Ministry Statements & Speeches:
New Zealand thanks the Executive Director and all UN Women staff for their leadership and commitment in what has been another challenging year for global gender equality.
As so many of us have stressed already, we are meeting at a time of unprecedented uncertainty for the UN system. New Zealand remains committed to protecting the norms and values of the UN, and we support action that will enable the UN system to deliver on its core mandates in this fiscally constrained environment.
As we mark the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, we are reminded that gender equality remains fundamental to the UN’s founding vision. UN Women’s work to deliver on its normative, coordination and operational mandates remains as critical as ever. In that regard, we commend UN Women’s achievements across its Strategic Plan priorities – they are impressive results, delivered in a highly complex global environment.
We also recognise UN Women’s expanding humanitarian role. In the Pacific, our shared experience with increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters underlines the importance of gender-responsive disaster preparedness, early action, and recovery systems that strengthen women’s agency and protection before, during and after crises.
As a Pacific country, New Zealand is deeply committed to ensuring that the voices and priorities of Pacific Island Countries are heard and reflected in global processes. We will continue to work alongside our Pacific partners to ensure that issues of particular importance to our region are considered in major decisions and negotiations across the UN system, including those shaping the future of development cooperation and humanitarian action.
As UN Women prepares its next Strategic Plan, we encourage continued focus on building institutional resilience, strengthening partnerships with women’s organisations, and ensuring that climate action, peacebuilding, and social protection are gender-responsive, locally led, and inclusive of small island developing states.
New Zealand reaffirms its strong partnership with UN Women, and remains committed to working together to ensure that gender equality, including in the Pacific, remains at the centre of sustainable development, peace and prosperity.