce the domestic legal frameworks.

Evidence from the MDGs shows that we have not done this enough, hence the struggle to truly advance gender equality and women's empowerment, and to make it a way of life.    

We must make it the norm, not the exception. We must mainstream gender in national, provincial, federal and local policies.  

Go beyond ticking the boxes. As parliamentarians, monitor implementation and satisfy yourselves that the commitments are there in spirit and in the letter of the law.

The year 2015 forces us to revisit these issues. Make 2015 to 2030 a period of breaking the back of gender inequality.

In 2015 we must start a countdown, marked by yearly milestones that must go to the heart of defined barriers to gender inequality.

Each year must have its milestones, based on the targets that will be agreed by you in the post- 2015 negotiations. The targets must be bold and ambitious and measurable. They must include representation of women in all decision-making bodies. We have to make gender parity a reality in parliaments and everywhere if 2030 is to look different. 

Although the proportion has doubled in 20 years, just 22 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are women. This is still a democratic deficit in a world where women are 50 per cent of the population. 

The lawmakers are imbalanced and so are the laws we pass.

For example, a recent World Bank study of 143 economies found that 128 (almost 90 per cent) still have at least one legal difference in how men and women are treated.

This stops the much-needed women's economic empowerment; it impedes the one billion women who are set to enter the global economy in the next decade — and that’s an emerging market comparable to India, which the world economy needs.  

To change these laws presents a massive opportunity to create the enabling environments within which women can flourish. 

You can resolve to enact good laws that enable women's economic activity and repeal discriminating laws.

Every year from 2015, let us count down the progress made and let us have an agreed time frame for zero legalized gender discrimination.   

One of the key lessons of the MDGs is that gender equality, women’s empowerment, and the human rights of women and girls are essential prerequisites to progress overall.  

Violence against women is perhaps the most prevalent, glaring, yet tolerated human rights abuse in the world. Where it exists with impunity, it is futile to look for equality and empowerment. 

Global studies and estimates consistently report that more than one out of three women have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner during their lifetime. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls it a pandemic of global proportion that needs urgent action.

Globally, 50 per cent of women murdered in 2012 were killed by their partners or families, who are often never brought to book. Yet only two thirds of countries have legislation criminalizing domestic violence, and where there are laws they are poorly implemented. 

All countries should have legislation that penalizes violence against women  and it must be implemented.

You can be the game changers, using your considerable powers to legislate and to monitor implementation and progress. 

Violent acts are not only devastating for women, their families, communities and societies, they carry significant social and economic cost carried from generation to generation. 

Women and girls are inadequately protected by their governments.

In 146 countries, State or customary laws allow girls younger than 18 to marry with the consent of parents or other authorities. In 52 countries, girls under age 15 can marry with parental consent. In contrast, 18 is the legal age for marriage without consent among males in 180 countries.

A recent UNICEF paper has reported that, in a country where the law forbids child marriage, 47 per cent of girls are married before 18, yet only 11 people were convicted for it in 2010. This is gross failure, with dire consequences for girls and their children.

Where there are no consequences for violation of the law there is impunity, and that is where you are needed.

Fifty per cent of women murdered in 2012 were killed by their families or partners. Seventy per cent of violence against women happens in the home, at the hands of a partner who is often never brought to book. 

Parliamentarians can use their position to bring on board the police, prosecutors, judges, health care providers, social workers and religious and community leaders.

We now need men and boys to declare that enough is enough, to stand up to the perpetrators and authorities, and declare these acts unacceptable and criminal.

We call these men and role models who take a stand "HeForShe".  UN Women asks you to join in our campaign to mobilize a solidarity movement of men and boys who will act on these issues in a big public way and in small and private spaces. We are targeting an ambitious one billion men who must stand up for action. We hope all of you in this room have signed up.

Go to heforshe.org today. Sign and get your HeForShe ID number. But more than anything, take action after that.

As we speak, countries are competing to mobilize men and boys to sign up to HeForShe. Join in a men's group in your area, or start a men's group and tackle the problems.

For MPs, it is clear that you can make a huge difference — as HeForShe or SheForShe — and by tackling legislation and awareness-raising that there is not a single country in the world that has attained gender equality or is free of gender-based violence.  

Prevent violence against women. Protect women and girls. Prosecute perpetrators. Provide services to survivors. 

Distinguished parliamentarians,

There has been progress, despite the problems. The number of international and regional legal and policy instruments has increased. The number of female members of government is growing. The private sector is grappling with issues, although at a very slow pace.

The glass is not empty, it is half full. 

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is our most comprehensive implementation strategy and the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights. You can help us to implement it and use it as your guide in your parliament. It remains a powerful source of direction and inspiration; 2015 is its 20th anniversary and I urge you to re-read it, and use it.

In March next year, at the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, we will give you a report on the status of women 20 years after the Beijing Declaration, based on the reports your countries have submitted to us. One hundred and fifty-four countries have submitted their reports and we thank you. 

We will also celebrate Beijing+20 in New York next year as part of the Commission on the Status of Women.

In September 2015 we will ask each Head of State to commit to a better future for women 20 years after Beijing and to indicate how the new commitments will be resourced. Make sure your country makes the right move in September 2015. We will align the Beijing Platform for Action with the post-2015 agenda for effectiveness.

The gender funding gap remains a large problem. Less than 10 per cent of funding for development targets women, who face the greatest challenges and who are more than 50 per cent of the world's population. We are supporting countries to adopt gender-responsive budgeting with the World Bank. Laws without the necessary allocated budget are failing women.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Together with the IPU, UN Women will be holding events over the course of the next year to channel the energy of MPs and others around the world towards demolishing the structural barriers that perpetuate and sustain gender inequality.

We urge all of you to host Beijing+20 events in your parliaments, using the Beijing logo. Call for a bold post-2015 development agenda that is also rights-based. The rights agenda is not strong enough in the current post-2015 draft. We will need your help to ensure the inclusion of rights language in the final draft. 

The IPU has been, and continues to be, a major partner for UN Women and we look forward to a strong and determined collaboration, to monitor progress and to do the year-on-year count down of achievements from 2015 to 2030.

Twenty-fifteen to 2030 has to be the last stretch in the centuries-old fight for gender equality. This cannot be an open-ended battle anymore — we must push for time frames.

We cannot do this without you. But together, we can make 2030 an expiry date for gender inequality. Twenty-fifteen must mark the beginning of the end of gender equality, and together we must make that happen in the early part of the 21st century. 

Let us be the voice in the unfolding historic events of this moment; we must not be footnotes of history. This is a mission of our time, it is not mission impossible.

As Frantz Fanon said: "Each generation must....discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it”.

Let us fulfill our mission.

Thank you.