More than 10 years ago,
we decided to set eight concrete goals to free
humankind from extreme poverty, from hunger and
disease, and from illiteracy. We called them the
Millennium Development Goals. These Goals have
been powerful. They have helped the international
community to monitor and mobilize resources for
development cooperation.
And important progress has been made. We have
seen poverty decline in many countries. By 2015, the
global poverty rate is expected to fall below 15 per
cent. We have seen some of the poorest countries make
the greatest strides in education. Child mortality has
been reduced. New HIV infections are declining
steadily. Access to clean drinking water has increased.
But we still have a long way to go in other areas in
order to raise standards of living and offer equal
opportunities to people around the globe.
Today I would like to focus on one key area
where progress is still very slow. But since it affects
half of the world’s population and half its human
resources, it is of crucial importance. I am referring to
maybe the most important human rights failure of all,
or at least the one that affects the largest number of
human beings. I am referring to the unmet human,
economic and social rights of 3.5 billion women and
girls. They make up half of the world, but they are not
allowed to fulfil their potential as powerful drivers of
economic development as well as of peace and
security.
Let me just fill members in on the situation we
have today. Women perform 66 per cent of the world’s
work and produce 50 per cent of its food, but they earn
only 10 per cent of its income and own one per cent of
its property. Seventy per cent of the world’s poor
population are women or girls. Every day,
approximately 1,000 women die from causes related to
pregnancy and childbirth. That adds up to about
350,000 deaths each year.
This week we witnessed a historic step in the
history of the United Nations, when Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff became the first woman ever to open
the general debate. At the same time — standing here,
mid-2011 — there are still countries that do not allow
women to vote. And only in 28 countries has women’s
parliamentary representation reached a critical mass of
30 per cent or more. Only 19 women lead their
countries as elected Heads of State or Government.
This is not fair. It is not just. And, frankly, it makes no
sense.
To me, gender equality is first and foremost a
question of ensuring equal rights for women and men.
It is about giving all individuals, irrespective of gender,
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the same possibilities of education, economic
opportunity and participating in society. In 2011, there
are women who still do not enjoy equal rights. They
are refused the rights to vote, to inherit, to work and
even to drive a car. And at the far end of the spectrum,
women are subject to gender-based violence and rape
as a weapon of war.
But gaps in these rights are not only a loss for the
women affected; they are a loss to society as a whole
and, I must say, very bad economic policy for the
countries concerned. Not least in these times of global
economic crisis, it seems obvious that we should
realize the full potential of all human resources.
I will give a few examples. Closing the gap
between male and female employment rates would
have huge implications for the global economy. It
would boost the United States gross domestic product
(GDP) by as much as 9 per cent, the eurozone GDP by
13 per cent and Japanese GDP by as much as 16 per
cent. But increased gender equality does not merely
have immediate economic benefits; it is also an
investment for the future. The evidence from a range of
countries is clear. When women take greater control of
household income, more money is spent on children’s
needs, such as food, health and education. Children
grow taller, are ill less often and are likely to get better
jobs. Moreover, when women play a greater part in
society by shaping institutions or taking leading roles
in politics or business life, there are clear
improvements for the public good, and corruption is
lessened. When they are present at the building of
peace, results improve.
In short, I see gender equality not only as a
crucial human rights issue, but also as a question of
smart economics. I would urge all representatives
sitting in this Hall today to imagine what it would
mean in terms of economic growth for their countries if
women were allowed to participate fully in society.
As technology develops, the world is changing.
In one minute I can use my mobile phone to get hold of
a friend on the other side of the globe or my children
back home in Sweden. That is, of course, amazing. But
in one minute, we can also get a first-hand report on
the situation in troubled parts of the world. We can get
first-hand access to pictures of abuse and violence,
taken by hidden mobile phones and for the whole
world to see. Today, ideas of freedom and democracy
are spreading at the speed of sound. We have seen it in
North Africa. We are seeing it in the Middle East. The
Internet and new technology have laid out a high-speed
motorway heading towards democracy and freedom.
