HRC44 - NB8 statement - Panel I discussion on rights of women and girls

Panel I discussion on rights of women and girls

13 July 2020

Statement by Denmark on behalf of the Nordic & Baltic countries

Mdm. President,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries: Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and my own country, Denmark. We appreciate the focus on the need for accountability for women and girls in humanitarian settings at this Council.

This year, 168 million people are in need of humanitarian protection and assistance. This is the highest number in decades. While humanitarian emergencies affect entire communities at a time, the consequences are most severely felt by women and girls.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a clear example of this. While countries across the world are confronted by a health emergency, a ‘shadow pandemic’ of grave social and economic consequences is rolling out, affecting women and girls disproportionally. Hence, the crisis is very much associated with a sharp rise in incidents of sexual and gender-based violence as societies are torn apart, and protective structures broken down. The severity of consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is multiplied when affecting countries, regions or groups of people already suffering from other ongoing humanitarian crises.

We must not turn a blind eye to this. It is our responsibility to acknowledge the dire consequences of humanitarian conflicts and humanitarian emergencies for the enjoyment of human rights by all women and girls. We are fully committed to ensuring accountability for all women and girls in humanitarian settings.

I thank you.