General Debate of the 66th Session of the General Assembly - Reference to Gender Language

he time has come for our men, women and children to live normal lives, for them to be able to sleep without waiting for the worst that the next day will bring; for mothers to be assured that their children will return home without fear of suffering killing, arrest or humiliation.

However, I invite Serbia to cooperate in the finding and the return of the remains of 1500 men, women, children and elderly that were abducted from their homes and were masacred in the territory of Serbia only because they were Albanians.

To demonstrate our strong commitment to conflict resolution, Bangladesh has partnered in many of UN's endeavors for peace, democracy and development. Our contribution to UN peacekeeping has so far been 102, 294 peacekeepers in 52 missions and 36 countries. This included the sad loss of life of 103 brave Bangladeshis. Our involvement also includes UN's first ever all women police unit in Haiti.

Even if she earns a comfortable living, a woman who lives in fear of daily violence and has no say in how her country is run is not truly free.

Brazil has found that the best development policy is combating poverty and that a true human rights policy must be based on reducing inequalities between people, regions, and genders.

We women know better than anyone that unemployment is not just a statistic. It strikes at families, at our children, and at our husbands. It snatches away hope and leaves behind violence and pain

Mr. President, I feel that here today, I represent all the women of the world. The nameless women, those who starve and cannot feed their children. Those who are wracked by illness and cannot receive treatment. Those who suffer violence and who are discriminated in their jobs, their societies, and their family life. Those who labor in the home to raise future generations. I add my voice to those of the women who dared to struggle, who dared to participate in politics and in the workforce, and who forged the political space without which I could not stand here today. As a woman who was tortured in prison, I know how important the values of democracy, justice, human rights, and liberty are.

As citizens of the global community, we have a solemn duty to defend the vulnerable, to challenge the aggressor, to Protect and promote human rights and human dignity, at home and abroad: Women, Christians, Baha'i and other victims of persecution in Iran.

We are also concerned about wars and tensions that thrive a little bit everywhere, but now more localized and in high intensity in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, to the delight of the dealers of misery, those who invest in the war industry and to the suffering of millions of human beings, especially children, women and elderly. We must reach a global consensus that security, peace and stability arises from economic and social development of States and Peoples. We must deconstruct war, conflict and tension between countries and peoples and ensure the commitment of the Sixty-sixth General Assembly for this noble goal. We must reiterate that mediation is essential to settle disputes whether in Africa or the rest of the world.

Croatia continues to promote human rights at the universal level and supports the mainstreaming of human rights within the UN framework. In this context, we devote particular attention to issues such a s abolition of death penalty, gender equality and fight against all forms of discrimination, as well as promotion of human rights of the most vulnerable social groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities, Croatia strongly supports universality, interrelatedness and indivisibility of all human rights.

It is also fundamental for the international community to seriously address the problem of illegal trafficking and misuse of small arms, which results in alarming number of causalities each year, particularly among women and children, and has harmful and destabilizing effects on societies. Croatia supports the process leading to adoption of an Arms Trade Treaty at the 2012 Conference. Croatia also has vast experience in humanitarian de-mining and is ready to assist others with its knowledge and expertise.

The DR Congo is preparing to hold general elections, the second such elections since those of 2006. It is important for us to grasp the full importance of this key period for our country. This period marks a confirmation of a definitive breaking with the spiral of violence and instability that has characterized our country over recent decades. We shall see it as a decisive phase that commits our people to a lasting democratic culture. Despite the multifaceted challenges that come with the electoral process, the National independent electoral commission, our people and the government are doing everything they can to hold transparent and credible elections despite a climate of calm. These elections are in the end are proof of a return to an effective peace that the men and women in our country have yearned for. Today, peace and security reign throughout the entirety of our nation. Our institutions are in place and operating correctly.

Let us show this leadership from the smallest countries, such as my own, to the great powers. Let us show our unequivocal will to achieve peace, social justice and the well-being of men and women who place their faith in us.

