Secretary-General's message to the Annual Meeting of the International Gender Champions

It is a pleasure to send my greetings to the Annual Meeting of the International Gender Champions. 

I am proud to be a Gender Champion since the early days of this initiative in Geneva.  As Secretary-General, I have asked every senior leader of the United Nations to join me in this campaign for equality.  

Through individual pledges and collective action across the United Nations, Member States, civil society, the private sector and beyond, Gender Champions have helped shift mind-sets and drive meaningful institutional change.  

But we still have a long way to go.  Achieving gender equality remains the greatest human rights challenge in our world. 

I welcome the new, network-wide pledge to stand for zero tolerance of gender-based violence, sexist attitudes, and behavior.  By focusing on equal representation, economic rights and opportunities, and violence prevention, I am confident that we can push ahead and deliver. 

Let us keep up the momentum, strengthen partnerships, and build a world of opportunity and equality for all.  

Thank you.