Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation supports the statement made by Jamaica on behalf of the Group of 77 and China under this agenda item. We wish to express our thanks to Ms. Mayanja, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Gender Issues, Ms. Hannan, Director of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, and Ms. Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for their reports. We commend them for their tireless work over the past year.

Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation has carefully studied the relevant reports submitted by the Secretariat, particularly the report of the Secretary-General on the comprehensive evaluation of the Implementation of the Outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women and of the special session of the General Assembly on Women (A/60/170), the report on the preparations for the study of violence against women (A/60/211), and the report on activities of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (A/60/274). The Chinese delegation believes that violence against women is currently one of the main obstacles preventing women from fully enjoying their rights. We will closely follow the process of the study on violence against women

Mr. Chairman,

Last March, the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women concluded a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Programme of Action, as well as the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly on women. Women's leaders from around the world gathered in New York, where they adopted the Declaration in Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Beijing Conference and reaffirmed the political will to continue to implement the relevant outcome documents and to steadily advance the status of women. The Chinese delegation believes that this declaration will guide the work of the United Nations in the area of women for a considerable time to come.

Mr. Chairman,

As the host to the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Chinese government convened last August in Beijing the Commemorative Conference for the Tenth Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women. China's President Hu Jintao addressed the Conference, which was attended by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Special Issues, the Executive Director of UNICEF and other UN officials, as well as over one thousand representatives of governments and civil societies from nearly eighty countries. The Conference adopted the Beijing Plus Ten Declaration entitled "Solidarity for Gender Equality, Development and Peace."

The Declaration revolves closely around the themes of promoting gender equality and achieving common development. In focused references to the Beijing Declaration and Programme of Action, the Millennium Declaration, and the outcome documents of events in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the World Conference on Women held by the United Nations and various regions, the Declaration recalls the major progress made by the international community in promoting gender equality while expressing grave concern over persisting barriers. With special emphasis on the overarching goal and principle of achieving equality, development and peace, the Declaration elaborates on the definition of gender equality and the inter-linkages among gender equality, development and peace. It puts forward a series of tactical recommendations such as strengthening national capacity building and promoting international cooperation, and undertakes to take more effective measures to expedite the comprehensive implementation of the above-mentioned documents. This declaration has been distributed as a document of the current session of the General Assembly (A/60/371), which all delegations are cordially invited to read.

Mr. Chairman,

In the outcome document of the Summit of the 60th session of the General Assembly, our heads of state agreed unanimously that "progress for women is progress for all", committed themselves to taking measures to promote gender equality and eliminate prevalent gender-based discriminations, and set down for this purpose a range of target areas. The Chinese delegation finds this highly encouraging.

Looking into the future, implementation is most important. The Chinese delegation believes that the United Nations should build on the momentum of the tenth anniversary of the Women's Conference and take active actions in the following areas:

Eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls;

Step up efforts in eradicating poverty;

Guarantee women's full participation in political, economic and social decision-making;

Accelerate the achievement of universal education;

Ensure that women enjoy quality health care and acquire knowledge and means for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS;

Promote the equal participation of women in peacekeeping activities;

Strengthen the role of women in environmental protection as well as the reduction and management of natural disasters;

Implement policies and strategies aimed at mainstreaming gender perspectives;

Pay special attention to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of women;

Pay attention to the gender identify of men in society;

Create an international environment of peace and solidarity favourable to the development of women;

Respect the right of various countries of choosing, within the international framework, their own approaches of advancing women's cause based on their specific situations.

The Chinese delegation will spare no effort in working with the United Nations and all its member states throughout the whole process in making the above objectives a reality.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.