President Christian Addresses High-Level Event on Women’s Empowerment

United Nations Headquarters, New York, September 27, 2015

FSM President Peter Christian delivered remarks at the ‘Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,’ a high-level event at the beginning of the 70^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting, which was co-hosted by the People’s Republic of China and UN Women (the United Nations’ gender equality body), was part of the three-day High-Level Sustainable Development Summit at which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted.

 

President Christian began his remarks by thanking the organizers of the event, President Xi Jinping of China and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Both President Xi and the Secretary-General announced their commitments to enhance gender parity, including China’s pledge to scale up financial and technical assistance to developing countries. 

 

In the first half of his statement, President Christian reflected on the successes achieved under the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals, but said countries must move forward without delay on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. He called for leaders to commit to intensify efforts to reach the targeted development goals before their time.  

 

He highlighted FSM’s Strategic Development Plan, which encompasses the participation of women in all spheres of FSM’s nation building efforts, and the Gender Strategic Planning Matrix. He pointed out that these could benefit from more extended effort by the United Nations to review the process.

President Christian confirmed FSM’s commitment to pursue the unfinished work of the Millennium Development Goals with more vigor. At the same time, FSM will also focus on a cross-cutting effort to fulfill Sustainable Development Goal 5 (“Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”) 

In conclusion, FSM will strive to reach its goals for women’s empowerment as soon as possible, but will require adequate resources and human capacity to progress as fast as larger nations. President Christian urged all nations to work collectively and travel the path of this noble challenge together.