The most disadvantaged groups in this crisis are the children, women and youth. A youth without physical, intellectual or moral development cannot guarantee a generational relief that will assure the future of nations, thereby comes the need to provide mental and moral assistance to youth to assure the development of the continent in the future. In this respect, the leaders of the African Union of Sopopo, Equitorial Guinea, adopted a program to promote the employment of youth and women in the struggle against unemployment and their professional and intellectual formation, a program that needs the support of the international community.

What is even more crucial in the Horn of Africa is sustainable development. Our .youth need to have their hope for the future not frustrated; and the condition of our women and children require much greater attention.

When that moment came, 20 years ago, for us, the former subjects of the Soviet bureaucracy—students, artists, dissidents, workers, men and women, old and young—it was hardly the end of History, but on the contrary, it was a new beginning of History.

Ghana remains focused in addressing gender imbalances and misconceptions as well as improving the living conditions of its women and girls, bearing in mind that solving the gender issue would ultimately ensure the attainment of the majority of the Millennium Development Goals.

Throughout my half a century in politics, I have always been a crusader of peace. I believe that peace is achievable with the removal of injustice, which includes repression and absence of rule of law, inequality and economic disparity, deprivation and poverty, suppression of self determination, denial of secularism and multi- ethnicity, negligence of equal rights for women and the marginalized, and the lack of transparency and accountability of governments. These types of injustices, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data program, have led to the loss of over 5 million lives from 1964 to 2011. I believe these deaths may be avoided by strengthening the UN's mediation instruments, and by placing people at the center of peace and development.

We are also concerned about wars and tensions that thrive a little bit everywhere, but now more localized and in high intensity in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, to the delight of the dealers of misery, those who invest in the war industry and to the suffering of millions of human beings, especially children, women and elderly. We must reach a global consensus that security, peace and stability arises from economic and social development of States and Peoples. We must deconstruct war, conflict and tension between countries and peoples and ensure the commitment of the Sixty-sixth General Assembly for this noble goal. We must reiterate that mediation is essential to settle disputes whether in Africa or the rest of the world.

By making the necessary investments to develop quality human capital with equally strong measures to promote gender equality with the active promotion of women and youth participation in all spheres of life, we will create the enabling conditions for transforming the economies of developing countries in order to eradicate poverty and achieve the internationally-agreed development goals.

We know that rescuing the planet will require us to invest in people, particularly women and youth; it will require us to reemphasize prevention, both of conflicts and natural disasters; and it will require us to devote new efforts to assist nations in transition – from war to peace, autocracy to democracy, poverty to prosperity.

Lifting the full participation of women and youth in the economies of the developed and developing world, given the findings by Goldman Sachs that closing the gap in workforce participation between women and men in emerging markets could increase projected per capita income by 20 percent by 2030. Narrowing the gender gap in Australia would boost our GDP by 11 percent; And doing the same with education, skills and training to boost the ability of the youth of the world to fully participate in the global economic opportunities of the future.

Following the 2008 general elections, women's participation in politics increased with their election to 12,828 reserved seats in local government and 64 members in the parliament. We also have five women cabinet ministers (in charge of Agriculture, Home, foreign Affairs, Women and Children Affairs, and Labor), a female Opposition Leader, the Deputy Leader, a female Whip, and of course, the Prime Minister is a woman. For the first time in our history, two women MPs have been made chairperson of Parliamentary Standing Committees. Women now occupy high positions in High and Supreme Courts, in civil, police and armed services and in UN Peacekeeping missions. Female business ventures also receive support from the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation

Even if she earns a comfortable living, a woman who lives in fear of daily violence and has no say in how her country is run is not truly free.

Even if she earns a comfortable living, a woman who lives in fear of daily violence and has no say in how her country is run is not truly free.