We can see that some are trying to put out roadblocks;
repressive Governments try to quash the rights they
fear.
The United Nations must play a leading role in
embracing and maintaining those new roads to
democracy and freedom. The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the
right to freedom of opinion and expression recently
concluded that there must be as little restriction as
possible of online freedom of expression. He called it
an enabler of other human rights. Sweden, together
with 40 other nations around the world, strongly
supports his conclusion. We want to build an alliance
for the freedom of the Internet, and we have launched a
special initiative for democratization and freedom of
expression so that we can urgently support human
rights activists and agents of democratic change. The
Internet is the new front line in the fight for freedom
across the world.
In many countries, my own included, we take
freedom for granted. In other countries, it is still a
dream. This year, we have witnessed courageous
people in North Africa and the Middle East taking to
the streets to fight for their dream; to fight for freedom,
openness and democracy. For this, they must have our
support. When there are threats of genocide, war
crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity —
when autocratic rulers, as in Syria, turn their guns on
their own citizens — then the international community
has a responsibility to protect civilians.
Sweden hopes to play its part in this decisive
phase in the region. We are contributing to the
implementation of Security Council resolutions 1970
(2011) and 1973 (2011) in Libya. We are providing
substantial humanitarian support to several countries in
North Africa and the Middle East. And when the new
Governments turn to the crucial task of establishing
democratic principles, the rule of law and respect for
human rights, we will be ready to continue our support
and do more to see the Arab Spring turn into a
blossoming summer.
The European Union is firmly committed to
Israel and a Palestinian State living side by side with
each other in peace and security. We all want to see the
peace process resume. Violations of international law
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must cease. Only then can a true and lasting peace be
achieved.
The Horn of Africa is suffering its worst famine
in 60 years. We are faced with a huge humanitarian
disaster. The international community must respond
faster and better, now. Disasters such as those in Haiti,
Pakistan and now in the Horn of Africa show the
central importance of the United Nations in
humanitarian action. The United Nations needs our full
support to further improve the international response
capacity.
In a globalized world, we are not just
interconnected online; together we share a planet with
finite resources. And yet we consume as if there was no
tomorrow. I believe that sustainable development
requires global solutions. In this respect, the United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to be
held next year in Brazil will be very important. I am
really hoping for a strong renewed political commitment to
sustainable development.
We are also looking for concrete progress at the
Durban Climate Change Conference in November. We
know what we need and we have known it for some
time — further reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions. If we do not achieve that, we are simply not
going to be able to reverse the trend of global warming.
These are turbulent times. Some countries are
suffering from financial and economic crises; others
are suffering from the severe consequences of global
warming; yet others are building new societies as
freedom and democracy have replaced dictatorships
and repression. More than ever, there is a need for a
well-functioning global arena for international
cooperation and conflict resolution and for the pursuit
of sustainable economic, social and environmental
development. The need for a strong United Nations,
based on political legitimacy, justice and human rights,
is as strong as ever. Sweden will do its utmost to
support a strong United Nations through substantial
contributions to humanitarian and development
assistance and to its work for peace, security and
human rights.
We also want to help revitalize the work of the
United Nations on disarmament and non-proliferation.
Together with Mexico we will, as co-Chairs of the
seventh Conference Facilitating the Entry into Force of
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, work
hard on advancing the Treaty’s entry into force.
We have also presented our candidature for a seat
on the Human Rights Council for the period
2013-2015. As a member of the Council, Sweden
would contribute actively to making it a more efficient
and active body and to promoting the universal
enjoyment of human rights — making rights real.
This week we commemorate the fiftieth
anniversary of the death of the Swedish Secretary-
General Dag Hammarskjöld. He played an important
role in reforming and shaping the United Nations as we
know it today. Let me conclude with these words from
Dag Hammarskjöld:
“The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials
and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can
never be relaxed and never abandoned”.
That was true then and it is true today.