Ministry Statements & Speeches:
President,
Thirty years ago, the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action provided a blueprint for the international community to progress the rights of women and girls, and promote gender equality.
New Zealand has a long history of supporting the rights of women and girls, stretching back to 1893, when we became the first country where women gained the right to vote.
Ensuring all women and girls in New Zealand continue to thrive and reach their aspirations in all spheres of life is a priority for New Zealand.
Health, as one of the 12 areas of critical concern from the Beijing Declaration, has been a key focus in recent years.
New Zealand is working to improve women-specific health outcomes. Breast cancer is the most common cancer amongst women in New Zealand. The Government recently extended the age for free breast screening to women aged 40-74 to detect and address breast cancer earlier.
In March 2020, changes were made to the law to decriminalise abortion in New Zealand.
Around the world, significant gains have been made on women’s health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.
In that context, New Zealand is deeply concerned about the ongoing challenges to women and girls’ rights worldwide. In particular, we are concerned at increasing legislative and political attempts to restrict women and girls’ freedoms and undermine fundamental sexual and reproductive health and rights.
More work is also needed on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, with progress stalled since 2016.
Approximately 800 women die each day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. These deaths are not inevitable.
Instead, they are often a direct result of discriminatory laws and practices, harmful gender norms, and a lack of functioning health systems and services.
We know the benefits of gender equality go far beyond the important rights of individual women and girls. They also provide tangible benefits for families and broader society, and boost trade and economic growth.
We all have a responsibility as states to continue to work on the twelve areas of critical concern in the Beijing Declaration and to address the compounding impacts of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination on the lives of women and girls.
This includes women and girls who are indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse, part of the LGBTQIA+ community, displaced, refugees, migrants, living in rural or remote communities, or who have a disability.
Thank you.