In my country, women have been fundamental in overcoming social inequalities. Mothers play a central role in our income distribution programs. It is they who manage the resources that allow families to invest in the health and education of their children. Yet my country, like every country in the world, still has much work ahead of it when it comes to empowering women. I congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for making women a priority during his tenure at the head of the United Nations. I welcome in particular the creation of UN-WOMEN and pay tribute to its Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet.

Mr. President, I feel that here today, I represent all the women of the world. The nameless women, those who starve and cannot feed their children. Those who are wracked by illness and cannot receive treatment. Those who suffer violence and who are discriminated in their jobs, their societies, and their family life. Those who labor in the home to raise future generations. I add my voice to those of the women who dared to struggle, who dared to participate in politics and in the workforce, and who forged the political space without which I could not stand here today. As a woman who was tortured in prison, I know how important the values of democracy, justice, human rights, and liberty are.

Our gender policies and our youth policies in which we have them participate in decision making at all levels is a cornerstone of our new policy.

Notice, I said people. Not “Men”. Already two and half thousand years ago Aristotle noted that where the state of women is bad “almost half of human life is spoilt.” “This is no less true today and will remain so. The ongoing revolutions could not have occurred and cannot succeed without women. It is a profound source of concern for Estonia to notice that while women are welcome to protest against the corrupt regimes, they are not always welcome to participate in the political process.

Since the reform of Fiji's laws to bring them in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, further progress has been achieved. We are experiencing increasing participation by women in local decision-making bodies, thereby empowering rural women, increased enrolment of women and girls in tertiary education, gender mainstreaming within the Government system, and increased welfare assistance provision to the marginalized, including single mothers.

Peace processes need to be more inclusive. I would like to stress the importance of full and effective participation of women in all stages of peace processes

The record is far from impressive at the moment as the number of women around the negotiation tables continues to be strikingly low. I welcome the efforts by the UN Women to change the situation, and call upon us all to make a commitment to involve more women in this work. Women and men have marched together for a better future. It is important that they continue to participate side by side in building a democratic society. Democracy cannot be achieved without full participation of women.

We are also concerned about wars and tensions that thrive a little bit everywhere, but now more localized and in high intensity in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, to the delight of the dealers of misery, those who invest in the war industry and to the suffering of millions of human beings, especially children, women and elderly. We must reach a global consensus that security, peace and stability arises from economic and social development of States and Peoples. We must deconstruct war, conflict and tension between countries and peoples and ensure the commitment of the Sixty-sixth General Assembly for this noble goal. We must reiterate that mediation is essential to settle disputes whether in Africa or the rest of the world.

Peace processes need to be more inclusive. I would like to stress the importance of full and effective participation of women in all stages of peace processes

For development, we have integrated women's education in our state policy. They say, "If you educate a boy, you educate a person, if you educate a girl you educate a family and a whole nation." Therefore, during our first term from 1996-2001, we adopted a National Women's Development Policy revised during this tenure to make it more relevant. The Policy provides for the empowerment of women, their participation in decision making and their protection and gender equality. Education for girls is free till class 12 and steps are on for their free tuition till graduation.

Warlords who think that they can get away with sexual abuse of women or recruiting child soldiers, should be stopped and held accountable by a united and firmed international community.

The recent ratification of the protocol on the use of child soldiers reflects our firm will to use all legal avenues to fight against violence and to see to the security of the most fragile of our population, notably women and children.

Warlords who think that they can get away with sexual abuse of women or recruiting child soldiers, should be stopped and held accountable by a united and firmed international community.

