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STATEMENT BY H.E. HON. UHURU KENYATTA, CGH, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES ON THE OCASSION OF THE 75TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY; THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN

ON

1ST OCTOBER, 2020.

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Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. It gives me great pleasure to join you in commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Beijing Platform for Action remains a powerful source of inspiration to our nations for advancing the rights of women and girls.

2. Kenya is committed to building global momentum for the realization of the Beijing goals and is honoured to offer leadership in the Generation Equality Action Coalition on GBV, together with , Uruguay, Iceland and Zimbabwe.

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3. This meeting comes in the midst unfortunately of the COVID 19 pandemic, which has caused, not only a health and social crisis, but also an economic one and this the world over, thus threatening our gains on gender equality.

4. And to mitigate against this, my Administration took immediate action including adopting policy interventions, facilitating economic relief packages and establishing a COVID 19 Emergency Fund to mobilize resources towards curbing the spread, the effect and impact of the virus. The Fund has continued to support implementation of targeted interventions in the country to cushion Kenyans and especially women from COVID 19 shocks.

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Excellencies, 5. Let me inform you that gender equality remains central to the development agenda of my Administration and indeed as enshrined by our . Kenya has adopted a robust policy and legal frameworks to promote, enforce and monitor the realization of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.

6. Our interventions are reinforced by the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063, particularly aspiration no. 6, which seeks to ensure that development is people driven and is focused on unleashing the potential of its women and youth.

7. It is also recalled that Kenya hosted the highly celebrated 1985 Third World Conference on Women. A conference that defined the Forward Looking

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Strategies for the Advancement of Women, and which has greatly influenced our strategies and programmes for women empowerment.

8. Within the region, my Government is party to the Political Declaration on Beijing + 25, which sets out priority actions for realizing women’s rights for an an equal future.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, 9. Kenya’s implementation of the Beijing Platform is on track and in line with the 12 critical areas of concern.

10. Our National Blue Print for development, which we call our Vision 2030, outlines flagship projects for the promotion of gender equality, Inclusive Economic Growth, Prevention and Response to Gender Based Violence,

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Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation and other Harmful Practices, Gender Mainstreaming and the Empowerment of the Girl Child.

11. With respect to economic empowerment, my Administration has invested in women through a catalytic fund to women, equivalent to over USD 600 million and over 3 million women have been trained on entrepreneurship skills and linked to large enterprises, through market support and linkage programmes.

12. We are also implementing a transformative social protection measure through major cash transfer programmes, with nationwide coverage today benefits over 500,000 vulnerable households.

13. Our dedication to education has contributed to the achievement of gender

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parity in primary school enrolment. Elimination of tuition fees at public secondary schools, enforcement of the re-entry policy for young mothers and the provision of free sanitary towels, have enhanced the transition rate of girls from primary to secondary school.

14. On Health, our interventions are bearing fruits with the reduction of maternal mortality to 362 from 488 per 100,000 live births. Provision of free maternity health services have contributed to an increase of maternal utilization and delivery uptake, from 52% to 60%, with skilled delivery increasing from 62% to 74%.

15. On leadership, women comprise 33 % of my Cabinet and command strategic positions: Women are also heading critical parliamentary committees and we are making steady progress

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in the Judiciary where women comprise 28.6 % of the Supreme Court, 36.8% for our Court of Appeal, 48.8% of our and 53.5% of our magistrates.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, 16. My Administration is especially steadfast in its commitment to end Gender Based Violence and harmful cultural practices. I have, in this regard, committed to have our communities who practice FGM, as a culture to signify maturity and importance of girls, that there are other better ways of achieving these cultural goals.

17. In particular, encouraging our girls to seriously pursue their education, as this is key to securing a bright future and better positions – and thus be part of the pillars of our great nation.

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18. Further, in the spirit of regional cooperation, the Kenya Government and that of , Tanzania, and Somalia, have signed a landmark Declaration aimed at curbing cross border FGM.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

19. I want in conclusion to say that, 2020 was supposed to be a pivotal year for our accountability to delivering on the Beijing promises and in accelerating change. The emergence of this pandemic is unprecedented and if we are not careful it is likely to reverse our gains. I believe this is a wake-up call, a call to strengthen our resolve to move forward and to demonstrate our resilience, by accepting the challenges that we are

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experiencing and see them rather as an opportunity to build back better and stronger.

20. In the spirit of multilateralism, we must, therefore, remain steadfast in delivering a more gender equal world by putting women and girls at the centre of our country’s aspirations.

21. I want to once again reaffirm the Kenya Government’s commitment to the full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; because gender equality matters and it still remains our unfinished business. I thank you for your attention.

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