[As delivered] It is an honour to address the Security Council and present the Secretary-General’s report on women, peace and security on the 20th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325. The resolution was born out of the horrors committed against the bodies of women and girls in Bosnia and Rwanda, and the example set by women who fought for their...

Dr Siga Fatima Jagne, Commissioner, Social Affairs and Gender, ECOWAS Commission, says the outbreak of COVID-19 has increased the risk of women insecurity and made them most-at-risk populations. She said though 14 African countries had adopted the National Action Plans (NAPs) on United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325” UNSCR 1325”, they were unable to successfully implement...

Africa’s economic recovery can be meaningfully accelerated if policymakers and the private sector step up their efforts to empower women – a group that accounts for more than half of the continent’s population. While the pursuit of gender equality is primarily a moral obligation, it also makes economic sense. By denying women their full rights...

Joint statement by UN Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Date: Thursday, October 22, 2020   Women and girls with disabilities rightly demand enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. We recognise and acknowledge that work remains to be done to...

Women and girls with disabilities rightly demand enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. We recognise and acknowledge that work remains to be done to ensure that the links between gender and disability feature more routinely in all our work. Common approaches to disability rights, women’s rights and gender equality have yet to place...

The pandemic has been especially crushing for women and, if no action is taken soon, the progress made over the past twenty-five years towards gender equality will be lost. This is the sobering conclusion reached by “Rapid Gender Assessments” recently carried out by UN Women and its institutional partners around the world. Sadly, much of...

Rome, 15 October 2020 – Our food supply is at risk if we don’t start prioritizing rural women during this pandemic, said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in a strong call to governments to increase their investments in rural women. “It is unacceptable that rural women, who...

The National Movement of Rural Women invites members of the press to celebrate International Day of Rural Women (IDoRW) on the 15th of October 2020. Observed since 2008, IDoRW – established by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 62/136 of 18 December 2007 – recognises “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in...

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has urged Ghanaians to actively participate in this year’s International Day of the Girl Child celebration, focused on providing better education on Teenage Pregnancy, which results in Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV and AIDS. The focus is also to encourage young girls to return to school after giving...

A thrilling debate to highlight challenges and prospects of the empowerment of girls in the country has been held as part of activities to celebrate this year’s International Day of the Girl-Child. The debate featured three students each (girls) from the Ridge Junior High School (JHS) and Choggu JHS in the Sagnarigu Municipality, who argued...