- Minister for Women attends virtual celebratory event as UK extends UN Women’s Convention membership to Jersey.
- All 50,000 women in the dependency now promised human rights equal to men.
- Baroness Berridge to speak at event, congratulating Jersey on this commitment.
Today (28 May) the Minister for Women, Baroness Berridge, will attend an event hosted by the Government of Jersey to celebrate the 50,000 women in Jersey getting extended human rights protections.
The event will commemorate the UK’s extension of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to the Bailiwick of Jersey.
All member states agree to take measures that ensure their women enjoy human rights equal to those of their men. The Convention spells out the areas where states should be taking action, such as in the provision of healthcare, employment and family law. Every five years, the CEDAW Committee reviews how well each state is doing and updates on progress made.
Minister for Women, Baroness Berridge said:
“Today’s announcement is a great step forward for women living in Jersey.
“This government believes in securing and advancing the rights of women and girls in the UK and all around the world. We will use the G7 and the Gender Equality Advisory Council to help us achieve our ambitions.
Jersey Minister for Social Security, Deputy Judy Martin, said:
“As the Minister with responsibility for promoting diversity, equality and social inclusion, I’m really proud to be speaking at the event alongside some amazing women.
“Gender equality is something we are committed to across Government, and it’s something that we keep working on. We’ve taken some great steps recently – including introducing family friendly policies – and CEDAW gives us the map to keep on making progress.”
The core UN human rights treaty aims to eliminate discrimination against women and girls around the world. It is one of seven core UN human rights treaties that the UK is signatory to.
Baroness Berridge, the UK Minister for Women, Her Excellency Yamina Karitanyi, the Rwandan High Commissioner to the UK, and Dragan Nastic, a senior representative from UK Unicef, will be taking part in the event. The Minister will take part in a panel discussion on the key challenges affecting women and girls in Jersey and around the world, as well as what CEDAW can do to support them.
Further info:
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The UK is responsible for international relations on behalf of the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. Therefore, Jersey is not a member of the UN in its own right and the extension of CEDAW can only take place with UK approval. CEDAW was extended to Jersey earlier this year.
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In April the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) was formed and has since met twice. The council is made up of world-leading experts including scientists, vaccinologists and business leaders. It will build on work done by former G7 presidencies and champion the core principles of freedom, opportunity and dignity for women and girls around the world.
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