Djibouti
Djibouti
Deputy Secretary-General's remarks at the International Conference on Population and Development Preparation Conference (ICPD+25) [as prepared for delivery]
Statements | Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General
Statements | Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your warm welcome. And thank you to the organizers for inviting us here today and for the opportunity to hear from all of you on your deliberations over the last days.
We are on a joint United Nations-African Union mission focused on women, peace and security and development – so we consider ourselves very fortunate indeed to here for this important meeting.
As we all know, next month we will commemorate 25 years of since the historic International Conference on Population and Development. This milestone is followed next year by the 25 years anniversary of the historic platform on gender equality and women’s rights in Beijing.
A quarter of a century since these two historic milestones, we are seeing significant progress on gender equality and women’s rights, including right here in Djibouti.
I want to begin by acknowledging those advances – including recent Cabinet approval of bills on women’s representation in decision-making as well as on preventing violence against women and girls.
The representation of women in your parliament has increased from 10% to 25% last year.
Legal changes are a critical first step to inclusion and the transformative change it brings to the whole of society.
I commend your efforts in ensuring that women play an equal role in your communities. We know when that happens, everyone wins.
At the United Nations, we are striving to remove our own barriers to gender equality.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has made achieving gender parity one of his earliest and strongest priorities.
For the first time in UN history, there is parity in the Senior Management Group of the United Nations and among those who lead UN work at the country level.
As the Secretary-General has said, we will not let up until we have reached gender parity at all levels at the UN -- and full equality for women and girls around the world.
He is, truly, our ‘feminist in chief’.
The leadership of male champions and allies is critical. This country is evidence of that. The efforts and commitment of your President, and of the First Lady, have accelerated positive change in Djibouti. These are examples that we are in need of globally, and must make visible and support. Global progress on gender equality is far too slow.
No country is on track to fully achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality by 2030.
In many places, we are seeing increasing pushback and even regression on women’s rights.
Now is the time to mobilize new allies and inspire a movement which will – in the words of our Secretary-General – ‘pushback against the pushback’.
2020 is a pivotal year.
Alongside the Beijing and ICPD anniversaries, next year we will mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.
All of this makes the coming 18 months a critical moment to assess progress, evaluate where we are lagging behind, protect our gains and accelerate irreversible, transformative change.
This includes addressing women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
When women are in control of their own bodies, they can make decisions that are critical to their wellbeing and that of their communities and societies -- including deciding if and when to have children, protecting themselves from HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and making their own choices.
Those choices, accompanied by freedom from fear, violence and harassment inform women’s ability to enrol in education, start their own businesses, or engage in leadership opportunities.
This is crucial, because we know that women’s leadership and gender balance leads to stronger societies and more sustainable peace and development, greater economic growth and more inclusive solutions that benefit everyone.
From driving increased spending on health, education and social protection, to enacting laws against violence and discrimination, women leaders have a strong track record as agents of change.
But around the world the numbers of women in leadership remain well below parity.
Simply waiting for change to happen won’t work. In fact, the gap to gender equality is only getting larger.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we seek to make ever greater progress in equality and inclusion, the role of young people is vital.
We need an intergenerational celebration of the power of activism, feminist solidarity and youth leadership, bringing together the young generations of women’s rights activists with the visionaries who helped craft the ICPD and Beijing Platform for Action.
I know that UNFPA, UN Women and the UN as a whole is working with global partners to make this happen.
We will achieve our ambitious and essential goals with the full commitment of all stakeholders working together to ensure that women and girls are truly at the heart of sustainable development.
This national preparation conference is a critical step to get us there.
I thank you for your commitment and fearless leadership and wish you every success.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your warm welcome. And thank you to the organizers for inviting us here today and for the opportunity to hear from all of you on your deliberations over the last days.
We are on a joint United Nations-African Union mission focused on women, peace and security and development – so we consider ourselves very fortunate indeed to here for this important meeting.
As we all know, next month we will commemorate 25 years of since the historic International Conference on Population and Development. This milestone is followed next year by the 25 years anniversary of the historic platform on gender equality and women’s rights in Beijing.
A quarter of a century since these two historic milestones, we are seeing significant progress on gender equality and women’s rights, including right here in Djibouti.
I want to begin by acknowledging those advances – including recent Cabinet approval of bills on women’s representation in decision-making as well as on preventing violence against women and girls.
The representation of women in your parliament has increased from 10% to 25% last year.
Legal changes are a critical first step to inclusion and the transformative change it brings to the whole of society.
I commend your efforts in ensuring that women play an equal role in your communities. We know when that happens, everyone wins.
At the United Nations, we are striving to remove our own barriers to gender equality.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has made achieving gender parity one of his earliest and strongest priorities.
For the first time in UN history, there is parity in the Senior Management Group of the United Nations and among those who lead UN work at the country level.
As the Secretary-General has said, we will not let up until we have reached gender parity at all levels at the UN -- and full equality for women and girls around the world.
He is, truly, our ‘feminist in chief’.
The leadership of male champions and allies is critical. This country is evidence of that. The efforts and commitment of your President, and of the First Lady, have accelerated positive change in Djibouti. These are examples that we are in need of globally, and must make visible and support. Global progress on gender equality is far too slow.
No country is on track to fully achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality by 2030.
In many places, we are seeing increasing pushback and even regression on women’s rights.
Now is the time to mobilize new allies and inspire a movement which will – in the words of our Secretary-General – ‘pushback against the pushback’.
2020 is a pivotal year.
Alongside the Beijing and ICPD anniversaries, next year we will mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.
All of this makes the coming 18 months a critical moment to assess progress, evaluate where we are lagging behind, protect our gains and accelerate irreversible, transformative change.
This includes addressing women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
When women are in control of their own bodies, they can make decisions that are critical to their wellbeing and that of their communities and societies -- including deciding if and when to have children, protecting themselves from HIV and sexually transmitted infections, and making their own choices.
Those choices, accompanied by freedom from fear, violence and harassment inform women’s ability to enrol in education, start their own businesses, or engage in leadership opportunities.
This is crucial, because we know that women’s leadership and gender balance leads to stronger societies and more sustainable peace and development, greater economic growth and more inclusive solutions that benefit everyone.
From driving increased spending on health, education and social protection, to enacting laws against violence and discrimination, women leaders have a strong track record as agents of change.
But around the world the numbers of women in leadership remain well below parity.
Simply waiting for change to happen won’t work. In fact, the gap to gender equality is only getting larger.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we seek to make ever greater progress in equality and inclusion, the role of young people is vital.
We need an intergenerational celebration of the power of activism, feminist solidarity and youth leadership, bringing together the young generations of women’s rights activists with the visionaries who helped craft the ICPD and Beijing Platform for Action.
I know that UNFPA, UN Women and the UN as a whole is working with global partners to make this happen.
We will achieve our ambitious and essential goals with the full commitment of all stakeholders working together to ensure that women and girls are truly at the heart of sustainable development.
This national preparation conference is a critical step to get us there.
I thank you for your commitment and fearless leadership and wish you every success.
Thank you.