The world cannot turn a blind eye to the trampling of women’s rights during the war in the Middle East and under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, delegates tell the Third Committee – Occupied Palestinian Territory

General Meeting
Third Committee

Seventy-ninth Session,
9th and 10th meetings (AM and PM)

GA/SHC/4408

It will take 137 years to lift women out of extreme poverty, says speaker

The international community cannot turn a blind eye to the trampling of women’s rights in Gaza, Lebanon and Afghanistan, delegates today told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) during its ongoing discussion on women’s progress, as they also highlighted initiatives to accelerate human rights. progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially in achieving gender equality.

“Right now, Palestinian women and girls are undergoing unspeakable suffering – killed, maimed, displaced, starved, detained and traumatized,” Türkiye’s delegate said, adding that more than 40,000 civilians have died in Gaza in the past year alone, 70 percent of them . including women and children. At least 97,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been injured and do not have access to adequate medical care. Food insecurity has reached critical levels, especially for pregnant women, new mothers and their children, who are among the most vulnerable, he said, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

In a similar vein, the representative of the United Arab Emirates underlined that the international community “must not turn a blind eye to the immense pain and suffering experienced by communities in the Middle East, especially women and girls in Palestine and Lebanon.” She called for a permanent ceasefire to stop the “cruel war on Gaza” and reaffirmed her country’s commitment to providing gender-responsive humanitarian assistance, including sanitation and maternity kits, to the conflict zones.

For its part, the Palestinian State monitor said Israel has used the deliberate targeting of civilians – especially women and children – in Gaza as a weapon of war. “(Israel’s) evacuation orders are not intended to protect lives,” she asserted, adding that “they are merely a tactic to cause more suffering, forcible displacement, to maximize Palestinian losses and to increase the collective punishment of the entire population.” worsen”. Israel “has created pretexts in an attempt to convince you that they had a reason to pull the plug on incubators for children in Gaza, (…) sexually harass and threaten Palestinian women illegally held in Israeli prisons with gang rape, (…) schools and destroy universities,” she said, urging the country to immediately end its aggression and unlawful occupation.

The Norwegian delegate stressed that the setbacks for women’s rights in some parts of the world “are incomprehensible”, and drew attention to Afghanistan, where their rights are being sidelined by the Taliban and their lives are becoming increasingly limited. However, she claimed: “Women are not just victims – they are agents of change and must participate in all aspects of society.”

“The Taliban’s policies against women do not reflect Afghan culture nor the true values ​​of Islam,” said the Afghan delegate, who represents the government toppled by the group. He noted that they use religion to “legitimize their crimes” through a series of edicts that codify the oppression of women. The isolation of keeping 1.1 million girls out of school and the “shattering” of women’s economic independence have created a mental health crisis, he added, recalling a recent survey that found 18 percent of women do not have anyone outside their immediate family has seen during the crisis. and that 8 percent know someone who has attempted suicide since the Taliban returned to power.

“Afghan women, however, are showing extraordinary courage and resilience,” through the establishment of underground schools and leading protests, and “their resistance is a powerful affirmation of their humanity, their strength and their unwavering pursuit of equality and justice,” he said. Member States to hold the Taliban accountable through all available mechanisms.

The German delegate also expressed serious concern about the erosion of women’s rights in Afghanistan and stated that his country, together with Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, has made it clear to the de facto authorities in Kabul that they must fulfill their country’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The representative of the United States expressed alarm that the SDGs are falling further out of reach, noting that it will take 137 years to lift women out of extreme poverty and that climate change threatens to push women and girls even deeper into it to conduct. “We must take concrete action to close these gaps,” she urged, underscoring the importance of involving women and girls in decision-making at every level – from grassroots organizations to the highest levels of government.

Echoing her concerns, the representative of Cape Verde insisted that “we cannot and will not accept that young and future generations of women have fewer opportunities and fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers.” Because women’s economic dependence increases the risk of gender-based violence and “toxic relationships,” Cabo Verde has responded with the “Plus Fund Initiative,” which invests money raised through tourism in vulnerable groups, including women and children. In addition, by 2024, nearly 2,000 women have become self-employed and benefited from training programs, lifting them out of extreme poverty.

In the same vein, Nepal’s delegate highlighted the country’s affirmative action initiatives that ensure women’s participation in the education, healthcare and security sectors. The country’s constitution requires that at least one-third of members in federal and provincial parliaments – and 40 percent of members in local bodies – must be women. Today, women represent 34 percent of the former and 35 percent of the latter, he said. Moreover, women’s representation in local bodies has increased from 0.48 percent to 41 percent over the past 32 years.

Senegal’s population is majority female, the country’s delegate said, noting that women represent 60 percent of the agricultural workforce in rural areas and produce 80 percent of the province’s food products. The government has empowered them through its ‘Emergency Community Development’ programme, which has provided clean water to 300 villages and provided women with post-harvest equipment.

However, women’s progress is being hampered in many places by the manipulation of public policies, the instrumentalization of regressive cultural practices and the weaponization of violence against their freedoms, the representative of Ghana said. While the world has witnessed some transformative progress in advancing women’s rights in recent years, “this progress remains fragile,” she stated. Economic exploitation has further hampered women’s ability to achieve reasonable independence, especially in marginalized communities, she noted, urging States to prioritize investments in gender-responsive social protection, adopt an approach where putting survivors first and tackling the gender pay gap.

Moreover, the Cuban delegate said that the underdevelopment, hunger and poverty that hinder gender equality are perpetuated by an unjust international order, with unilateral coercive measures that affect the lives and rights of women and girls worldwide. “We cannot remain silent when confronted with this injustice,” she emphasizes.

Meanwhile, the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, citing gender equality as “an important human rights issue,” said women in his country are receiving medical services under the free medical care system, and paid maternity leave has been extended by 240 days. . New kindergartens and daycare centers for women are also being established or renovated in all workplaces. He pointed to the Japanese military’s wartime sexual enslavement of 200,000 Korean women and girls and said such crimes constitute the most serious crime against humanity. But “the Japanese authorities are distorting the historical truth,” he stressed, calling on Tokyo to issue reparations for its crimes, including the forced conscription of more than 8.4 million Koreans and the genocide of more than 1 million Koreans.

Japan’s delegate rejected these claims as false and unfounded, adding that “every country and region must face its own history with humility.” Her country has done this as a peace-loving nation, respecting democracy and human rights and contributing to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond since World War II, she stressed. The annually adopted Women Empowerment Policy sets targets for the number of female executives and offers technical training to increase women’s presence in the digital field. In addition, the “critical” law to support women facing challenges came into force, which addresses the intersections of poverty and sexual violence through collaboration between the public and private sectors, she said.

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