Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield marking out the UN Security Council following the open debate on women, peace and security
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
US Representative to the United Nations
New-York, New-York
March 7, 2023
AS DELIVERED
Good day. And let me thank you all for being here as we open the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
And I’m really proud to actually be leading the US delegation this year, along with champions of gender equality inside and outside of government. I know there is a long list of speakers, but I look forward to delivering the US national statement.
As I have always done, I will draw attention to the violence and oppression of women and girls around the world and what they are dealing with – in Iran, in Afghanistan, in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine and in so many other places around the world.
Gender-based violence has increased since the pandemic began. Too many women and girls are now being killed – some even on public roads. Others are deported, banned from school and excluded from public life.
The last 12 months have been an endless assault on women and girls and we need to stand up and speak out. This applies in particular to gender equality in the digital age – the topic of this year’s session.
Because in the 21st century, much of the harassment and violence against women and girls is facilitated by the internet. It is estimated that over eight in ten women and girls have experienced some form of online digital harassment and abuse. And journalists, politicians, human rights defenders and other actors in civil society are acutely affected.
There is no doubt that digital innovation can empower women and open up educational and economic opportunities, and we must extend these technologies to everyone. But we must also defend against widespread attacks.
The United States has committed to doing just that, and we are advancing that work multilaterally through the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. Because let us be aware: a topic of this magnitude requires international cooperation.
At the United Nations – and particularly at the Commission on the Status of Women – we have an obligation to advance gender equality in both the physical and digital worlds.
The United States has also established an Online Harassment and Abuse Task Force, which establishes programs, reports, hotlines, surveys, and research centers to combat digital violence. Last month, the White House Gender Policy Council publicly released its first progress report to President Biden on the U.S. national strategy on equality and gender equality. And this year we will publish the first-ever US National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.
But I will never shy away from the fact that in America we face our own challenges. Millions and millions of women in the United States have been deprived of the right to make deeply personal decisions free from the interference of politicians. I have traveled the world campaigning for women’s rights and it pains me to know that so many in my own country want to abolish fundamental rights.
But let me be clear: The Biden administration remains deeply committed to protecting and advancing the rights of women and girls at home and around the world, including at the United Nations and with our foreign aid.
Right now the world’s most vulnerable women and girls are counting on us and we must be the focus of their struggles, their hopes, their aspirations, their dreams in the next two weeks and the weeks and months and years to come.
Thanks very much.
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