This will be written in English to best communicate with all the sections in WILPF.
WILPF Norway received this letter yesterday, and I was ashamed that Norway has taken two steps back from being in the forefront of the international women’s movement. Norwegians know so much better, there are people in this country that know and can do better then this, I will ensure you. Here is the letter:
Dear WILPF Norway,
PeaceWomen and Reaching Critical Will have conducted a Gender and Disarmament Index Analysis of the speeches made during the General Assembly of the 69th session of the General Assembly. This year’s General Debate took place from 24 – 30 September 2014, under the theme of «Delivering on and implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda».
During the debate, representatives from member states and observers had the opportunity to address the international community with concerns, priorities, and opinions about various topics, including the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, climate change, Ebola, terrorism, and the conflicts in Gaza, Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. The substantial coverage of terrorism and regional conflicts demonstrated the importance of peace and security to sustainable development and the need to include targets on peace, gender equality, and reduced military spending in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Please find information particular to the Norway’s statement below:
UN page for Norway
Speaker: H.E. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister
Date: 25 September 2014
We would like to inform you that Norway made the following reference to gender in this year’s General Assembly debate statement.
Extract of Statement:
«Education, particularly for girls, is the ‘superhighway’ to ending poverty. Poverty, discrimination and the use of force often prevent girls from getting the education they are entitled to. Sexual violence, abductions and deadly attacks are the most despicable ways in which girls’ right to education is being violated. I condemn the abductions of schoolgirls by Boko Haram in the strongest possible terms. In the face of terrorists threatening to deprive children of their right to education we should be inspired by Malala. Malala brought to light the plight of the millions of children around the world who are denied an education. If one schoolgirl can take on the Taliban, then, surely, the world community can defeat extremism and terrorism. President, terrorists and extremists are trying to stop us from educating children. Peace is vital for achieving universal primary education. The same can be said for the other MDGs, not least the goal on reducing poverty. This is why we must focus on conflict affected countries. A girl child growing up in Syria today cannot look forward to going to school, because there is no school to go to. A pregnant teenage girl in South Sudan will not get the maternal health services she needs since it is too risky for health workers to travel.»
“International peace, national security, social development and individual prosperity can best be fostered under a system of good democratic governance and human rights. Efforts to promote respect for human rights can help prevent armed conflict and mass atrocities. Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, herself a leading human rights defender, stated in her Nobel lecture that: ‘If the 21st century wishes to free itself from the cycle of violence, acts of terror and war, there is no other way except by understanding and putting into practice every human right for all mankind, irrespective of race, gender, faith, nationality or social status’. I agree.”
The rule of law and civil liberties are also fundamental to the development of the private sector and attracting investment. Moreover, we know that enabling women to fully enjoy their social and economic rights unleashes tremendous economic growth.
We would like to inform you that Norway did not make any reference to disarmament in this year’s General Assembly debate statement.
Additionally, please find summaries of our Gender and Disarmament debate analyses below:
Gender Summary
A men’s only conference on gender equality – does that sounds empowering, inclusive and balanced? Well, at this General Assembly, Iceland and Suriname announced exactly that. From WILPF’s analysis of the statements at GA69, there is certainly much more work to be done to build adequate political will and commitment to gender equality and holistic understanding and implementation of women, peace and security. Overall, out of a total of 197 statements, 98 contained references on women and gender. Many of these focused on women as victims of the recent conflicts in Gaza and Syria, a significant number of the statements (70) made references to gender equality and/or women’s empowerment. Most of these member states highlighted that the active and equal participation of women was necessary to ensure lasting peace, security, and sustainable development. Finland, for example, “Women in Syria, as in other conflict-driven countries, must be included in the peace process. We welcome women’s active efforts to strengthen their voices in Syria and everywhere”. Ireland noted “political will is a crucial element”. Many states linked gender equality and women’s empowerment as a priority on the post-2015 development agenda, but none linked demilitarization and conflict prevention. Chile, recognized “today women are at the center of the new development and peace architecture” but not enough States made these linkages in their statements. Liechtenstein was among the strongest “There is no sustainable development without the full empowerment of women”. Many states did reference Beijing+20. Here, Iceland announced a “men” only conference on gender equality to the surprise of many advocates working on inclusion, and efforts to shift from male dominated international policy discussions. Regrettably, only thirteen (13) female leaders – one less than last year – spoke at the debate.
Please visit the PeaceWomen website for an overview of the discussion and full index of gender extracts.
Disarmament Summary
Disarmament should be a key aspect of any transformative development agenda. Yet very few countries spoke about disarmament or arms control related topics. Perhaps this is because, as the UN Secretary-General remarked, “Disarmament is viewed as a distant dream, sabotaged by profiteers of perpetual warfare.” Only 27 countries spoke about disarmament. 41 talked about nuclear weapons in some form, down from 65 last year. Even the Arms Trade Treaty, which reached its 50th ratification necessary to bring about its entry into force during the high-level week, was only mentioned by 21 countries. The use of explosive weapons in populated areas was the only disarmament topic to receive increased mention this week, largely due to the bombing and shelling of towns and cities in Gaza, Syria, and Ukraine.
Please visit the Reaching Critical Will website for an overview of the discussion and full index of disarmament extracts.
Best regards,
Joann Lee
PeaceWomen Programme
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
UN Office
777 UN Plaza, 6th Floor
New York, New York 10017
www.peacewomen.org
joann@peacewomen.org
+ 1 212 682 1265
