Statement of HOLY SEE at UNGA73

“The Universal Declaration affirms the equal rights of men and women as flowing from their inherent dignity and worth. It is therefore necessary to adopt all measures to promote equality in rights and full and equal participation of women and men in society.”

“Beyond their professional competence and technical knowledge, women have, indeed, shown a special capacity for recognizing, affirming, nurturing and defending the inherent dignity of others, and to contribute greatly in the efforts to promote a peaceful, respectful and harmonious world. As Pope Francis affirms it: women look at life through their own eyes and men are not able to look at life in this way. The way of viewing a problem, of seeing anything, is different for a woman compared to a man. They must be complementary. The true progress in humanity that is dramatically needed in our challenged world, will also depend on the full participation of women on an equal and same footing with men, in the civil, political, social, economic or cultural fields. We note with great concern that women’s indispensable role is often undervalued and can even be a vehicle for the exploitation and violation of their dignity and fundamental rights. Still today, women face a variety of challenges and difficulties in various parts of the world. They experience discrimination in the workplace; they are often forced to choose between work and family; they disproportionately suffer in conflict situations. In poor and developing countries, women bear the heaviest burdens: it is they who travel many miles in search of water, who too often do not have access even to the most basic medical assistance that they need in childbirth, who are kidnapped for sexual exploitation or forced into marriage. At times, they are even denied the right to life simply for being female.”

“The authentic advancement of women entails, rather, absolute respect for their inherent dignity, while acknowledging their critical roles not only in the various spheres of society, but also in the family, as equal participants in marriage as spouses. It is therefore contradictory to seek to promote women's empowerment while suppressing their unique natural potentialities in the name of some particular interests or those of an ideological agenda. It is also incoherent when women's irreplaceable contribution to society through motherhood is stigmatized as an obstacle to their advancement and empowerment, instead of being acknowledged, supported and accompanied with measures aimed at alleviating the difficulties that they may encounter. The Holy See wishes to avail itself of this occasion to express grateful appreciation for all those women who, sometimes heroically, have raised and educated generations of responsible daughters and sons. The world owes them gratitude and esteem, support and solidarity.”

“In the Middle East, the multifaceted political and diplomatic pressures and violence, together with the various humanitarian situations, especially in Syria, must be adequately and urgently addressed by the international community. Furthermore, all interested parties must also demonstrate a unified will to strive for an end to violence and reach “a solution which can enable Palestinians and Israelis alike to live at last in peace within clearly established and internationally recognized borders, thus implementing the two state solution. There is a need to promote a genuine public awareness of certain ongoing situations of conflict with a view to reaching a negotiated and peaceful solution, especially in Ukraine, Libya and the Central African Republic, among others. The Holy See considers the recent political developments in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as between Ethiopia and Eritrea, as positive signs toward building peaceful and democratic societies based on the firm hope that agreements reached will be mutually respected.”