Ministry Statements and Speeches 2007

UN General Assembly, 62nd Session: Third Committee, Item 63a, Advancement of Women

Statement by Janet Lowe, New Zealand Delegate to the Third Committee, 16 October 2007

Mr Chairman,

I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Canada, Australia and New Zealand are committed to working with the international community to uphold women’s rights and gender equality. While we urge all states to focus on women’s rights within their own borders, we recognise the importance of addressing these issues within the United Nations architecture itself.

We welcome the Secretariat’s concept note on a Strengthened Architecture for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. At this important stage in the process we urge states to continue to work towards a strengthened, coherent, gender architecture and towards effective gender mainstreaming across all UN entities. Successful reform of the gender architecture requires ongoing commitment from us all.

Mr Chairman, violence against women and girls is a global problem which prevents them from participating fully in their families, communities, and societies. We welcome further discussion on progress towards the implementation of the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on violence against women and its recommendations. We note in particular, as outlined in the Secretary General’s Report on the in-depth study, the importance of the role of the General Assembly in ensuring that meaningful follow-up and implementation is undertaken by different stakeholders. We urge states to continue to work together to ensure substantive outcomes.

We reaffirm our commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). These international standards provide us with a constant benchmark for the fulfilment of women’s rights. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women now has 185 parties and is well on its way to universal ratification. We encourage all states which have not yet ratified CEDAW to give ratification their serious consideration.

We welcome progress which has been made so far on Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. We urge states to continue to work to implement this important resolution.

Thank you Mr Chairman.

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