Delivered By: Myan Tantawy, Third Secretary

Executive Director,

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

The UAE would like to thank the Permanent Representative of Ukraine for his statement, as well as the Bureau for their continuous work. I would also like to thank Executive Director Bahous for her continued leadership of the agency and the presentation of her first annual report on the implementation of UN Women’s Strategic Plan for 2022 to 2025.

UN Women is charged with one of the most challenging mandates within the UN system. The report reminds us that it could take 286 years to achieve gender equality with more than a quarter of the SDGs gender indicators far from the target line. The UAE fully supports UN Women’s triple mandate, and commends its dedicated efforts to drive gender equality forward.

In that spirit, last week, the UAE announced its renewed commitment to UN Women by pledging 15 million dollars for the period of 2023 to 2025. Through this contribution, and as a member of the Executive Board, we hope to strengthen UN Women’s operations, so that it can respond to the challenges it continues to face.            

I would like to focus on 3 key areas:

First, the Board must support UN Women to be fit for purpose. We welcome the agency’s intensified support to women and girls and presence in situations of conflict and crisis. Let us ensure that we strengthen UN Women’s operational capacity to further adapt to ever-changing realities of women and girls worldwide.

Second, as we gather here today on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we must remember that tackling structural gender inequality and discrimination is the best prevention strategy. We welcome efforts taken by UN Women to address sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment and encourage continued prioritisation in this regard. This includes the focus on initiatives that promote positive social norms, as a key step in the right direction.

And finally, as Member States we are all in a position to support UN Women’s aim to expand its reach and impact through partnerships to address evolving threats, such as climate change, and applaud UN Women’s efforts in addressing the gender-climate nexus. In this vein, the UAE also looks forward to further deepening its cooperation with UN Women for COP28 in Dubai later this year.

In conclusion, the UAE remains steadfast in its support to UN Women and looks forward to cooperating constructively with fellow Board members.

Thank you.