Ambassador Norman Chalet
Acting Deputy Permanent Representative
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
March 9, 2020
AS DELIVERED
Thank you. Recognizing the limited time, a longer more complete statement will be posted online, https://go.usa.gov/xdssF. But I would like to highlight a few key points this morning.
Enhancing women’s participation in power structures across economic, political, and social spheres is critical to advancing human dignity and enabling societies to prosper. The United States is proud to be leader in the promotion and protection of human rights of women and girls, at home and abroad.
We are working to ensure that women worldwide enjoy the opportunity to participate fully in their communities and nations, just as women do in our country.
We hope today’s declaration will advance global cooperation toward these goals. The declaration is not perfect but largely captures our priorities and commitments to continued progress in enhancing women’s rights around the world.
The United States is committed to ensuring women all around the world can hold and lead from both unofficial and official seats of power in their communities and on the international stage. We strongly supported the passage of Security Council Resolution 1325 20 years ago, which recognized women’s essential contributions to establishing and maintaining global peace and security. Although this is not specifically mentioned in the declaration, my delegation notes this of our efforts to level the playing field.
A range of stakeholders play a critical role in realizing the human rights of women and girls, including faith-based and civil society organizations, the family, the private sector, academia, unions, and media. Civil society including those who fight for human rights continue to be important partners for all of us. To this end, we will continue to press for recognition in future declarations and UN documents.
In closing, as we mark 25 years since the Beijing Declaration we still have work to do as to ensure that every woman and girl has the opportunity to succeed. The United States will continue to lead, through the empowerment of its own citizens and in partnership with countries who recognize the wisdom and value of empowering all of their citizens.
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