UN chief Antonio Guterres says women’s rights and freedoms were deliberately targeted
United Nations:
Men should stop excluding women from peace talks around the world, with UN chief Antonio Guterres warning Wednesday that the situation in conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is indeed “going backward.”
The UN secretary-general said the lack of female representation in such talks from Ukraine to Afghanistan, Myanmar and Mali shows “how the enduring power imbalance and patriarchy are failing us.”
The result was “the exclusion of men and women in power, the deliberate targeting of their rights and freedoms,” he said at a special meeting of the Security Council.
But women’s “right to equal participation at all levels is essential to creating and maintaining peace,” Guterres said.
He said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced millions of women and children to flee the country, “putting them at high risk of trafficking and exploitation of all kinds.”
“Women who chose not to evacuate are at the forefront of healthcare and social support,” Guterres said.
Therefore their approaches are “critical for understanding the dynamics of conflict” and make their participation “essential for resolving conflicts”.
In many areas, men in power have actively worked to oust women, for example, Guterres said, citing Afghanistan, where “nearly 20 million Afghan women and girls are being silenced and being wiped out of sight.”
The UN chief said, “Women in Myanmar cannot express themselves freely and do not have any avenues for political participation.”
Women have become “poorer and more marginalized” in Mali as a result of successive military coups, Guterres said, where “extremists pose an even greater threat.”
He was not clear about the impact of the “recent shift from inclusive politics”, saying it “shows once again that misogyny and authoritarianism are mutually reinforcing.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)