Commission on the Status of Women 60 th session Opening statement H.E. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women UN Headquarters, New York, 14 March 2016 Secretary-General, President of the General Assembly, Vice-President of ECOSOC, Under-Secretary-General at UN Women, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Representatives of civil society, Ladies and gentlemen, It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this sixtieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. We are honored to have such a large number of Government Ministers, senior officials, parliamentarians and experts who have traveled from capitals to this session, and of members of Permanent Missions and entities of the United Nations system. I extend a warm welcome to the very large number of civil society representatives and salute your energy and determination. At this session, the collective commitment of the international community to achieve results for women and girls acquires a new sense of urgency. The twentyyear review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action last year came to the sobering conclusion that no country has fully achieved equality for 1
women and girls. In the political declaration adopted, we pledged to take concrete action to accelerate the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Realizing gender equality is a truly universal task, a common challenge for men and women in all corners of the world. Women s activism has successfully reshaped their reality worldwide. As a man, I support this cause and feel encouraged by the increasing number of men working alongside women towards our common gender equality goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development now presents us with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved over the next 15 years. Goal 5, on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, sets critical targets in a number of key areas, including eliminating all forms of violence, recognizing and valuing unpaid care and domestic work, ensuring participation and leadership in decision making and access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by 2030 is crucial for poverty eradication and accomplishing the entire 2030 Agenda in a manner that leaves no one behind. The systematic mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the implementation of the Agenda is crucial. We can build on 20 years of experience in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. I am confident that CSW 60 will draw inspiration from the spirit of 2015, when Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda, the Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development, and the Paris Agreement on climate change. 2
In all of these agreements, we highlighted the centrality of gender equality to achieve sustainable development. The priority theme selected for consideration at CSW 60, women s empowerment and its link to sustainable development provides us with an opportunity to focus on the gender responsive implementation of the Agenda. This is the opportunity for the Commission to articulate clear guidance on the institutions, policy and funding frameworks, and the mechanisms for participation and accountability that need to be in place so that gender equality remains at the center of all implementation activities. Distinguished delegates, Governmental gender equality mechanisms play a leading role in setting policies and act as catalysts within public administrations to ensure that all sectors and all policies contribute to the common goal. Civil society organizations require a safe and enabling environment to champion and undertake advocacy on behalf of women and girls everywhere. I am certain their contributions throughout the session will be a valuable asset to the intergovernmental process. This session is well positioned to adopt strong agreed conclusions containing concrete and practical recommendations and key actions needed for genderresponsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I recognize and commend stakeholders at the national, regional and global levels for the work done to prepare for this session. Ministers and other actors have 3
gathered in regional meetings in Santiago de Chile, Addis Ababa, Beirut and Bangkok. Civil society organizations have mobilized their membership at the national and global levels to build alliances and strengthen partnerships for the work ahead. Here at UN Headquarters, stakeholders convened in January to strategize for a successful session. Young people gathered last Saturday at a Youth CSW to raise their voices and convey their messages to the attention of decision-makers. The message from these fora is simple and direct: we have to move from commitment to action, now is the time to determine the HOW of implementation, for the benefit of all women and girls, everywhere. We look forward to an inspiring and productive session, where Ministers exchange lessons learned and good practices, reaffirm political commitments and converge on the way forward. We will focus on building alliances and engage in inter-active discussions with experts on key strategies and partnerships for implementation. We will also evaluate progress on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. Voluntary presentations by Member States will help us draw lessons from these experiences. As always, numerous side events will take place during the session. These events are all lively spaces for networking, sharing experiences, learning and planning next steps, beyond the formal meetings of the Commission. I encourage everyone to take full advantage of these opportunities. Excellencies, Colleagues and friends, 4
Speaking at the Global Leaders' Meeting on September last year, President Dilma Rousseff, the first woman to become President of Brazil, said: I bring you a message of unwavering and firm commitment to implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. The truth is Brazil s engagement with gender equality has come a long way. In 1945, Brazil was among the very few to have included a woman in its delegation to the Conference of San Francisco: Dr. Bertha Lutz, a prominent Scientist and President of the Confederated Association of Women in Brazil. Thanks to the strong leadership and perseverance demonstrated by Dr. Lutz and other women delegates, the Charter of the United Nations became the first international agreement to proclaim the equal rights of men and women as an integral part of our fundamental human rights. I am proud to recall that the Brazilian delegation presented a proposal for the establishment of a Commission that later evolved into what would become the Commission on the Status of Women. As the leading intergovernmental body on gender equality and the empowerment of women, the Commission has an enormous responsibility in making sure that no woman or girl will be left behind. This can only happen if all members are united in taking the bold steps required to make gender equality a reality by 2030. I call on all of you to demonstrate the political will and commitment that will make a difference. We have the opportunity to lay the foundation for a world without discrimination and violence against women and girls, where all women and girls 5
enjoy equal rights and equal opportunities, and all their human rights are respected and protected and their aspirations fulfilled. I count on the support of all of you to make this session memorable, meaningful, and transformative for all women and girls. Thank you. 6