Gender Champions Annual Report 2017
– As prepared for delivery –
Statement by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at Presentation of Gender Champions Annual Report 2017
I welcome the presentation of the annual report of the International Gender Champions network.
Let me also thank Ambassador Jürg Lauber and Under-Secretary-General Beagle for their leadership and commitment.
Women’s empowerment and gender equality are a big part of the United Nations’ work on the ground.
Without equal opportunities for women within the UN system, we cannot achieve goals across any of its three pillars.
We have seen a lot of progress. For the first time, gender parity has been achieved at the senior leadership in the UN.
But, if we want to keep up the momentum– if we want a gender equal UN at all levels– leaders must play an even bigger role.
As President of the General Assembly, I made gender equality an overarching priority. I ensured a gender-balanced team within my own Office from day one. Actually, 70% of my staff are women with gender parity at senior levels as well.
I also committed to greater gender parity throughout the work of the General Assembly.
As a result, I managed to achieve gender balance in the selection of co-chairs and co-facilitators in the Assembly’s various processes. Out of 38 co-chairs and co-facilitators appointed during my Presidency, 20 are men and 18 are women.
And all General Assembly events and high-level meetings organized under my Presidency included gender-balanced panels.
Thanks to the collective efforts of the Gender Champions, we can say that single-sex panels are no longer acceptable in the UN.
Over the past year, I also learnt about the challenges that women continue to face in the UN.
I dedicated my first morning dialogue with Permanent Representatives to the issue of gender mainstreaming and have learnt first-hand about the challenges women delegates face in their daily work at the UN.
Only 20% of Permanent Representatives in New York are women.
And Member States continue to nominate male candidates for leadership positions.
And so, the numbers are not promising.
During this General Assembly session, all 6 Chairs of the Main Committees were men. And only 5 out of the 21 Vice-Presidents are currently women.
Only one woman has ever served as Chair of the First Committee and two for the Fifth Committee.
During the upcoming session, one woman will serve as Chair of a Main Committee – the Permanent Representative of Australia as Chair of Fifth Committee.
Member States have a key role in promoting the participation of women in the General Assembly’s work.
There are many opportunities for them to do so.
The resolution on the revitalization of the General Assembly already includes provisions on this topic. Now it is time to implement them.
For example, Member States may consider applying voluntary quotas to their own delegations.
They may also consider presenting more women candidates for leadership positions in the General Assembly.
Finally, they could also put more emphasis on work-life balance measures to overcome challenges that hinder women’s participation in important UN meetings.
I am confident this Network will play a crucial role on the road to a more gender equal UN.
Women’s empowerment and gender equality are a big part of United Nations’ work on the ground.
To conclude: there has been great progress. But things are, still, far from perfect.
The annual report – and today’s meeting – give us an opportunity to face reality.
To learn about hurdles that still exist, both in this building and throughout the entire UN system.
And to brainstorm on what role we, as leaders, can play, in overcoming them.
Thank you all for your commitment – and good luck in the work ahead.
