NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS BY PAULINA KUBIAK GREER,
SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT ABDULLA SHAHID
United Nations Headquarters, New York
CSW
The President of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, today addressed the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women.
He reiterated his call for the next Secretary-General to be a woman, and noted that only four Presidents of the General Assembly have so far been women.
Turning to this year’s themes. The priority theme is “empowering women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk” and the review theme of “women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work”.
President Shahid said that climate change and disasters affect women and girls, and men and boys differently.
Many women and girls experience greater risks, burdens and impacts, than men and boys.
President Shahid spoke about gender-based discrimination and segregation in the labour market. Those often confine women to jobs that are low paid and of poor quality in terms of working conditions and access to social protection.
Then there’s the fact that women and girls do a disproportional share of unpaid housework and are more likely to take care of children and the elderly.
The President listed ways to mitigate the current system. Those include promoting women’s access to formal financial institutions, efforts to promote women’s leadership in trade unions, civil society and organizations in economic policy making, and instituting more family friendly work policies.
HANSA MEHTA
This morning, the President participated in the Dr. Hansa Mehta Memorial Dialogue, organized by the Mission of India.
President Abdulla Shahid took part alongside Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
In his remarks, President Shahid highlights the power of women to lead and innovate. He also spoke about the COVID recovery. He called for a sustainable, gender-sensitive COVID recovery plan who works to support women who lost the most as a result of the pandemic.
Dr. Hansa Mehta was an activist and politician, who was among 15 women who drafted India’s Constitution. She is also credited for changing the wording in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights to read “all human beings are created equal”. The original wording was “all men are created equal.”
BILATERALS
Today, President Shahid has a number of bilaterals.
He met this morning with the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Armida Salshia Alisjahbana.
This afternoon, he will meet with the Polish Foreign Minister, Zbigniew Rau.
Those are some of today’s bilaterals.
ANTALYA DIPLOMACY FORUM
Over the weekend, President Shahid spoke via video message to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.
He said that effective diplomacy is needed now more than ever.
Pointing to Ukraine, he said this is a stark illustration of what happens when diplomacy is put aside: quote “we return to a world plagued by death and destruction, where international relations is conducted through brute force.”
President Shahid reiterated the call made during the 11th Emergency Special Session, urging an immediate ceasefire.
He called for a “return to the negotiating table. There are no winners here.”
MASKS
And to answer some questions from journalists, yes, the COVID mask requirement has been dropped in the UN Headquarters.
QUESTIONS
The Spokesperson was asked if President Shahid thinks the Secretary-General is doing a good job, and if there is more that he can do. The Spokesperson said that she would revert.
