Ministry Statements & Speeches:
Thank you, Chair.
New Zealand would like to thank the Special Rapporteur and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women for their reports.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are key human rights priorities for New Zealand. It is our ambition that in this session of the Third Committee, we further promote, protect and strengthen the rights of women and girls in all their diversity as these rights are being challenged worldwide.
Eliminating violence against women and girls is crucial to achieving gender equality, women’s empowerment and the full embodiment of their rights. It is a systemic, complex issue which all States must work together to solve as it undermines the fabric of an equitable society.
History has demonstrated that instability, conflict and crises increase gender-based violence, intra-familial violence, and intimate partner violence. Recently, there has been push-back globally on sexual and reproductive health and rights; regression in legislation, jurisprudence, and freedoms; and access to related services have been restricted or denied.
Women and girls must have power over their own bodies and their own lives. This includes the right to have full control over, and freely decide on, matters relating to their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Women and girls have a fundamental right to choose, without fear of mistreatment or violence.
States must do more to provide safe, accessible and quality reproductive and maternal healthcare, and to ensure that women and girls’ needs and interests are met. When women and girls thrive, families, communities and societies do better.
The world is experiencing multiple and intersecting crises. The combined impacts of COVID-19, the gender-based violence shadow pandemic, climate change and an increase in disasters such as Hurricane Ian and the flooding in Pakistan, cost-of-living crises, and food insecurity, all disproportionately affect women and girls.
States must also recognise the compounding impacts of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination in the lives of women and girls. This includes women and girls who are indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse, part of the LGBTI community, have a disability, live in rural or remote communities, displaced, refugees, and migrants.
New Zealand was pleased to support the mandate renewal of the Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity at the Human Rights Council in June 2022. The close vote, however, demonstrated that we still have a lot of work to do to recognise these rights and see progress worldwide.
New Zealand calls on States to continue to champion the rights of the LGBTI community through decriminalisation reform, full inclusion in society, targeting discriminatory attitudes through social behavioural change.
New Zealand strongly supports equal rights for all persons. We remain concerned at all forms of violence and discrimination based on a person’s gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, including digital harm, online harassment, and violence directed at human rights defenders.
New Zealand stands ready to work with States and civil society to address social norms, attitudes and behaviours that cause or perpetuate discrimination and violence against women and girls in all their diversity, and to enhance their participation and leadership in society.
Thank you.