Ambassador Lisa Carty
U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council
New York, NY
September 12, 2023
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Mr. President and Executive Director Bahous for your opening remarks. Let me join others in expressing our deepest sympathies to the people of Morocco and Libya.
UN Women’s work to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is absolutely critical as we approach the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda.
Of particular importance are your efforts to track gender-related SDG progress through your Transparency Portal and your reports. The trend lines are disturbing and should be a wakeup call – only 15 percent of SDG 5 indicators with data are on track, and nearly 25 percent are far from reaching 2030 targets.
This data should compel us all to redouble our efforts, act with greater urgency, and better target our programs so we can more successfully combat current backsliding on gender equality. We urge UN Women to share this evidence widely to spur accelerated action where and when it is needed most.
Promoting the rights and empowerment of women and girls is a longstanding cornerstone of U.S. policy, both at home and abroad, as reflected in the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality.
President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget provides more than $3 billion to advance gender equity and equality globally. This is consistent with the United States’ steadfast commitment to invest in opportunities for women and girls in all their diversity, including LGBTQI+ persons and women and girls with disabilities.
The United States looks forward to the release of the UN-wide strategy on LGBTQI+ persons which will help mainstream an inclusive approach across the UN system and build on UN Women’s current efforts. We also welcome the Executive Director’s commitment to work closely with the Resident Coordinator system to ensure more effective gender mainstreaming. Broadening the reach of UN Women’s expertise and analysis will make an important contribution, as will a continued to sharing program and financial data in a timely and transparent manner.
The United States looks forward to our continued engagement with UN Women and the Executive Board, including through our upcoming strategic dialogue in Washington. The more
effectively and efficiently we work together, the more we can center women and girls in all we do. There is not a more important priority.
Thank you.
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