UN Human Rights Council 42: Annual Discussion on the integration of a Gender perspective

The United Kingdom welcomes today’s discussion.

The UK Government is committed to gender equality, including SDG 5, reflected in our appointment of a Special Envoy for Gender Equality and our commitment to the Women Peace and Security agenda, the Preventing Sexual Violence in Confllict Initiative, as well as our work to champion 12 years of quality education for all girls, and to promote and protect women’s rights.

We believe that all people should be able to live with dignity, free from violence or discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Gender equality is much broader than gender parity and equal representation, although these are good first steps. It is about equal rights, opportunities, and responsibilities. If we are calling for gender equality internationally we all must demonstrate our determination to do this here in the UN. It is crucial to integrate a gender perspective into all aspects on the UN’s work, from panels to peacekeeping and from resolutions to recommendations.

As we look ahead to the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Resolution 1325 in October 2020, the UK is prioritising women’s meaningful participation in peace processes; when women do meaningfully participate in a peace process the impact is profound, with the resulting agreement 64% less likely to fail and 35% more like to last at least fifteen years.

Mr Vice President,

Specifically, I would welcome the panellists’ views on what more we can do collectively to end sexual harassment across all international meetings, including this Council?

Thank you.