Honourable Chair,

Distinguished government and civil society representatives,

Ladies and gentlemen,

[I am Antonette Ncube, an Agronomist, an Environmentalist and youth activist from Botswana.

Gender-based violence is a global challenge. It is even rifer in my home country where 67% of women have experienced abuse, and this is over double the global average. Gender based violence in Africa has become the second pandemic after COVID. It is indescribable, the experiences of young women such as myself in climate activism, sustainable agriculture and the informal sector of green jobs in rural communities on how the escalated lack of safety nets due to climate change impacts affect us adversely.]

Chair,

Today, I have the honour to speak on behalf of members* of the cross-regional Group of Friends for the elimination of violence against women and girls, which currently includes 95 member states and permanent observers. The Group is pleased to welcome and recognize San Marino as its newest member. 

First, I would like to express the Group of Friends’ support to all women and girls that are facing the devastating consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. We know that women and girls are particularly impacted by conflicts and displacements and that they already face increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence. We are deeply concerned by the situation and we will continue to express our total support to protect women’s and girls’ rights, to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence and to advocate for their participation and access to essential services such as education and health services.

We also remain deeply concerned about women's and girls’ rights violations in Afghanistan, the Sahel, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Suppression of peaceful demonstrations, night raids, and abduction of women’s rights activists must stop in Afghanistan, and women’s voices must be heard. We continue to support all women and girls in conflict situations in various parts of the worlds and ask the international community to make sure that their human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and protected.

Chair,

The Group of Friends welcomes this timely opportunity to contribute to the 66^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on the theme of “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”

Climate change, disasters, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss disproportionately affect women and girls of all ages, especially those in diverse situations and conditions. Crises and disasters exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities and compound multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. As such, women and girls frequently face increased sexual and gender-based violence including harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage, due to the impact of climate change and its associated risk factors, disproportionate burden of care work, and restricted access to essential health services, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.

Therefore, climate and environmental action and disaster risk reduction need to be gender-responsive, protect and promote all women and girls as agents of change and directly address the specific risks and needs they face.

Chair,

The Group of Friends calls for concerted efforts to address the intersections between sexual and gender-based violence, climate change, environmental degradation and disasters, and it expects the Commission to adopt strong and action-oriented conclusions on this issue.

More specifically, the Group highlights the following four recommendations, drawing from best practices and lessons learnt:

First, all stakeholders should ensure the gender-responsive implementation of international obligations and commitments, including the Paris Agreement, the Lima Work Programme on Gender, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. We further stress the importance of fulfilling commitments made by participating states at the Generation Equality Forum’s Action Coalition on feminist action for climate justice.

Second, more must be done to address the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, climate change and disasters on women and girls, particularly on violence against them.

In this regard, we stress the need to mainstream a gender perspective across all policies and programs addressing these issues and develop gender-responsive policies and programs to address women's and girls' needs and the challenges they face. Special attention must be paid to women and girls in vulnerable situations, particularly those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

There is also a need to tackle the root-causes of violence against women and girls, particularly gender inequalities, negative social norms and gender stereotypes, build preparedness for disasters, and enhance resilience, including through efforts that address women’s and girls’ unequal access to natural resources, integrate violence prevention and response in environmental disaster risk reduction and preparedness and social-economic development policies, and strengthen social protection measures, such as cash transfers and access to  health services, including sexual and reproductive health and mental health and psychological support, quality education, lifelong learning opportunities, housing and employment.

We call for further efforts to address the impact of climate-related security risks on women and girls and increased investment in sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response efforts.

Third, the Group stresses the importance of enhancing women’s full, equal, effective and meaningful participation and leadership at all levels and the inclusion of and support for civil society.

Women play a central role in the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity as critical agents of change. Therefore, substantial efforts are needed to achieve women’s full, equal, effective and meaningful participation in decision-making and leadership roles.

The full, equal and meaningful participation and empowerment of youth is particularly important for climate change and environmental action. The Group is proud to lead by example in this regard.

We call for increased moral, political and financial support to environmental civil society organisations, women’s rights organisations, indigenous women organizations, women human rights defenders, including women environmental human rights defenders, women journalists, and youth-led organizations who are often at particular risk of discrimination and violence based on their activities and face growing threats, online and offline, attacks, detainments, assaults and killings.

Moreover, eliminating sexual and gender-based violence depends on further cooperation and collaboration involving States, civil society, women’s rights organisations, human rights and environmental defenders, youth, indigenous peoples, rural communities, peacebuilders, academia and the private sector. In addition, we need to ensure the increased participation of men and boys in all matters related to sexual and gender-based violence, including in changing attitudes and combating gender stereotypes and negative social norms that fuel sexual and gender-based violence.

Lastly, we see a concrete need to improve data and resources and strengthen coordination and capacity building. The Group encourages all stakeholders to use comprehensive indicators and pursue the ethical collection and dissemination of high-quality, timely, reliable and disaggregated data and gender statistics on all dimensions of environmental, disaster risk reduction and climate change issues and sexual and gender-based violence.

We call on all partners to help ensure the necessary resources, including budgetary, to promote gender-responsive climate change and environmental action and policy and eliminate all forms of violence, offline and online, against all women and girls throughout their life course, including by contributing to existing human rights-based national and global initiatives, such as the Spotlight Initiative.

Chair,

With its 94 members, representing all regions of the world, the Group of Friends for the elimination of violence against women and girls is fully committed to implementing these recommendations. The Group invites all UN Member States and other partners to join us. Together, we can end all forms of sexual and of gender-based violence and take a decisive step towards a just, gender-equal, climate-resilient and sustainable future.

Thank you.

* Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Rep. of Korea, Rep. of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, European Union, Sovereign Order of Malta