{"id":32808,"date":"2023-11-09T20:03:46","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T19:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=32808"},"modified":"2023-11-09T20:05:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T19:05:39","slug":"secretary-general-tells-security-council-open-debate-standing-with-women-is-good-for-the-world-stresses-patriarchy-a-massive-obstacle-to-culture-of-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=32808","title":{"rendered":"Secretary-General Tells Security Council Open Debate \u2018Standing with Women Is Good for the World\u2019, Stresses Patriarchy \u2018a Massive Obstacle\u2019 to Culture of Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . . <\/p>\n

An article from the United Nations<\/a><\/p>\n

Following are UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 remarks to the Security Council annual open debate on women, peace and security, in New York today:<\/p>\n

Thank you for inviting me to brief the Council on this vital issue. \u00a0And for reminding us of the key contribution Bertha Lutz made to the UN Charter and to women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n

Many of you here today will have visited the exhibition on display outside the United Nations building.\u00a0 You will have seen the images of the women who embody the agenda we are discussing\u00a0\u2014 women who are fighting injustice, building peace, and taking their rightful place at the table.\u00a0 It is a snapshot of the immense contribution women are making to peace and security around the world and a testament to the power of women\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/center> <\/p>\n

The world must take note. \u00a0And it must take inspiration.\u00a0 Because today, we are on a knife\u2019s edge.\u00a0 Conflicts are raging. \u00a0Tensions are rising. \u00a0Coups are erupting.\u00a0 Authoritarianism is on the march. \u00a0The nuclear threat has mushroomed. \u00a0Climate chaos is inflaming security challenges. \u00a0And mistrust is poisoning global politics\u00a0\u2014 weakening our ability to respond.<\/p>\n

The figures speak for themselves on the dire state of our world:\u00a0military spending is at a record high; displacement due to violence, conflict and persecution is at a record high; and 50\u00a0per cent more women and girls are living in countries threatened by fighting than in 2017.<\/p>\n

Where wars rage, women suffer, where authoritarianism and insecurity reign, women and girls\u2019 rights are threatened.\u00a0 We see this around the world.\u00a0 In Sudan and Haiti\u00a0\u2014 women and girls brutalized and terrorized by sexual violence.\u00a0 In Afghanistan\u00a0\u2014 the denial of women\u2019s basic rights is wrecking lives and depriving people of life-saving assistance.\u00a0 And women and girls fleeing Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine are at risk of being preyed on by traffickers and abusers.<\/p>\n

In the Middle East, women and girls are disproportionately affected by the ongoing violence, bloodshed and displacement.\u00a0 Women and girls are among the many victims of Hamas\u2019 brutal atrocities.\u00a0 And women and children are more than half the victims of the relentless bombing of Gaza. \u00a0Tens of thousands of pregnant women are desperately struggling to access essential health care.<\/p>\n

This grim backdrop gives renewed urgency to efforts to ensure women\u2019s full and meaningful participation in peace and security.\u00a0 Twenty-three years after this Council adopted resolution 1325 (2000), women\u2019s participation should be a default, not an afterthought.<\/p>\n

But that is not the case.\u00a0 Women are leading efforts on peace, justice and rights around the world.\u00a0But still, far too many women\u2019s organizations struggle to fund their essential work, as military spending soars; far too many perpetrators of sexual violence walk free; and far too many peace processes exclude women.<\/p>\n

Of 18\u00a0peace agreements reached last year, only one was signed or witnessed by a representative of a women\u2019s group or organization.\u00a0 Despite our best efforts, women represented just 16\u00a0per cent of negotiators or delegates in the peace processes led, or co-led, by the United Nations.<\/p>\n

We live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture.\u00a0 Centuries of patriarchy are a massive obstacle to gender equality and, in turn, to a culture of peace.\u00a0 Around the world, women\u2019s rights are under attack. \u00a0So are the people that defend them.\u00a0 At least seven women who briefed this Council last year report facing reprisals for having done so.<\/p>\n

(Article continues in right column.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Questions related to this article:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\n

UN Resolution 1325, does it make a difference? <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Does the UN advance equality for women?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Article continued from left column.)<\/p>\n

Violence against women\u00a0\u2014 both on and offline\u00a0\u2014 is endemic; a massive barrier and disincentive to participation in civil and political life.\u00a0 At the current rate of progress, it will be almost another half century before women are fairly represented in national parliaments.<\/p>\n

