Gender equality critical to human rights — UNGA President

President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA), Amb. Tijani Muhammad-Bande, has called on “everyone, everywhere to uphold gender equality as a necessity in upholding human rights.”

“It has been 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, which remains the most comprehensive global agenda for achieving gender equality.

“All Member States should not only reaffirm their commitment to it, but work assiduously to implement it,” he said in a message to mark the International Women’s Day 2020.

Commemorated on March 8 every year, the event aims at advancing the rights of women and girls.

The theme for this year’s edition is “I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights,” in line with UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality.

The campaign marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

It demands “equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, and an end to sexual harassment and all forms of violence against women and girls.”

Generation Equality also seeks health-care services that respond to the needs of women and girls, and their equal participation in political life and decision-making in all areas of life.

The PGA rallied global support for the campaign to “guarantee that equality becomes a lived experience for everyone, regardless of gender.”

He said: “We have made important gains since 1995: there are more girls in school than ever before, and many countries have reached gender parity in educational enrolment.

“However, no country can claim to have achieved gender equality, especially in terms of income and political leadership.

“Change has been slow for most women and girls in the world. We have much work to do.

“In this context, I welcome stakeholder engagement across the globe, inspired by women’s movements and energised by youth activists who call for wide ranging structural and systemic changes necessary for accelerated progress.

“As we enter the Decade of Action and Delivery to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, we must mainstream SDG 5 – Gender Equality – across all of our work.

“This ensures that women and girls have the opportunity to participate equally in all decisions.”

Muhammad-Bande stressed the need for all to work together to galvanise multilateral action for the realisation of human rights of all women and girls.