[As prepared for delivery]

President Fernández de Kirchner,

Ms. Estela Barnes de Carlotto, President of Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo

Friends,

I am honoured to be here with all of you. I have made many speeches this week on the importance of women in our struggle for development and human rights. But this evening, I can simply point to the images around us.

There could be no more eloquent testimony to the power of women to stand up for justice in the face of brutality than the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.

These brave grandmothers were robbed of their precious loved ones under unspeakable circumstances. Anyone would have forgiven them for shrinking in fear of the merciless forces that were inflicting such suffering on innocent families. But they courageously stood up.

It had never been done before. There was no guidebook for how to proceed. They had to find their way as they went. But they succeeded in restoring nearly one hundred children to their families. And their work continues.

This exhibition shows that right can triumph over might. These grandmothers, unlike the dictatorship, had no guns and ammunition – only a burning passion for truth and justice.

Ms. Carlotto has gone far beyond Argentina, advocating for a legally binding international treaty that would stop impunity for the crime of disappearance. The process was fraught with obstacles, but as an abuela, she had learned to never give up hope.

The Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance opened for signature last year.

When I saw President Fernández de Kirchner in Rome in June, I praised Argentina's support for the treaty. And I pledged to urge all Member States to ratify it.

We owe it to the Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo – and all other people who have suffered the terrible crime of disappearance – to ensure that this treaty enters into force as soon as possible.

Thank you very much.