General Debate of the 67th Session of the General Assembly - Reference to Gender Language

“For over a year now, the thousands of our Syrian brothers and sisters have lost their lives due to an escalating cycle of violence.”

"Algeria's President has given new impetus to reform to ensure the rule of law and women's empowerment. The legislative elections of May 10 2012 registered a significant augmentation of women's representation' women accounted for 146 members of parliament, or one third of the lower chamber."

"We will help increase gender equality."

"I was proud to announce at the Pacific Islands Forum last month that Australia will work alongside our partners in the Pacific on an unprecedented gender initiative: Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development."

"Australia will provide $320 million over 10 years: to support women's political participation, to expand women's leadership, to spread economic and social opportunities in the Pacific."

"This is a principle underpinning every Australian aid intervention and initiative: empowering women and girls"

"The Bahamas has made significant strides in the areas of maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS. In this the 50thyear since women obtained the right to vote in The Bahamas, we are committed to the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women, as was affirmed by the Minister of Social Services during consideration of The Bahamas' Reports by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its Fifty-Second Session held in July last. The Bahamas, nevertheless, remains concerned about the increasing incidences of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among her populace, in particular women who are disproportionately affected by such preventable illnesses."

“Since joining the United Nations, the Kingdom of Bahrain works tirelessly to support the noble principles and objectives of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace and security and the development of friendly relations between nations on the basis of mutual respect. I am therefore honoured, in harmony with these principles, to represent here a country responsive to its international responsibilities while laying down the foundations of a modern state through initiatives, plans as well as political and organizational visions aimed at constructing a modern society, organized and committed to its values in the various areas, notably education, health, vocational training, economic reform and advancement of women.“

“The Kingdom of Bahrain is among the first to have achieved the MDG's even before the prescribed time frame in fields such as free basic education, empowerment of women, expansion of social security to venerable groups, equal opportunities for men and women and the enhancement of health services, notably for children.”

"As a member of the Human Rights Council and the ECOSOC, we promote justice,peace, democracy ,gender equality, secularism, rule of law, right of minorities and of vulnerable groups."

"The question of the respect of lives and human rights is fundamental. What it's about is the rights of children, women, refugees, and persons with disabilities […]"

"We all have, as heads of State and ministers, a huge collective responsibility. Women must become equal to men, at political, social and economic levels."

"Little girls must no longer be circumcised. Violence against women must be systematically addressed and combated."

"In my country, women currently hold office in the Ministries of Justice, Interior and Policy. In my country, important efforts have been undertaken to combat marital violence more effectively."
"Our legislation prohibits and punishes all forms of discrimination, whether be based on gender, disability, age or sexual orientation."

“I also want to commend the Secretary General for his tireless efforts to advance dialogue and cooperation, and his firm commitment to the core values and principles of the United Nations. We in Bosnia and Herzegovina recognize the importance of, and we fully support his action agenda that identified five generational imperatives: prevention, a more secure world, helping countries in transition, empowering women and youth, and sustainable development”

"Once again, a woman's voice is opening the debate of the United Nations General Assembly. For many, we women are “half the sky”. But we want to be half of the Earth as well. With equal rights and opportunities. Free from all forms of discrimination and violence. Capable of building our own emancipation and, with it, of contributing to the emancipation of all."

"The Government in Damascus bears the largest share of responsibility for the cycle of violence that has victimized a large number of civilians, especially women, children, and young people."

“The world clamors for food instead of weapons, for the billion men, women, and children who suffer from the cruelest punishment inflicted on humanity: hunger”

“Burkina Faso attaches particular importance to all the questions linked to the thriving of women and to this effect, has carefully handed efforts to improve the social and juridical status of Burkina Faso women.”

“We reiterate our total support for the African initiative of introducing to the current session a resolution aiming to eliminate female genital mutilations at the global level. We have the wish that it receives the adhesion of the entire international community.”

“The UN Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health, co-chaired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania, is the type of initiative that Canada would like to see more of in the future, and its recommendations need to be integrated into a post-2015 framework.”

"Efforts are underway by our government to protect and promote the rights of vulnerable groups (namely women, children and minorities) through social protection policies.”

“Today, however, the sound most strongly resonating in this hall is the desperate scream of women and children in Syria. To them, we convey our solidarity."

"We place special attention to continuous improvements of fundamental human rights of women and girls in different post-conflict societies. Women and children do not have armies to protect them or trade unions to negotiate on their behalf. And yet, more and more women are becoming the primary breadwinners in their families. The empowerment of women and their full and equal participation in societies are prerequisites for security, economic opportunities, effective governance and social development."

"Croatia sees the ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies as a cornerstone for the achievement of a balanced integration of the sustainable development. Croatia is firmly devoted to participation in these processes, particularly in the fields of education and gender equality."

"We have been providing substantial contributi[ons] to international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and improve the living conditions of its people, highlighting the need for the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of women and children."

“As I speak, hundreds of millions of children, men and women in the North Kivu Province are deprived of peace and subjected to inhuman and degrading acts, falling victim to profound evil and the philosophy of might. Some children are stripped of the right to attend school and forced to bear and use firearms in order to kill others, even their own brothers and sisters. This situation is unacceptable and should be condemned and met with sanctions.”

“Such a rights-based approach is about placing people – men and women – at the center and in charge of their own development. And let me add – for a woman also the right to decide over her own body.”

“The social politics formulated [in my country] are based on the promotion of and improvement of the rights and well being of youth and women. The guaranteeing of equality and the empowerment of women through access to care for women and their protection from all forms of discrimination and violence is a national priority.”

