Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Chargé
d'Affaires to the UN at the UN Commission on the Status of
Women
Madam Chair, I have the honour to deliver this statement on
behalf of my own country, the United Kingdom and 30 other Member
States of the United Nations, namely Australia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Japan, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg,
Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia,
Norway, Palau, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, and Uruguay.
As we convene at the Commission on the Status of Women, we
strongly reaffirm our unwavering determination that all women and
girls have the right to live free from violence, discrimination,
and oppression; to participate fully in their economies,
politics, and societies; and to make the decisions which affect
their lives.
While we welcome the Agreed Conclusions on access to justice that
CSW members adopted on 9 March, we still have far to go.
In the thirty years since the Beijing Declaration, we have made
significant progress towards gender equality around the
world.
The share of women in parliaments has doubled; millions of girls
have been educated; child marriage and female genital mutilation
have fallen; maternal mortality rates have dropped, and millions
more women have access to family planning.
This progress has been transformative in improving the lives of
millions of women and girls, as well as building our societies
and our economies.
Yet this progress is under threat.
We are witnessing a backlash.
A slowing, stalling, and even reversing of the gains we have
made.
Women and girls are having their autonomy restricted, legal
protections weakened, and continue to face violence and
discrimination.
No woman or girl can access justice while they live under the
threat of violence.
Together, we must do more to tackle the international emergency
of violence against all women and girls, because that violence is
not inevitable, but preventable.
As conflict and crises escalate around the world, we must work to
prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, support
survivors, and tackle stigma.
And we must tackle new forms of online violence that cross
borders, from online harassment to AI deepfakes.
No society can be just where women and girls do not have a voice
in the decisions that shape their lives.
We must advance women's participation in politics, government and
civil society; champion women's rights organisations and demand
women's full, equal, and meaningful participation in building
peace, while engaging men and boys as allies, who also benefit
from gender equality.
Nor can a society be fair where women and girls cannot
participate freely and safely in the economy.
We must secure more and better jobs for women, champion women's
economic leadership and participation and support girls to access
education.
Women and girls cannot access justice without the right to make
decisions about their own lives and their own bodies.
We must ensure safe access to contraception, maternal care and
essential health services for all women and girls, including the
right to safe abortion.
We call on member states in every corner of the globe to resist
this rollback and stand up for progress in advancing the full
human rights of all women and girls, ensuring that equality is
not just a list of commitments in an agreed text, but a lived
reality.
