NEW YORK, MARCH 16 – In her address to the 66th Commission on the Status of Women, the Italian Minister for Equal Opportunities, reiterated Italy’s complete solidarity with all women and girls entrapped in situations of conflict. “At this horrific time, we stand in solidarity especially with the women and girls of Ukraine, who are showing resilience and courage in the face of the unprovoked and completely unjustified Russian aggression”, said Elena Bonetti, who is leading the Italian delegation to the CSW: “We are determined to do whatever it takes to support and help them.”
Bonetti remarked that in this time of crisis, “women have been impacted far harder than men. This crisis has magnified ingrained inequalities, discriminations, and violence against women, which prevent women and girls from achieving freedom and equality, and from unlocking their full potential in our societies. Our urgent responsibility is to remove these unacceptable inequalities and to enable the empowerment of all women and girls so they can be free agents of change”.
The theme of the 66th Session was the impact of the climate change on women’s conditions. “Gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment can and must play a crucial role in creating solutions to the environmental crisis, and in mitigating the impact that climate change has had and will continue to have on ecosystems”, said Bonetti, stressing the importance of a range of complementary actions, based on the principle of ‘gender-responsive’ governance.
The key components required are: a robust and co-ordinated institutional system, well-defined and deliverable strategic objectives, and finally the introduction of gender issues across the board. (@OnuItalia)