"At the internal level, we need to improve our information systems in a way that we can have a better awareness of social, territorial and gender inequalities, as well as a better awareness of its impact on nature."

"Between 2007 and 2009, the worldwide unemployment rate for youth had its greatest increase ever recorded: from 11.9% to 13.0%. Young women have had more difficulty than young men in finding work."

"Among civilians women and children are the most vulnerable. When we take this into account, resolution 1325 - "Women, peace and security" - takes on a whole new immediacy."

“In our country, indeed, it was not until 1971 that women were entitled to vote, yet only 40 years later, in 2011, the people of Andorra elected a parliament with the second highest number of female representatives in the world.”

"Since justice is the basis for empowering people for peace and development, women should have an equal role. To expedite the process of their empowerment, girls are provided free education up to higher secondary school under our New Education Policy. Women are also encouraged to be a part of our national life. Women leadership has been developed from grassroot level to national level. Their participation has increased in politics has increased since 2008 general elections. 12,383 women have been elected in the local government bodies. 69 women are the member of the parliament constituting 20% of the total number of MP's. Besides me as the Prime Minister and the Leader of the house, the Deputy Leader of the house, five cabinet ministers and a Whip are women. 30% of the general government posts are reserved for the women, some of whom serve in very senior positions in the judicial, administrative, diplomatic field as well as the armed and the law enforcement services, and as UN peacekeepers."

"I am convinced that the completion of the reform of the Security Council will bring about more serenity in the management of these large contemporary problems in the domain of peace and international security. […] These commendable reforms must be completed by a system that allows more opportunity for women and youth to be involved in the life of the United Nations."

“The parity in male-female representation in the Senate demonstrated the Government's efforts to fairly represent women, who made up most of the population, in State institutions, he said.”

“My government has established some democratic institutions – the Government, the National Assembly and the Senate, all largely representative of the Burundi population and which respect the need for an ethnic and gender balance. It is important to highlight the parity in male-female representation in the Senate. Burundi has deliberately chosen to do this, by a voluntary action, so that the majority of the population- women- are represented in important institutions of the Republic.”

"We hope that progress in citizen participation -in particular women- is strengthened in order to consolidate democratic systems with opportunities for development and welfare."

"During this period we have witnessed transformation in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya. We stand by them through this transition and encourage their efforts on the difficult road to consolidating democracy and the rule of law. We look forward to new structures that are inclusive of women and minorities and create conditions for further participation of citizens in political life."

"For Antigua and Barbuda: Peace means respect for human rights and the differences of others and the protection of women, children and the elderly."

"The situation in Syria is disheartening; children, women and the elderly must be protected."

“We reiterate our total support for the African initiative of introducing to the current session a resolution aiming to eliminate female genital mutilations at the global level. We have the wish that it receives the adhesion of the entire international community.”

"Putting an end to sexual violence against women in armed conflicts is another issue that warrants serious attention. War time sexual violence is a fundamental infringement of human rights, and is in fact an affront to human dignity and integrity. History has left us important lessons that warn us against such egregious acts."

"The Republic of Korea would like to urge the UN system and all Member States to make utmost efforts to put an end to such atrocities, not only taking all measures to protect women and girls in armed conflicts, but also providing effective remedies and reparations for victims and ending impunity by bringing the offenders to justice in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN."

"Furthermore, conflict-related sexual violence requires more attention. Such violence can easily lead to further war crimes and crimes against humanity."

“Often, a threat to the security of humankind is coupled with the crushing of human rights. Yet human rights abuses that don't threaten security still concern us. The enslavement of others is a vicious human rights abuse, and it takes many forms: Whether the notorious political prison camps of North Korea; Or forcible recruitment by the "M23" group in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Or the early and forced marriage of young girls, a truly barbaric form of slavery.”

”Of further significance, in April 2012, Parliament passed the End Violence Against Women Legislative and Policy Reform (2012). Aware that by itself, the passage of a law is insufficient to change society's entrenched cultural attitudes and practices, we are also embarking on public education and on strengthening the capacity of government departments and more.”

“Our membership of the Human Rights Council is an opportunity to continue working on the key priorities Austria pursued during the Security Council membership in 2009/2010: the protection of civilians, the safety of journalists, the implementation of resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, the freedom of religion and belief, as well as the protection of children from violence and abuse.”

“In addition, we salute the efforts undertaken since the launch of the activities of UN-Women and we have the hope that this new organ will allow for the reinforcement of UN activities in favor of women's empowerment and the defense of women's rights, as well as equality of sexes about all in developing countries.”

“As such my government congratulates the African Union for their initiative to ask the Assembly to adopt a resolution calling for greater efforts to end female genital mutilation in the world and congratulates the measures taken the African group in New York the effect”

“Sustainable development must have an approach centered on the acknowledgement of the needs of populations. Women, children and youth must be the target of all politics regarding the implementation of the Rio +20 document as well as of all discussions intended to formulate a development agenda after 2015.”

“With the establishment of UN-Women, the United Nations took a big step forward in mainstreaming the gender dimension into its work. As an ardent supporter of women's rights and participation in all sectors of society, I must commend UN-Women for the way. It has been evolving as we look forward to the establishment of its regional offices. Upon assumption of our membership of the Executive Board, we will work with all concerned to advance the promotion of women's rights and the rights of the girl child. Advancing the welfare of women will always be a prloriÿ for my government and it starts with the girl-child.”

”The UN must continue its irreplaceable work on behalf of women and Grenada is pleased to serve on the board of UN Women and to contribute to its endeavours.”