Addressing this is not a favour to women. \u00a0It is a matter of rights, justice and pragmatism.\u00a0 Standing with women is good for the world.\u00a0 We know processes involving women lead to more enduring peace.\u00a0 We know gender-equal parliaments are more likely to increase spending on health, education and social protection, and reduce corruption.<\/p>\n

There are pockets of hope. \u00a0This year\u2019s report shows good practice and success stories on the women, peace and security agenda from around the world: \u00a0from gender parity in Colombia\u2019s peace negotiations to perpetrators of sexual violence in Iraq, Syria and the Central African Republic being brought to justice.<\/p>\n

The United Nations is committed to working with countries to drive progress on women, peace and security.\u00a0 Our operations are supporting women, highlighting their vital work, and amplifying their voices.\u00a0 The Women\u2019s Peace and Humanitarian Fund of the United Nations has supported more than 1,000\u00a0local women\u2019s organizations since it was established in 2016.\u00a0And we\u2019ve made progress towards gender balance within peacekeeping missions.\u00a0 But overall, when it comes to women peace and security, the world must urgently bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality.<\/p>\n

This annual debate regularly has the longest speakers\u2019 list of the year.\u00a0 But concrete progress is slow, stagnant or even going backwards.\u00a0 We need to implement the women, peace and security agenda in full, now.\u00a0 Because women have had enough of being shut out of the decisions that shape their lives; enough of their work going unrecognized; enough of threats and violence; [and] enough of promises left unfulfilled.\u00a0 Women demand concrete actions to make real strides forward.<\/p>\n

First, that means steps to ensure women are in the room for peace talks.\u00a0 I encourage Governments supporting conflict mediation to set ambitious targets for women on negotiating teams.<\/p>\n

Second, it means money on the table.\u00a0 If you want to stand with women driving change, if you want to support women enduring conflict, if you want to remove barriers to participation, and if you want women\u2019s organizations to deliver, we need to pay for it.\u00a0 Yet, the latest figures show aid funding for gender equality in conflict falling.\u00a0 I urge countries providing overseas development assistance, or ODA, to allocate 15\u00a0per cent to gender equality.\u00a0 Fifteen per cent of funds for mediation work must support women\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n

I also call on countries providing ODA to allocate 1\u00a0per cent\u00a0\u2014 at a bare minimum\u00a0\u2014 to direct assistance to women\u2019s organizations mobilizing for peace.\u00a0 By the end of 2025, the Women\u2019s Peace and Humanitarian Fund Invest-in-Women campaign aims to raise $300\u00a0million.\u00a0 I urge you to throw yourselves behind this effort.<\/p>\n

Third, we need concrete measure to secure women\u2019s full, equal and meaningful participation at all levels of decision-making on peace and security, and all levels of political and civil life.\u00a0 That means pushing fair representation in national and local governments, cabinets and parliaments.<\/p>\n

I was a prime minister and leader of a political party. \u00a0I know quotas, targets and incentives work.\u00a0 We need robust, comprehensive legislation to tackle violence against women\u00a0\u2014 both on and offline\u00a0\u2014 and to put an end to impunity for perpetrators.<\/p>\n

And we need to make the most of the Summit of the Future next year to push for progress on women, peace and security.\u00a0 The Summit is a chance to reform and revitalize multilateralism so that it meets the challenges of today.\u00a0 In preparation, the policy brief on \u201cA New Agenda for Peace\u201d puts women\u2019s leadership and participation at the centre of decision-making.\u00a0I urge you to consider its proposals carefully.<\/p>\n

Amidst a world in chaos, the clock is ticking down to the twenty-fifth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000).\u00a0 A quarter century is ample time to make progress.\u00a0 We need to translate the energy, commitment and focus in this room into change on the ground and money on the table.\u00a0 No more stalling, no more coasting, no more delays.<\/p>\n

We need to back the change-makers whose images we proudly display outside this building, starting today.\u00a0 The state of the world demands it.\u00a0 And women and girls, rightly, expect nothing less.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . . An article from the United Nations Following are UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 remarks to the Security Council annual open debate on women, peace and security, in New York today: Thank you for inviting me to brief the Council on this vital issue. \u00a0And for reminding us of the key … Continue reading Secretary-General Tells Security Council Open Debate \u2018Standing with Women Is Good for the World\u2019, Stresses Patriarchy \u2018a Massive Obstacle\u2019 to Culture of Peace<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,93,12],"tags":[11,94],"class_list":["post-32808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-global","category-united-nations","category-women","tag-global","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}