Excellences,Ladies and Gentlemen,Good afternoon,
I wish to thank the Government of Switzerland, along with the Governments of Australia, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, South Africa, Tunisia and the United Kingdom for this timely initiative and the invitation to address you.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda are firmly rooted in women’s rights and gender equality. I would like to thank all Member States for their strong commitment to the empowerment of women and girls in these two visionary documents.
I also wanted to thank you Madam moderator Ms. Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, for UN Women’s strong and effective engagement throughout the preparatory processes for the Addis Agenda and the 2030 Agenda.
Excellences,
One of the most groundbreaking elements of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is the incorporation of gender into the financing for development process. The focus on gender is anchored in the Addis Agenda’s very first paragraph, which commits to ensure gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment. Equality and women’s empowerment are reflected in gender-specific commitments throughout the seven Action Areas of the Addis Agenda. It is indeed an issue that cuts across the entire document.
Member States reaffirmed that achieving gender equality, empowering all women and girls, and the full realization of their human rights is essential to achieving sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development. This includes eliminating gender-based violence and discrimination in all its forms. Among other commitments, the Addis Agenda commits Member States to promoting and enforcing non-discriminatory laws, social infrastructure and policies for sustainable development. They also will enable women's full and equal participation in the economy and equal access to decision-making processes and leadership.
The commitments in the Addis Agenda go beyond principles. There are concrete commitments on implementation including: gender-responsive budgeting; legislation for women’s equal right to economic resources; women’s equal access to education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and many more.
Excellences,
I warmly welcome the strong engagement of UN Women in implementing the Addis Agenda, as well as the creation of the Action Plan on Transformative Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. This Action Plan builds on the commitments made in Addis Ababa.
As is reflected in the line-up of Members involved in organizing today’s session, this is a global agenda. Financing gender equality is not just for certain regions of the world. The inclusion of gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments in the Addis Agenda was advocated by countries in every region, and in every income group.
Excellences,
Now is the time to take action on these commitments. There is no excuse for failing to deliver, and there is no time for complacency. Every country has progress to make. Gender wage gaps are still pervasive; discriminatory laws are still in place; tax and spending policies need to be adjusted; and trade and investment policies need to be coherent with the achievement of women’s rights and gender equality. And of course official development assistance and South-South Cooperation can support these tasks.
Following the commitment of Member States to strengthen the Financing for Development follow-up process, the President of ECOSOC is holding the inaugural Forum on Financing for Development follow-up [from 18 to 20 April 2016 (tbc)]. In addition, the Secretary-General has convened an Inter-Agency Task Force, which he appointed me to Chair. The Task Force will report annually on progress in implementing the financing for development outcomes and the means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The first edition of the annual report of the Task Force is almost finished. More than 50 agencies, funds, programmes, and international organisations have been involved in this effort.
I am happy to say that, with the excellent collaboration of UN Women, the first section of the Task Force report will bring together follow-up on all of the Addis Agenda commitments related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. We trust that UN Women will continue to lead efforts of the Task Force in this regard in the coming years.
At the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, Member States will have the opportunity to discuss how to bring about stronger and faster implementation of the Addis Agenda, and to also consider the Task Force report. The Forum will result in intergovernmentally agreed recommendations and conclusions, which will be fed into the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
I strongly encourage high-level participation of all Member States at the Forum. This will demonstrate your resolute intention to fully implement the Addis Agenda, including the many provisions related to gender equality, women’s rights and the empowerment of women and girls.
Thank you.
I wish to thank the Government of Switzerland, along with the Governments of Australia, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, South Africa, Tunisia and the United Kingdom for this timely initiative and the invitation to address you.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda are firmly rooted in women’s rights and gender equality. I would like to thank all Member States for their strong commitment to the empowerment of women and girls in these two visionary documents.
I also wanted to thank you Madam moderator Ms. Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, for UN Women’s strong and effective engagement throughout the preparatory processes for the Addis Agenda and the 2030 Agenda.
Excellences,
One of the most groundbreaking elements of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is the incorporation of gender into the financing for development process. The focus on gender is anchored in the Addis Agenda’s very first paragraph, which commits to ensure gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment. Equality and women’s empowerment are reflected in gender-specific commitments throughout the seven Action Areas of the Addis Agenda. It is indeed an issue that cuts across the entire document.
Member States reaffirmed that achieving gender equality, empowering all women and girls, and the full realization of their human rights is essential to achieving sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development. This includes eliminating gender-based violence and discrimination in all its forms. Among other commitments, the Addis Agenda commits Member States to promoting and enforcing non-discriminatory laws, social infrastructure and policies for sustainable development. They also will enable women's full and equal participation in the economy and equal access to decision-making processes and leadership.
The commitments in the Addis Agenda go beyond principles. There are concrete commitments on implementation including: gender-responsive budgeting; legislation for women’s equal right to economic resources; women’s equal access to education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and many more.
Excellences,
I warmly welcome the strong engagement of UN Women in implementing the Addis Agenda, as well as the creation of the Action Plan on Transformative Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. This Action Plan builds on the commitments made in Addis Ababa.
As is reflected in the line-up of Members involved in organizing today’s session, this is a global agenda. Financing gender equality is not just for certain regions of the world. The inclusion of gender equality and women’s empowerment commitments in the Addis Agenda was advocated by countries in every region, and in every income group.
Excellences,
Now is the time to take action on these commitments. There is no excuse for failing to deliver, and there is no time for complacency. Every country has progress to make. Gender wage gaps are still pervasive; discriminatory laws are still in place; tax and spending policies need to be adjusted; and trade and investment policies need to be coherent with the achievement of women’s rights and gender equality. And of course official development assistance and South-South Cooperation can support these tasks.
Following the commitment of Member States to strengthen the Financing for Development follow-up process, the President of ECOSOC is holding the inaugural Forum on Financing for Development follow-up [from 18 to 20 April 2016 (tbc)]. In addition, the Secretary-General has convened an Inter-Agency Task Force, which he appointed me to Chair. The Task Force will report annually on progress in implementing the financing for development outcomes and the means of implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The first edition of the annual report of the Task Force is almost finished. More than 50 agencies, funds, programmes, and international organisations have been involved in this effort.
I am happy to say that, with the excellent collaboration of UN Women, the first section of the Task Force report will bring together follow-up on all of the Addis Agenda commitments related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. We trust that UN Women will continue to lead efforts of the Task Force in this regard in the coming years.
At the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, Member States will have the opportunity to discuss how to bring about stronger and faster implementation of the Addis Agenda, and to also consider the Task Force report. The Forum will result in intergovernmentally agreed recommendations and conclusions, which will be fed into the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
I strongly encourage high-level participation of all Member States at the Forum. This will demonstrate your resolute intention to fully implement the Addis Agenda, including the many provisions related to gender equality, women’s rights and the empowerment of women and girls.
Thank you.
File date:
Tuesday, March 15, 2016