The struggle against violence towards women is one of the priorities of the g...

The struggle against violence towards women is one of the priorities of the government I represent. This past April we created the Ministry for Equality and Well-Being, which has the objective of coordinating all initiatives directed at improving the status of women as well as to promote new policies on gender. This year we celebrate fifteenth anniversary of the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. During the latest session of the Commission on the Status of Women which took place in March we acknowledged that the role of women is essential to ensuring sustainable social and economic development in general. The status of women has improved, but unfortunately not enough. We must continue to promote the rights of women and fight against domestic violence. According to a report from the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime, the most lucrative illegal activity in Europe is human trafficking. In Europe, 84 percent of the people who are trafficked are destined for the global sex trade. It is important to approach this matter with an emphasis on protecting the victims, as surely the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, adopted on 30 July, will.