Statement by H.E. Mr. Andrejs Pildegovičs, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the UN, at the Second Meeting of the Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls
29 January 2021
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Latvia is glad to be a member of this Group of Friends. We attach great importance to both the empowerment of women and elimination of violence against women and girls. We stand ready to contribute to successful work of this group.
COVID-19 has exacerbated gender inequality, as well as violence against women and girls around the globe. We must cooperate more actively and share best practices on how to overcome this challenge together.
Promoting gender equality is both Latvian domestic and foreign policy priority. We pay particular attention to empowerment of women and their engagement in public and professional life, besides our efforts to eradicate any form of violence against women and girls. We will be active in promoting these priorities also at the Commission on the Status of Women, as Latvia has become a member of the CSW, serving from 2021 to 2025.
Situation regarding gender equality is not perfect in any country. We cannot afford becoming complacent, we need to build on the previous achievements, as well as to closely partner with civil society organisations, other stakeholders, especially female youth representatives and leaders. We are very glad for the Latvian female UN Youth Delegates, who are very active in promoting gender equality agenda both at home and at the UN.
We should collectively promote women’s empowerment and representation in decision-making positions, as well as increased women engagement in public life in various sectors. In Latvia 31 of members of our National parliament are women, including the speaker of parliament. 52 per cent of all high-level managers are women.
We are also proud that the World Bank had found that Latvia is one of the six economies worldwide that grants women and men equal legal rights. We also support empowering women in the field of technology and are pleased to see initiatives by Latvian organization Riga TechGirls that aim to expand opportunities for women and girls to learn about technology, acquire digital skills and build careers in IT industry.
Gender equality is a priority for Latvia also at the UN, expressed via political, practical and financial support.
For many years in a row, we have allocated voluntary national contributions to the UN Women. We also have good working relations with the UN Trust Fund to eliminate violence against women. We have joined various cross-regional statements, including on promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights. We are part of Group of Friends on Women, Peace and Security. The Latvian government has adopted the Action Plan for implementing the UNSC resolution on WPS. In 2018-2019 during our Arms Trade Treaty presidency, we called on Member States to gather best practice and use this treaty to fighting against gender-based violence, by also joining this legal instrument.
This year we have been among the first three countries, which have paid its dues to the UN regular budget in full and on time. We need to honour our financial commitments, which would have a clear positive impact also on our responsibility in promoting gender equality.
Within our development cooperation efforts, Latvia remains fully committed to support other countries, including in Central Asia in their efforts towards gender equality. The Latvian NGO “Centre Marta” has been an excellent partner for various state institutions – both in efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls at home, as well as sharing the best practice abroad.
In many countries the women are the ones leading the change – both in good times and crisis – be it Yemen, Syria or Venezuela. Yet, I cannot help but mention women in Belarus, who have been at the centre of enduring, peaceful and democratic protest since August 2020. When men were falsely prosecuted by the Belarus authorities and barred from running at Presidential elections in August 2020, Belarus women stepped up, and became strong opposition leaders, including Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, continuing their admirable fight to this day. We stand in solidarity with them and call for international community to support both Belarus women and democratic change in Belarus.
Thank you.