11 October 2011 General Assembly GA/SHC/4009 Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York Sixty-sixth General Assembly Third Committee 11 th & 12 th Meetings (AM & PM) WITH EQUAL RIGHTS, EMPOWERMENT, WOMEN CAN BE ‘AGENTS OF CHANGE’ FOR SUSTAINED SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SECURITY AROUND WORLD, THIRD COMMITTEE TOLD Hears Some 45 Speakers on Second Day of Advancement of Women Debate, With States Describing National Steps Taken to Achieve Gender Equality States needed to promote women’s rights, so they could be “agents of change” for sustained socio-economic development and security around the world, delegates told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, as it continued its three-day discussion on the advancement of women. “Without women’s empowerment and gender equality, societies will not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and their full development potential,” South Africa’s delegate said. She noted women had shown greater resolve in peace building processes, but their needs were overlooked in peace agreements, at donor conferences and in post-conflict legal reform — a situation that needed to be rectified. A number of delegates agreed that ending discrimination against women was central in fulfilling women’s fundamental human rights. It was also, some said, a prerequisite for sustainable development. To that end, Peru’s youth delegate called for greater female political participation, saying that young women in particular must be seen as change agents . Malaysia’s delegate told the Committee that significant progress in recent decades in his own country was made possible by greater participation of women. “As Malaysia evolves from a subsistence agricultural economy to a knowledge-based economy, women will continue to be a primary force in influencing the development of future generations of Malaysians, as well as an important economic resource,” he said. Throughout the day, representatives noted recent progress in the empowerment of women, highlighting how their rights had been brought to the forefront of national and international agendas through changes in States’ legislation to mainstream gender perspectives and the establishment of UN-Women last year. Many also detailed efforts to ensure greater numbers of women held positions in politics and Government through quotas or affirmative action, thus allowing them to participate more in decision- making processes. The representative of Bolivia said all political parties in his country were obliged to offer one male and one female candidates in order to undo old patterns of discrimination. Despite those achievements, many representatives acknowledged gender equality remained largely rhetorical for far too many women. Gender discrimination, particularly among rural women, women migrant workers and women with disabilities, was augmented by other forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity and economic status, they said. Education of women, particularly those who lived in rural areas, was singled out as a key to breaking the global cycle of poverty. Mongolia’s representative said rural women were critical agents for poverty reduction, food security and environmental sustainability, and she welcomed the Commission on the Status of Women’s decision to consider, during its next session, the empowerment of rural women and their role in development. A number of representatives also called for more systematic and coordinated efforts within the international community to protect disadvantaged women, particularly migrant workers who faced irregular immigration status and limited access to justice. Efforts at national, regional and international levels must be intensified to implement laws, policies and strategies aimed at improving the situation of women migrant workers, Ethiopia’s representative said. The representative of the Republic of Korea said his country had recently taken action in that regard, launching “Multi-Cultural Family Support Centres”, which provided married immigrants with access to basic information, education for social adjustment and vocational training. In other business today, the Committee heard the introduction of five draft resolutions pertaining to social development. They were introduced by the representatives of Argentina (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), Moldova, Mongolia and the Philippines. The Minister of State (Status of Women) of Canada, speaking also on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, also offered comments during the discussion on the advancement of women. Also speaking during the discussion were the representatives of Yemen, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Cambodia, Sudan, Belarus, Peru, Ghana, Morocco, Pakistan, India, Namibia, Indonesia, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Oman, Uzbekistan, Djibouti, Argentina, Slovenia, Lebanon, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Malawi, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Iran, Swaziland, Botswana and Tunisia. A representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine also spoke. The representatives of Japan and the Republic of Korea spoke in exercise of their right of reply. The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 12 October, to conclude its general discussion on the advancement of women, before beginning its consideration of the promotion and protection of the rights of children. Background The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met today to continue its general discussion on the advancement of women and to hear the introduction of five draft resolutions on social development. For more information, please see Press Release GA/SHC/4008 . Introduction of draft resolutions MARCELO CARLOS CESA(Argentina ), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution on implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly (document A/C.3/66 /L.11), which serves as a follow-up to those two meetings. The text focused on poverty eradication, employment and social integration and was substantively similar to last year’s resolution. It also took into account some of the reports of the Secretary-General on implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit and the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly. It also addressed critical issues of concern particularly for developing countries, as well as all members of the international community. CAROLINA POPOVICI( Moldova ) then introduced the traditional draft resolution on policies and programmes involving youth (document A/C.3/66/L.7), which since its first introduction at the fifty-second session of the General Assembly had been adopted by consensus. This year’s text touched on such social aspects as youth education, participation in relevant decision-making process and employment, among other topics. She recognized youth delegates for their valuable inputs in the text’s drafting and expressed hope that the text would once again enjoy consensus. ONON SODOV ( Mongolia ) then introduced the draft resolution on cooperatives in social development (document A/C.3/66/L.9). The contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development had been widely recognized, she said. The draft resolution welcomed the proclamation of 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, and invited Governments and international organizations, in partnership with cooperatives, to consider developing a plan of action to be submitted during the sixty- seventh session of the General Assembly to ensure an effective follow-up to the activities of 2012. It also drew the attention of Governments to the recommendations in the report of the Secretary-General to focus support on cooperatives as sustainable and successful business enterprises, and encouraged them to expand accessibility of research on operations and the contribution of cooperatives. It was hoped that the draft resolution, as in the past, would receive Member States’ unanimous support and wide co-sponsorship. ANA MARIE LAYUGAN HERNANDO (Philippines ) next introduced a draft resolution on the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Realization of the Millennium Development Goals and Other Internationally Agreed Development Goals for Persons with Disabilities (document A/C.3/66/L.10), by which the Assembly would decide to convene such a meeting on the second day of the general debate of the sixty-seventh session. As efforts continued towards the Millennium Development Goals, she said it was important that persons with disabilities were incorporated in all aspects of development efforts, so they could also contribute to and benefit from progress. The international community had to use all possible channels to include persons with disabilities in all development initiatives. On the draft resolution pertaining to the high-level Meeting, she looked forward to the valuable contributions and support of all Members States. Finally, Mr. CESA ( Argentina ) introduced a draft resolution on follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing (document A/C.3/66/L.13), saying that challenges faced by older persons continued to require the immediate attention of the international community. Thus, the current text, which was based on last year’s resolution of the same name, endorsed the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and encouraged Governments and all sectors of society to pay great attention to eradicating poverty among the elderly and to enact ageing-specific