NEW YORK, MARCH 15 – “Our priority is to leave no one behind, because no one will be safe against this virus until everyone is safe,” the Italian Minister for Equal Opportunities, Elena Bonetti, said during the opening day of the 65th Commission for the Status of Women. “Participation of women in decision-making processes requires a renewed and unprecedented commitment to be full and effective,” she said during addressed the first day ministerial roundtable.
The Commission kicked off with a focus on charting a global roadmap towards achieving full equality in public life. “The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on women and girls, and the fallout has shown how deeply gender inequality remains embedded in the world’s political, social and economic systems,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, stressing that “gender equality in all walks of life is a long way off and has been further undermined by the pandemic”.
This year’s Commission, the second to take place during the COVID-19 pandemic, will run until 26 March, and will mostly involve virtual sessions and events organized by UN Women, the United Nations agency which works to accelerate gender equality globally, in collaboration with other agencies, organizations and civil society. The Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, noted in her speech that those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic are those who are least able to cope. UN Women described this year’s CSW as “a pivotal opportunity to change our societies and cement women’s leadership as we recover from COVID-19″.
Bonetti, who is leading the Italian Delegation to the Commission, will speak againt tomorrow during a side event on “Empowerment in the UN and G20 Agendas: Policies to Support Women’s Talents and Leadership and to Counter Gender-based Violence”. The Event is organized by the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN, together with the Delegation of the European Union, the Permanent Mission of France, the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations and UN Women and will be broadcasted LIVE on http://www.pariopportunita.
