UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Commission on the Status of Women on Wednesday, that the UN must lead by example.
As Secretary General, he has made sure there are more women in senior positions now than at any time in the history of the UN.
Fifteen years since the landmark Beijing declaration was adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, much progress has been made.
Although there is much to be proud of, says Mr. Ban, we must not become complacent.
"Injustice and discrimination against women persists everywhere. In its worst form it manifests as violence. Up to 70 per cent of women experience violence in their lifetime. Most commonly they are attacked by an intimate partner. We sometimes hear it said that such practices are a matter of culture. They are not. They are abuses and they are criminal and they deny women's fundamental rights. So too do early and forced marriage, so-called 'honour killing', sexual abuse and trafficking".
For this year's International Women's Day observed on March 8, Mr. Ban Ki-moon advised the Commission to build on what has worked in the past and correct what has not.
To hear excerpts, please visit: http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/91639.html
