NEW YORK, MARCH 8 – Addressing a United Security Council open debate on International Women’s Day, Italy’s solidarity went to women and girls suffering from conflicts, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Lybia, other countries of Africa, and especially in Ukraine. “Women Peace and Security Agenda must be at the center of the Security Council activities”, the Permanent representative to the UN, Maurizio Massari, said during the meeting.
Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women
Investing in women’s economic empowerment yields enormous dividends for peace and prosperity, the head of UN Women told the Security Council on Tuesday, stressing that countries where women are economically marginalized and shut out of the workforce are much more likely to go to war. “We have an opportunity to do things differently in 2022”, declared Executive Director Sima Bahous, who – addressing the Council – recalled the uptick in military spending, military coups, seizures of power by force that followed the onset of the COVID-19pandemic, erasing gender equality gains that took decades to achieve. “It is clear to me, more than ever, that we need another model of leadership.”
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the war in Ukraine stands as a clear reminder that fragility and conflict impose a terrible cost on human life. Speaking directly to the women of Ukraine, she said: “We admire your courage. We share your pain. We stand with you. We support you.” The Fund is moving quickly to do what it can to support the Ukrainian people. (@OnuItalia)
