HRC45 - NB8 statement - Annual Discussion on Integration of a gender perspective

Annual Discussion on Integration of a gender perspective

28 September

Statement by Finland on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries

Madam President,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country Finland.

The Nordic-Baltic countries stress the importance of integration and implementation of a gender perspective in the work of the Human Rights Council and the whole of UN. A gender perspective, and multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination must be integrated in Human Rights Council resolutions, and mainstreamed in the work of Special Procedures and in the mandates of fact-finding and monitoring missions.

We thank the panel for highlighting the multiple causes of discrimination that exist. Marginalized individuals or groups more often face intersecting forms of discrimination. However, the notions of ‘vulnerable individuals or groups’ are insufficient. No group or person is inherently vulnerable or one-dimensional. The problem is that they are being discriminated against. And this is what we need to change.

Women and girls with disabilities, who represent almost one-fifth of the world’s women, face significant barriers to realizing their human rights, including the right to work. They experience discrimination on the basis of both gender and disability, and face accessibility barriers to workplaces and a lack of access to education and training. Yet policies and programs routinely overlook their specific situation.

I have a question to panelists: how can we bring the human rights concerns, including multiple forms of discrimination, into the limelight in various UN organizations and increase the awareness of Resident Coordinators and UN country offices?

Thank you.