Head of UN Economic and Social Forum Says Women's Rights Will Be Enhanced By New Sustainability Goals

 

Addressing today a high-level gathering at United Nations Headquarters, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) declared that the empowerment of women and the full realization of their human rights are essential for achieving sustainable development and for building peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

"Women and girls should be able to benefit from all policies for sustainable development," said Oh Joon, in remarks to the 2015 Empowering Women and Sustainable Development Summit, which opened today.

The ECOSOC President stressed that enhancing women's rights will be included in the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Even though the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted 15 years ago, there are still challenges remaining. Mr. Oh said, and "a comprehensive and transformative approach is urgently needed to address the structural barriers to gender equality."

Mr. Oh said those ambitious goals "must be matched with an equally ambitious level of commitment and investment." He appealed all nations should ensure "a gender perspective is systematically incorporated into all national planning, budgeting and implementation."

Emphasizing that women must be able to influence decisions on economic, social, and environmental issues, he said "women need to develop their full potential, and fully participate in decisions affecting their families, communities and countries."