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Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China |
Women and girls, as half of the nation's potential, are an anchor for China's social and economic progress. What has been realized is thanks to what I term as the "convergence of strong political will and the right public policies and partnerships," creating the strong foundation that we see now. I am also pleased to see how the progress that the country has achieved in gender equality and women's empowerment continues today.
In 1995, the world came together to adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action during the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. Now, we are getting ready for Beijing+30, the 30th anniversary of this conference. Moving forward, I see incredible opportunities for China to play a key leadership role through the United Nations and the multilateral system to advance gender equality and women's rights.
China has a critical role when we discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 5, which sets out to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. While challenges remain as they do globally, I believe China can be a model for the world on how to advance in this field. It is clear that China has achieved much for its people over the recent decades. On gender equality, China should now look to share its experiences and expertise while learning from other developing countries to further South-South cooperation on shared priorities such as this, the SDGs, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the newly adopted Pact for the Future.
Advancing the human rights of women and girls is not only a wise thing when it comes to our societies and economies but a moral imperative. However, we can only advance equality, development and peace if we work together through international cooperation. I look forward to seeing China continue to step up its efforts here to build a better world.
Photos from Interviewee
(Source: Women of China)
Editor: Wang Shasha
