Civil Society Organizations: 'are a vital voice for human rights' - UN Chief at Townhall Meeting

The United Nations of Earth reporting on this issue: "Civil Society Organizations: 'are a vital voice for human rights' - UN Chief at Townhall Meeting"
The topics: Opening remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the Virtual Townhall Meeting of Civil Society and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres (CSW66 Side Event). "It is a great pleasure to be here with all of you. The Town Hall during the Commission on the Status of Women is an important and regular fixture in my calendar. I never miss it. I welcome this opportunity to meet with women’s organizations and feminist civil society, and to hear your ideas and concerns as I’ve said. Let’s be clear. Gender equality is essentially a question of power. And power has for millennia been concentrated in the hands of men, to the detriment of all. The challenges we face today – the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, the growth and spread of conflicts – are largely the result of our male-dominated world and male-dominated culture. Without this, we would not have a war with Russia in Ukraine. That is why gender equality and gender parity are not only a matter of women’s rights, but fundamental prerequisites for a safer, more peaceful, more sustainable world for all. We cannot separate the perilous state of peace in our world from millennia of patriarchy and the suppression of women’s voices. Even today, we see a widespread pushback against women’s rights and gender equality around the world. When jobs are lost, they are often women’s jobs. When rights are threatened, they are often gender-based rights. We must push back against this pushback. My recent report on Our Common Agenda outlines five transformative actions to share power more equally. To repeal all laws everywhere that discriminate on grounds of gender, and we have these still practically all over the world; To achieve equal participation of women in all sectors, and at all levels of decision making – through special measures and quotas where necessary. Parity is essential to have good decision making wherever, from the boards of companies to the governments to the UN; To invest in women’s economic inclusion and address unpaid care work- and it is very interesting that we still have bias in the algorithms for credit distribution against women-led companies. This is something that needs to be eradicated; To centre the voices and leadership of young women, the contribution of young women is more necessary than ever when my generation is showing its inability to deal with the global challenges we have in the world; And finally for every country to have a plan to end all forms of violence against women and girls. We have made progress on this but we are far from reaching everywhere as we must. And of course all this must be treated as the emergency that it is – backed by the laws, policies and political will needed to achieve this goal. Taken together, the five actions I have just mentioned have the potential to radically transform societies and create the gender-equal world we need. Dear friends, This year’s Commission on the Status of Women comes at a moment where the world is facing emergencies on several fronts. The war in Ukraine is of great concern to us all. But that is just the latest crisis we face. We have chaotic coups and conflicts affecting multiple countries, from Mali to Ethiopia and Yemen. And we cannot be so concentrated, of course there is a human tragedy, a terrible tragedy in Ukraine but we cannot be so concentrated on Ukraine that we forget that people are suffering in so many other parts of the world and the suffering of one human being has the same importance wherever that human being is. The latest report by the [Intergovernmental] Panel on Climate Change was an atlas of human suffering, describing a horrific escalation of impacts that are hitting women and girls disproportionately. The continued unequal recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare its severe impact on women’s rights. The truth is that rich, developed countries have been able to spend trillions of dollars in their recovery. Those dollars are not available – or whatever other currency – are not available in most of the poorest countries and even middle-income countries that are today in a dramatic debt trap and have not the capacity to provide for the wellbeing of their population and women being the most at risk. These are widespread and interlinked crises that affect us all – but not equally. More women than men have lost their jobs, as the informal economy struggles to get back on its feet. The responsibility of unpaid care work continues to fall mainly on women and girls, with dire consequences for education, economic independence, and intergenerational poverty. Gender-based violence is an ongoing emergency in its own right. (...)" - Excerpt Full remarks [as delivered]: https://www.un.org/sg/en/node/262424


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