Mr President of the Board, Executive and Acting Director of UN Women,

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the EU as a donor.

First of all I would like to congratulate the new Executive Director, Ms. Sima Sami Bahous, to her new appointment – we are looking forward to working with her! And we would like to commend you and the entire UN Women staff for your dedicated work on the ground around the world and for the extensive consultative process of the new Strategic Plan.

The new Strategic Plan starts in a time of severe set-backs in gender equality which are exacerbated by the pandemic. Despite progress in some areas, persistent structural barriers prevent the full achievement of gender equality.

The Strategic Plan clearly illustrates that women still do not have access to the full range of their sexual and reproductive health and rights. And that, despite many countries passing laws to combat violence against women, weak enforcement and discriminatory social norms remain significant problems – with around 245 million women and girls aged 15 and older having experienced sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner in the past year alone!

Human rights are always most at risk in times of crisis.

We fully support the framing vision of the Strategic Plan aiming to achieve gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls, and the full enjoyment of their human rights.

So much remains to be done. We fully subscribe to the direction of the Strategic Plan and the seven systemic outcomes as well as the business transformation towards UNWOMEN 2.0. for delivering on the UNWOMEN triple mandate.

We work with UN Women in over 80 countries and are particularly proud of our partnership in the Spotlight Initiative, together with UNFPA and UNDP, to end Gender Based Violence.

Following the adoption of the EU Gender Action Plan III last year, EU Delegations around the world are currently preparing country-level implementations plans, in coordination with local authorities, NGOs and the UN system. Our objective is simple: 85% of all EU assistance will have a gender perspective.

The achievement of gender equality, the realisation of women’s and girls’ human rights and their empowerment, are a prerequisite for development, peace and security. That is why gender will remain at the centre of all our actions. We look forward to continuing cooperating with UN Women and all partners in this regard.

We also encourage UN Women to further increase cooperation and synergies with other UN agencies to implement the “One UN” approach.

Thank you.