PRESS BRIEFING BY MONICA GRAYLEY, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT MARÍA FERNANDA ESPINOSA

Opening Remarks by the President of the General Assembly, Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa:

Good morning, everyone! Happy International Women’s Day! It’s really nice to see you again and to have this opportunity to interact with you, especially on this day where we not only celebrate women’s achievements but stress the urgent need to advance women’s rights around the globe.

The theme this year is: “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”.)

As you know, this is a very intensive and busy session. Right now, my team and I are preparing for the “Women In Power” event, which will take place in the General Assembly, on Tuesday, 12 March.

I am very grateful to all Heads of State and Government who are participating (six women) and also to other leaders, Ministers of State, representatives of international organizations and civil society.

The Presidents of Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Nepal and Trinidad and Tobago will be here, as well as the Prime-Minister of Iceland, the Vice-Presidents of Colombia and Costa Rica and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, among other female leaders.

My message for this event is clear: women are still vastly underrepresented in leadership positions around the world, and it is high time to change it for good.

Currently only 5% of all Prime Ministers worldwide are female and not more than 5% of Presidents in the world are women.

We all know by now that when women are leading, all win. It is high time to ensure more women get to positions of power.

You will have an opportunity to ask questions directly to the Heads of State and Government. We invited them for a brief conversation with you on 12 March, at 12:30. (Here in the Press Briefing Room).

This will be one of the many high-level events we will have, based on my seven priorities. I will share other dates with you for your diary: On 28 March, we will have a meeting on Climate and Future Generations, which I will host.

Next month, on 10 April, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization, ILO, here in New York with a high-level meeting on the future of work and decent work for all. And in partnership with the World Health Organization, I will host a multi-stakeholder event on Universal Health Coverage, here at the UN on 29 April.

Dear friends,

We have challenging months ahead of us, but I also sense a collective determination by Member States to use the opportunities we have to strengthen multilateralism.

The interactions I have led in recent months and the engagements and consultations towards the High-Level week in September all reinforce the importance Member States attach to collective action and cooperation to solve global challenges. We can think globally for the sake of progress locally.

My Presidency will continue to work under its acronym of D.A.R.E to foster delivery, accountability, relevance and efficiency, and for that, I will continue to count on you and your excellent work to tell the world what the General Assembly is doing and how the UN is working to achieve a better world.

Thank you! I am now happy to take your questions….