Following the 2008 general elections, women's participation in politics increased with their election to 12,828 reserved seats in local government and 64 members in the parliament. We also have five women cabinet ministers (in charge of Agriculture, Home, foreign Affairs, Women and Children Affairs, and Labor), a female Opposition Leader, the Deputy Leader, a female Whip, and of course, the Prime Minister is a woman. For the first time in our history, two women MPs have been made chairperson of Parliamentary Standing Committees. Women now occupy high positions in High and Supreme Courts, in civil, police and armed services and in UN Peacekeeping missions. Female business ventures also receive support from the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation

To demonstrate our strong commitment to conflict resolution, Bangladesh has partnered in many of UN's endeavors for peace, democracy and development. Our contribution to UN peacekeeping has so far been 102, 294 peacekeepers in 52 missions and 36 countries. This included the sad loss of life of 103 brave Bangladeshis. Our involvement also includes UN's first ever all women police unit in Haiti.

Throughout my half a century in politics, I have always been a crusader of peace. I believe that peace is achievable with the removal of injustice, which includes repression and absence of rule of law, inequality and economic disparity, deprivation and poverty, suppression of self determination, denial of secularism and multi- ethnicity, negligence of equal rights for women and the marginalized, and the lack of transparency and accountability of governments. These types of injustices, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data program, have led to the loss of over 5 million lives from 1964 to 2011. I believe these deaths may be avoided by strengthening the UN's mediation instruments, and by placing people at the center of peace and development.

Even if she earns a comfortable living, a woman who lives in fear of daily violence and has no say in how her country is run is not truly free.

Even if she earns a comfortable living, a woman who lives in fear of daily violence and has no say in how her country is run is not truly free.

Leaders who believe that pointing guns at their own people, that sending death squads on the streets, that stoning women to death is acceptable, lost touch with mankind and are bound to lose all support from their own people and from the world.

Or when blatant violators of women's rights are welcomed to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, often despite reservations that are incompatible with the object and purpose of the convention. Canada has consistently opposed the debasement of multilateral institutions by conduct that is inconsistent with their values.

Croatia continues to promote human rights at the universal level and supports the mainstreaming of human rights within the UN framework. In this context, we devote particular attention to issues such a s abolition of death penalty, gender equality and fight against all forms of discrimination, as well as promotion of human rights of the most vulnerable social groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities, Croatia strongly supports universality, interrelatedness and indivisibility of all human rights.

The Domestic Violence Decree which came into effect last year is now being effectively implemented by the law enforcement agencies in conjunction with civil society groups. Its regime of restraining orders is intended to deter perpetrators of family violence from inflicting further violence, whilst allowing families to remain together in peace. This Decree recognizes the difficult experienced by women and children in gaining access to the justice system, because of family, community, cultural and attitudinal barriers.

Throughout my half a century in politics, I have always been a crusader of peace. I believe that peace is achievable with the removal of injustice, which includes repression and absence of rule of law, inequality and economic disparity, deprivation and poverty, suppression of self determination, denial of secularism and multi- ethnicity, negligence of equal rights for women and the marginalized, and the lack of transparency and accountability of governments. These types of injustices, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data program, have led to the loss of over 5 million lives from 1964 to 2011. I believe these deaths may be avoided by strengthening the UN's mediation instruments, and by placing people at the center of peace and development.

We are also concerned about wars and tensions that thrive a little bit everywhere, but now more localized and in high intensity in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, to the delight of the dealers of misery, those who invest in the war industry and to the suffering of millions of human beings, especially children, women and elderly. We must reach a global consensus that security, peace and stability arises from economic and social development of States and Peoples. We must deconstruct war, conflict and tension between countries and peoples and ensure the commitment of the Sixty-sixth General Assembly for this noble goal. We must reiterate that mediation is essential to settle disputes whether in Africa or the rest of the world.

The record is far from impressive at the moment as the number of women around the negotiation tables continues to be strikingly low. I welcome the efforts by the UN Women to change the situation, and call upon us all to make a commitment to involve more women in this work. Women and men have marched together for a better future. It is important that they continue to participate side by side in building a democratic society. Democracy cannot be achieved without full participation of women.

We are also pleased with the creation of UN-Women, and we are certain that it will give further impetus to the promotion and empowerment of women and the achievement of their legitimate rights.

