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Statement by Ambassador WU Haitao at the Third Committee of the 71st Session of the General Assembly on Advancement of Women

2016-10-11 10:07

Madame Chair,

The Chinese delegation associates itself with the statement made by Thailand on behalf of G77 and China. China commends UN Women for the important role it played in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. China would like to make the following observations:

First, we need to accelerate the implementation of the goals on women as contained in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are important goals in the Agenda. They are cross-cutting issues in other goals as well. The international community should seize this opportunity to effectively enhance the empowerment of women and girls, focus on women’s employment, health, education and their participation in decision-making, and include gender factors in the implementation process for the advancement of women throughout the world.

Second, we need to effectively implement the commitments made by all the countries at the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Woman Empowerment. China and UN Women co-hosted the Global Leaders’ Meeting in September last year. This first-ever international conference on women at the level of world leaders is another milestone since the World Conference on Women in Beijing. Over the past year, participating countries actively implemented their commitments and made progress in safeguarding the rights and interests of women, advancement of women, and elimination of discrimination against women. China expects all parties to continue to implement their commitments, vigorously addressing the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action so as to provide impetus to the advancement of women throughout the world.

Third, we need to further support the advancement of women in the developing countries. Affected by weak global economic growth, the developing countries are faced with particular difficulties in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. We commend UN Women for its attention to enhancing the capacity building of the developing countries. We call upon the developed countries to further provide technology and funding support to the developing countries, assist them in resolving practical problems in women’s poverty reduction, employment and education, strengthen their own capacity development so that women of all countries will become beneficiaries and drivers of human development and progress.

Madame Chair,

During the Global Leaders’ Meeting, President XI Jinping announced a pledge of US$ 10 million to UN Women for supporting the implementation of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 2030 Agenda and its goals. This pledge is being implemented gradually. In addition, China will carry out 100 “Health Projects for Women and Children” and 100 “Happy Campus Projects”, to provide training opportunities to 130,000 women in the developing countries. These assistance programs and other training and cooperation assistance programs are being implemented steadily, and will be completed within 5 years. China will continue to help other developing countries achieve 2030 Agenda and its goals in light of the actual needs of recipients within the framework of South-South Cooperation.

As the G20 President in 2016, China convened successfully in Xi’an this past May Women 20, in which heated discussions were centered around the theme of “Equal Participation and Innovative Development”. Adopted in consensus at this meeting was a communiqué, which highlighted gender inclusiveness and equality being the indispensable elements for a strong, sustainable and balanced growth, and the need to ensure women’s full participation in economic and social affairs and their greater role in achieving economic prosperity and social progress.

Madame Chair,

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the advancement of women and makes thorough efforts to promote women’s advancement and development. China has in place a legal system based on its Constitution and centered on its Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests. The newly amended Law on the Promotion of Employment and Labor Contract Law provide safeguards to women in the development and protection of their rights. The Anti-Domestic Violence Law of China put in effect on March 1, 2016 has provided legal basis to protect women’s personal safety. China is vigorously launching campaigns to alleviate women from poverty, strengthen their skills training, and assist poor women in lifting themselves out of poverty by starting businesses. As of June 2016, the cumulative micro credit provided to women amounted to 279.453 billion Yuan. China adopted vigorous measures to improve the general health of women. The average life expectancy of women is at 77.37 years of age, exceeding the national average of 74.83 years of age.

China will continue to support the work of UN Women, strengthen international cooperation in the area of advancement of women, and make greater contribution to the early realization of gender equality around the world.

Thank you, Madame Chair.

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