Ávarp Katrínar Jakobsdóttur forsætisráðherra á miðannarfundi átaksins Kynslóð jafnréttis í New York 17. september 2023
Excellencies, distinguished guests,
It is a great honour to be with you today and I would like to thank UN Women for initiating this special GEF Midpoint Moment for us to come together, discuss, listen, and to jointly take stock on our important project – the Generation Equality Forum.
Allow me to start with the fundamental truth, that gender equality is not a “nice-to-have” or a “soft topic” in international politics.
On the contrary, gender equality is a hardcore issue that must be at the top of our agenda. This is why I, as Prime Minister, relocated the portfolio to the Prime Minister’s office, ensuring that gender equality remains central and integrated into all government policy.
Gender equality is not an issue that can be pushed to the wayside. It not only stands as an essential goal in its own right but holds transformative potential across all Sustainable development goals.
Unfortunately, as we reach the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda, the world is failing to achieve gender equality. The latest data shows progress towards SDG 5 stalling, and we see regressive legislation, persistent violence, and reversals of women’s rights.
Violence against women and girls is one of the greatest global human rights crisis. New platforms for violence have emerged and digital gender-based violence has become the newest threat. None of this can be tolerated.
The Icelandic government has attached enormous importance to uprooting and preventing violence against women by adopting new legislation and changing protocols in dealing with gender-based violent offenses, allowing us to fully understand the scope of the problem. The Icelandic parliament passed a progressive legislation on womens´ abortion rights in 2019 – at the same time women around the world were experiencing a serious backlash in reproductive rights.
As one of the leaders of the Generation Equality Forum’s Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence, Iceland made 23 commitments to end all forms of gender based and sexual violence and discrimination. While we have made important progress, with most of the commitments completed, we will continue to work full force until 2026 and beyond.
I am pleased to announce that Iceland is reinforcing one of our flagship commitments by contributing additional funding to UN Women’s work on prevention and response to gender-based violence through engaging men and boys and transforming harmful masculinities.
Further, as co-hosts of the Generation Equality Midpoint Moment along with Tanzania, Iceland is dedicated to mobilizing political will, advocacy, and support for women’s leadership through the UN Women Leaders Network.
As Prime Minister, I will join this network alongside 100 other women leaders. I look forward to strengthening our partnership with Tanzania through this network, chaired by the Executive Director of UN Women.
Dear friends,
The world is witnessing increased polarization and deepening division with a global backlash to gender equality and human rights. Every day we see signs of increased hate speech, growing hate crimes, the rampant growth of digital gender-based violence and deliberate disinformation aimed at silencing women. All of this is part of a serious pushback against the hard-won gains towards gender equality and the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls – which are the core rights of every woman, having control over her own body
We cannot wait 300 years for reaching full gender equality. We must act, together and with resolve.
A bold, societal approach is needed to disrupt entrenched and rising global gender inequalities. We need intensified ambition, more resources, and stronger accountability. – This is what Generation Equality is all about.
Iceland remains committed to the Generation Equality Forum and I urge everyone to continue to commit,– setting the stage for a world where gender equality is a lived reality.
I look forward to our discussion here today on how commitments are being tracked, hear the success stories, understand the failures, and examine UN Women’s accountability dashboard.
I thank you.