78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Statement delivered by H.E. Mohan Pieris, Ambassador/ PRUN of
Sri Lanka at the third committee under the subject 25 (a & b)
of the Third Committee Advancement of Women

 

Mr. Chair,

 

Thank you for giving me the floor,

We are meeting today at a time when the realization of SDG Goal 5, to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, has faced a severe threat as many women and girls face exacerbated levels of disadvantage (violence). This position finds support in  the Secretary General’s report on Progress towards Sustainable Development Goals: towards a rescue plan for people and the planet. As of May 2023, none of the 18 SDG 5 targets have been met or nearly met and only one is close to the target.

We must appreciate the fact that the woman in our global community  performs the role of wife, partner, organizer, administrator, director, re-creator, disburser, economist, mother, disciplinarian, teacher, health officer, artist and queen in the family at the same time. Apart from it, woman plays a key role in the socio-economic development of the society.

Notwithstanding this signal contribution Complex conflicts and humanitarian crises continue to ravage communities and hinder the overall well-being and prosperity of societies. Women are often the most impacted by these crises, bearing the brunt of conflict and paying a higher price of the devastation - from increased gender discrimination and violence, to the waning of gender-sensitive structures and programming. Still, they remain largely excluded from participating in peace processes, despite overwhelming evidence showing that women's involvement in peacebuilding and mediation leads to lasting, positive peace that goes well beyond just the silencing of guns.

Mr. Chair,

In the above context, the long-term and structural absence of women globally from the decision-making systems not only constitutes a serious human rights violation but also deprives the world of the potential of half of its population. As such, it is incumbent upon member states to reach equal and inclusive women in decision-making systems- in both public and private sectors.
In Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment has implemented a number of ambitious programmes for empowering women. One of these initiatives is to encourage women entrepreneurs to use e-market systems and to broaden the market for the products. The Ministry recently has also provided a training programme for divisional and district officers under the Ministry to educate them on the e-platform and thereby enabling them to assist the sellers.

Mr. Chair,

In compliance with the articles stipulated in the constitution of Sri Lanka and in realizing the commitments made to the international human rights instruments such as CEDAW, the laws and policies of Sri Lanka has given due consideration to promote gender equality. The legal framework in Sri Lanka is in place to protect women and girls from sexual violence and in respect to many offences such as murder, rape, sexual abuse and harassment, incest, trafficking and child abuse. In 2020, the Cabinet of Sri Lanka has approved establishing a National Policy to collect sex and age disaggregated data
with the ambition of designing development programs for women and children under the national policy framework. We also note with happiness that women's representation in the Local Government bodies has risen to 22% in 2018 with the introduction of a quota for women.

Currently, Sri Lanka is in the process of formulation of the draft National Women's Policy. During this process, special attention is given to investigate intersectionality of women's rights issues structured by areas such as ethnicity, social class, caste that may require additional policy interventions. In addition, action is being taken to repeal the discriminatory provisions of the laws towards women.

In addition, Sri Lanka is currently taking substantive actions to address the issues which include, inter-alia, conflict related sexual and gender-based violence towards women, trafficking and exploitation of prostitution and to strengthen the participation of women in political and public life and decision-making.

Mr. Chair,

Today, at a time we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the UDHR this year and when the 30th anniversary of the Beijing declaration is scheduled to be held in 2025, the world has an opportunity to not only build back better, but also to build back differently based on parity. We are at a time when a significant push is needed to bring about the paradigm shift based on parity and thereby to ensure effective and durable advancement of women’s rights.

The full range of violations of the rights of women and girls must be addressed by all international actors. Women’s security is strongly linked to the integrity of their rights, yet we are still far from embracing gender equality as an organizing principle to humanitarian interventions.

We need to address the following issues as of urgency;
•    Humanitarians, development workers, the international and regional human rights system, and the interventions of our peace and security actors must address the full range of violations of the rights of women and girls protected by international humanitarian, refugee, and human rights law, including, but not limited to, their right to life and physical integrity.

•    Women’s rights to education, to health, to land and productive assets, and rights of participation, decision-making and leadership in village or community matters are strongly linked to women’s security must be promoted.

•    Increased attention must be paid to violence against women and girls, particularly sexual violence in conflict, resulting in greater visibility, high-level advocacy, and the development of technical tools. However, too little funding is allocated to programming and services for survivors.this must be addressed

•    We are still far from genuinely embracing gender equality as an organizing principle of our work towards gender parity, and this undermines the effectiveness of the global assistance offered to achieve this goal

Mr. Chair,

With less than 7 years remaining to realize the targets envisioned in 2030 agenda, it is vital that the subject of the advancement of women be treated as a top priority. With long-term and holistic policies and strategies, Sri Lanka looks forward to meaningfully realize the advancement of women in timely manner.

I thank you