Last year's 10th anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security reminded us that the promise of women's full and equal participation in ail efforts of maintaining peace and security, including in mediation processes, has not yet come true and that we ail need to intensify our efforts.

Throughout my half a century in politics, I have always been a crusader of peace. I believe that peace is achievable with the removal of injustice, which includes repression and absence of rule of law, inequality and economic disparity, deprivation and poverty, suppression of self determination, denial of secularism and multi- ethnicity, negligence of equal rights for women and the marginalized, and the lack of transparency and accountability of governments. These types of injustices, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data program, have led to the loss of over 5 million lives from 1964 to 2011. I believe these deaths may be avoided by strengthening the UN's mediation instruments, and by placing people at the center of peace and development.

From guaranteeing the responsible and transparent exploitation of natural resources through schemes such as the Kimberley Process, to fully implementing the indicators of the landmark Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

In my country, women have been fundamental in overcoming social inequalities. Mothers play a central role in our income distribution programs. It is they who manage the resources that allow families to invest in the health and education of their children. Yet my country, like every country in the world, still has much work ahead of it when it comes to empowering women. I congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for making women a priority during his tenure at the head of the United Nations. I welcome in particular the creation of UN-WOMEN and pay tribute to its Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet.

Burkina Faso gives particular importance to all issues linked with the enhancement of women and to this end has spared no effort in social and political participation of Burkina women. We are pleased for this reason by the launching of UN Women and our hope is that this new body, which is in need of adequate resources, will a true catalyzer of UN activities for the defense of the rights of women. More specifically, we expect UN Women to provide greater support for politics promoting the status of women in developing countries.

Or when blatant violators of women's rights are welcomed to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, often despite reservations that are incompatible with the object and purpose of the convention. Canada has consistently opposed the debasement of multilateral institutions by conduct that is inconsistent with their values.

Chile also supports the launch of UN-Women, headed by our compatriot Michelle Bachelet, with the principal goal of ensuring that men and women have the same rights and opportunities.

The recent ratification of the protocol on the use of child soldiers reflects our firm will to use all legal avenues to fight against violence and to see to the security of the most fragile of our population, notably women and children.

Croatia welcomes the establishment of UN Women, a body focused on supporting the gender equality and empowerment of women. Croatia supports relevant initiatives on the rights of LGBT persons and will continue to be actively engaged in the follow-up process to the 2008 Joint statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The empowerment of women is an important aspect in this process. We welcome the creation of UN Women and look forward to working closely with this new organization in the area of gender main streaming. No less important is the issue of sexual and
reproductive health and rights of women.

We are delighted about a long awaited creation of UN Women which announces the remarkable progress that had been majoring in the last century regarding the the quest for gender equality and representation in parliaments. My government has made an improvement in women's rights, and improvements of their rights a top priority.

Estonia, therefore, places great hopes on the UN's new gender entity, UN Women, and will continue to insist that the UN as a whole, does its part globally standing up for women's rights. We also expect that UN Women will play an active role in helping to turn the principles of the UN Security Council resolution 1325, “Women, Peace and Security” from paper to reality

Since the reform of Fiji's laws to bring them in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, further progress has been achieved. We are experiencing increasing participation by women in local decision-making bodies, thereby empowering rural women, increased enrolment of women and girls in tertiary education, gender mainstreaming within the Government system, and increased welfare assistance provision to the marginalized, including single mothers.

The record is far from impressive at the moment as the number of women around the negotiation tables continues to be strikingly low. I welcome the efforts by the UN Women to change the situation, and call upon us all to make a commitment to involve more women in this work. Women and men have marched together for a better future. It is important that they continue to participate side by side in building a democratic society. Democracy cannot be achieved without full participation of women.

The United Nations Organization reached a significant milestone with the launch of UN Women, the United Nation's Entity for Gender Equality and the empowerment of women. It is critical as members of the global community, to break the gender stereotypes which are the root causes of the myriad of gender inequality challenges currently facing most countries.