UNITED NATIONS: Speaking for the Group of 77 and China, Pakistan has called for steps to avert all shapes of gender-based violence, in particular femicide, and to ensure that women are not subject to multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination.
Addressing the General Assembly on “Advancement of Women” on Tuesday, Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said violence against women continues to be a major obstacle to achieving gender equality and women empowerment.
Pakistan is the current chairman of G-77 and China, which now has 134 members and is the United Nations’ biggest intergovernmental group of emerging countries.
Ambassador Khan also emphasised that the empowerment of women and full realisation of their rights are essential for achieving sustainable development and for building peaceful and inclusive societies.
He noted that discrimination, violence, lack of access to basic healthcare, education and social protection lingers around the world, particularly affecting women and girls, living in countries affected by armed conflict, under colonial administration and foreign occupation.
Furthermore, Khan reaffirmed the G-77 call for an environment that maintains world peace and promotes human rights, democracy and peaceful settlement of disputes.
The group of nations, he said, reaffirms its support for accelerated implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the outcome of the 23rd Special Session of the General Assembly.
The two documents seek a world where each woman and girl can exercise her freedoms and choices, and realise all her rights, such as to live free from violence, go to school, participate in decisions and earn equal pay for equal work.
In this regard, the G-77 chair welcomed the measures taken by member states to promote the empowerment of women and girls and remain fully committed to mainstreaming the gender perspective into policies and programmes related to their advancement and well-being.
“We believe that the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all development efforts and that the realization of the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life as equal partners is critical for achieving the goals and targets contained in (UN) Agenda 2030,” the envoy said.
Recognising progress in implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Khan, however, said that serious challenges and gaps remain that hinder the full implementation of the objectives of these important documents.
“Many promises and commitments continue to be unfulfilled,” he said, calling for removing barriers, including ensuring equal access to full and productive employment and decent work for all, as well as strengthening their economic independence.
“We stress the need to allocate adequate resources for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in the workplace, including unequal access to labour market participation and wage inequalities, as well as reconciliation of work and private life for both women and men.”
To achieve that, Khan called for strengthening international cooperation and intensifying global dialogue to include the gender perspective in all policies and measures related to women’s advancement and empowerment.
