Executive Secretary, Executive Director, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
 

Next year, commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Conference and the Beijing Platform for Action. And this year, we celebrate that 20 years ago the international community gathered in Cairo for the landmark adoption of the ICPD Programme of Action.

There have been many activities in this regard, some of which I have been involved in, in my capacity as a member of the High-Level Task Force for ICPD.

The Beijing Conference provided a visionary roadmap for the empowerment of women. The Beijing Platform for Action imagines a world in which every woman and girl can exercise her freedoms and her choices, and realize all her rights, including her right to live free from violence, to go to school, to participate in political processes and to earn equal pay for equal work.

In many of these areas, countries from the UNECE region have advanced. Today and tomorrow, you will discuss key achievements over the past two decades, and you will share experiences, but also identify areas where further action is needed so that women and girls can become even more powerful agents of change in your countries, regions and communities.

I would like to speak to you today on the specific aspects of gender equality to which I personally am deeply committed: The prevention of gender-based violence and the rights and empowerment of adolescents, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Gender-based violence penetrates all areas of life and despite efforts to curb it over the last two decades; gender-based violence continues to exist in all layers of society in all countries of the UNECE region.

Disturbingly, in the Member States of the European Union, one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence from the age of 15. Both partner and non-partner violence has the highest prevalence in the youngest age group.

In my own country, Denmark, 6.5 percent of young women under the age of 24 experience violence from an intimate partner. These figures are totally unacceptable.

Due to the dynamics of a violent relationship it is extremely difficult for the woman to leave or stop the violence, thereby exposing themselves to repeated violence. In many cases, the reasons for staying are lack of financial resources. Gender stereotypes often hinder women’s economic independence and sometimes women have little choice but to stay, also for the sake of the children. It can be truly heartbreaking.

Beyond the enforcement of legislation, we have to recognize that the elimination of gender-based violence requires a change of mind – and of mindsets. We need to create a paradigm shift – this issue is NOT just a woman’s issue.

I find it perplexing that often men are erased from the conversation, when we talk about violence against women. There can be no bystanders on this issue. Educational campaigns in various forms should target the entire population including men and boys and including potential victims, perpetrators and key actors that can prevent victimisation.

A few hours ago, I landed from South Africa where, together with the Danish Minister of Trade and Development Cooperation, we were on an official visit focusing on Danish engagement in the region, with particular attention to sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality.  

I would like to briefly share with you the work of a local NGO – Brothers for Life – that engages men and boys as agents of change. Through their work and dedication they have mobilised local communities, primarily men, to change behaviour – including breaking the cycle of violence against women.

It was the words of the men and boys who today embrace their roles as loving husbands and fathers that had the greatest impact on me. And I would like to share the words of one of the ‘Brothers’ – as they refer to themselves as.

An older, charismatic man described himself as ‘an experienced wife-beater from a line of abusers’. He went on to say: ‘I was blessed to join this program and today I am a transformed perpetrator. If a guy like me can change, so can they’.

Men and boys must be engaged as agents of change in achieving gender equality, protecting the human rights of women and girls and ending gender-based violence through education and awareness raising and changing of behaviour.

And this is why I strongly welcome the work undertaken by the UN system to highlight this issue.  

The economic crisis, the humanitarian crises, and not least the emergencies and armed conflict or natural disasters which the world faces – all put women at a higher risk of abuse and exploitation.

A recent UNFPA study on the practice of child marriage conducted in 14 countries and territories of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus found that in a number of countries forced marriage is still pushing girls and young women into vulnerable situations, including; early or unsafe pregnancy and childbirth, exposure to violence and lack of support to leave violent marriages, as well as reduced opportunities for education and employment.

What can we do to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls in our region?

In many countries, addressing gender-based violence has been considered a policy priority. The recent entry into force of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – the Istanbul Convention – has marked an important milestone.

The convention sets legally binding standards that shape the regional human rights framework and oblige States Parties to take action aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls.  As of today, the Convention has been ratified by 14 European countries including my own.  And many more should follow.

Let me now turn to another important aspect of gender equality: Universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

The normative development and implementation of the Cairo ICPD-Programme of Action has greatly improved the lives of millions through its insistence that equality and respect, promotion and protection of human rights are at the heart of sustainable development.

However, much work still remains to be done to deliver on the promise of the ICPD. We owe it to all women, girls and notably young people who continue to be left behind to intensify our efforts to push forward the sexual and reproductive health and rights agenda.

It is a well-known fact that poverty disproportionately affects women. Investing in women and girls and ensuring their equal rights, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights, have high payoffs across nations.

Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights – providing women the right to take control over their own body and to decide freely; if, when and with whom they want to have children – paves the way for progress in many of the areas of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Gender equality and women’s rights are fundamentally a human rights issue and I strongly believe that societies will become stronger and more prosperous if the whole of society – men and women alike – are involved and contribute.

While provisions for sexual and reproductive health and rights have been incorporated in policies and legislation in many countries of the UNECE region there is still room for progress.

Access to comprehensive sexuality education in schools is still lacking and there is limited access to youth-friendly services, in particular sexual and reproductive health services in many countries. Adolescents and young people must be able to make informed and responsible decisions for their lives and to reject intolerance and violence.

Let me finish by reiterating that in less than a year from now, the international community will adopt a new global framework for sustainable development.

The empowerment of women, the rights and empowerment of adolescents and youth, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights must be among the basic elements of a universal people centred, socially just and effective post-2015 agenda that will benefit all of humanity and which will yield high returns for both present and future generations.

Let us send a strong message from this region in support of the human rights and empowerment of women and girls – in support of gender equality as a robust stand-alone goal and to highlight the centrality of women’s and girl’s rights in the post-2015 agenda. And let us work together in our region, and globally, to make it a reality for all – no matter who you are or where you live.

Thank you.