Member States must be a leading example for the advancement of women — Executive Director

Chair of the Third Committee, Her Excellency Ms. Sofia Borges, 

Distinguished delegates, 

United Nations colleagues, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

This session of the General Assembly takes place at a crucial moment for the women and girls of the world.

As 2015 approaches, pressure is intensifying for world leaders to deliver on decades of promises and commitments.

This includes accelerating the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

As this year’s fifty-eighth Commission on the Status of Women recognized, not a single country has yet achieved equality for women and girls.

The Commission’s goal-by-goal assessment of progress, gaps and challenges points the way forward — together with its action catalogue, and the forthcoming reports on the progress of the world’s women and the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Member States are now moving into the final stage of crafting the post-2015 agenda.

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. 

UN Women applauds the Open Working Group’s proposed goal on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

But supporters of gender equality must be vigilant to maintain and consolidate gains made for women and girls as the process continues.

UN Women stands ready to work closely with Member States and civil society in this effort.

The year 2015 also marks 15 years since the passage of the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

The Security Council will convene a high-level review of progress in implementation. 

In support, UN Women will manage a global study on resolution 1325 for the Secretary-General.

This represents an un-missable opportunity to integrate women, peace and security into the global development agenda. Because we know that empowered women and empowered communities are the best engines of growth and development, and the best defense against cycles of despair, radicalization, and violence.

Empowered women are also critical to our response to climate change.

This session of the General Assembly began with the Secretary-General’s climate summit.

The summit raised ambition, mobilized resources and will generate action towards a global climate agreement.

One of the key themes that emerged was universality – the need for “all hands on deck”.

This doesn’t just mean all countries – it also means that women must be able to fully and equally participate in leadership and decision-making efforts at all levels.

The specific impact of climate change on women and girls must also be addressed.

Almost twenty years ago, 189 Governments adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary road map for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Since then much has been achieved, but progress has been slow and uneven.

This is a colossal failure of leadership — at all levels — in the public and private sectors.

Chair,

UN Women was created — in part — to address this.

Closing the gap between commitments and action, between words and deeds, is our focus.

Beijing+20 is an ideal platform for all States and other stakeholders to keep their promises. Full and accelerated implementation of the Platform for Action will require new commitments —resourced and funded.

In June 2014, UN Women launched a global mobilization campaign that will culminate at the Global Leaders’ Commitment Forum in September 2015.

I call on all States to participate in this forum, and in the fifty-ninth Commission on the Status of Women, at the highest level.

We are extremely encouraged by the strong mobilization.

So far, a record 154 States have completed their national reports on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Let me thank each of those 154 and urge others to complete their reports in the spirit of healthy competition.

The time has now come for very specific action to be taken to close the gaps identified in these reviews.

And to transform the structures and institutions that are holding back progress on gender equality.

This requires:

• Strong leadership and commitment from Governments;
• A focus on the most marginalized women and girls;
• Strengthening and supporting national gender equality mechanisms and women’s movements;
• Greater contributions of men as gender equality advocates; and
• Exponentially increasing investments in gender equality and women’s rights.

Chair,

Distinguished delegates,

Based on the work of this Committee, the General Assembly has indicated clearly that gender equality is not women’s responsibility – it is a societal responsibility. 

All intergovernmental bodies, no matter their mandate, must take up this common responsibility.

The Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action — and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (A/69/182) — gives a picture of progress.

It also shows where more needs to be done and highlights opportunities ahead for Member States.

I urge you – share these findings with your colleagues in other committees.

Now is the time to consolidate the attention to gender equality you have created across the spectrum of the Assembly’s activities. 

UN Women stands ready to support you with technical assistance on strengthening the gender perspective in resolutions and other outcomes. 

Chair,

Distinguished Delegates,

Everywhere I go, and with everyone I meet — from women and girls in markets and schools, to leaders of Governments and CEOs of businesses — I feel a sense of urgency.

I see a recognition that we are at a turning point for gender equality.

We must seize the once-in-a generation opportunity — the convergence of events we have discussed today.

Everyone has a responsibility to act, but Member States must lead by example, and reach out to others for stronger partnerships that deliver results.

At the national, regional and global levels we must ignite a movement that is big and broad enough to achieve gender equality, and ensure women’s and girls’ human rights.

Violence against women is perhaps the most widespread and tolerated human rights violation of our time.

Given the urgency of ending this global pandemic, the General Assembly has for many years addressed the issue from a broad perspective.

Attention has also been given to specific forms of violence, including trafficking in women and girls, and female genital mutilation.

Recent global research shows that overall, 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.

This violence — of a horrific scale — has devastating consequences for women, their families, communities and nations.

You have three reports before you for your consideration:

• On the intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/69/222);
• On trafficking in women and girls (A/69/224); and
• On intensification of global efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation (A/69/211).

They highlight progress made in laws and policies, prevention and support for survivors, and in data collection and research.

We see:

• Stronger preventive approaches;
• Increased community mobilization;
• Wider awareness-raising;
• The development of coordinated services; and
• Greater capacity-building of partners — in government and civil society. 

We see that States have integrated their responses to female genital mutilation with broader health and social services.

They have encouraged religious leaders and faith-based organizations to engage in efforts to end this harmful practice.

The reports also point to challenges.

These include limited enforcement of laws and policies, impunity of perpetrators, inadequate resources for implementation, and poor monitoring of progress and evaluation. 

As a result, the reports call for a comprehensive approach in addressing all forms of violence against women and girls, and for intensified prevention efforts to tackle the root causes. 

It must address the economic inequality and poverty women and girls face, and their increased vulnerability following displacement and humanitarian crisis.

Chair,

Distinguished Delegates,

As we near the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, we are reminded that the United Nations itself has not come even close to gender parity, particularly at the senior decision-making level.

This unacceptable state of affairs is presented in the report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the United Nations system (A/69/346).

As of 31 December 2013, the overall representation of women in the UN system stands at 41.8 per cent, a nominal 0.3 percentage point increase from 2012.

The continuing challenge for the UN system is to tackle the severe lack of women in senior management.

Only the two lowest professional levels have attained or exceeded gender parity, while the representation of women at the senior decision-making levels remains below 35 per cent.

In my opinion, temporary special measures for staff selection should be implemented to accelerate progress. 

There also remains a great disparity in the representation of women at headquarters and in the field. 

Building a supportive, gender-sensitive work environment, work-life balance and anti-discrimination policies are essential to successful management of both female and male staff.

But the most important element in achieving gender parity is support from the highest levels, especially Member States.

As the Secretary-General said in his address to the General Assembly on 24 September, “transformation is our goal”. 

There is no better place to start than with opening doors and shattering ceilings for women and girls, everywhere. 

Together, let us make the 21st century the century of women with a vision of equality and dignity for all.