Третий комитет, 11-е пленарное заседание - Генеральная Ассамблея, 81-я сессия
Генеральная Ассамблея
Date: 8 October 2026
Language: English
Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/ru/ga/c3/81/11?lang=en
Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations.

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3rd Committee · Chair [0:00]:

Okay, colleagues, the 11th meeting of the Third Committee at the 81st session of the General Assembly is called to order. Thank you very much indeed for being here, and I'm keen to start on time, so thank you very much for being such a great group. And I think our conversations to date have shown what we can achieve by working together, so thank you very much indeed. I am moving to Advancement of Women, item 25, and I now invite the committee to resume its consideration of that agenda item. As I said, Advancement of Women. The documentation under agenda item 25 is listed on iGov, and I wish to remind delegations that the deadline for the submission of draft proposals under this item is 1pm on Tuesday, 20 October. This morning the committee will hold a combined briefing with the presenters on the advancement of women. The committee will hear five introductory presentations before proceeding to the joint interactive dialogue, which delegations can make comments on or pose questions in relation to all or any of the five presenters in this cluster, not unlike the approach we adopted last session. I'd like to welcome our distinguished speakers, and in no particular order, Dr. Katerina Boehm, Deputy Executive Director for Program of the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, you're very, very welcome. Ms. Catarina Carvalho, Director of Intergovernmental Support of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women, you're very, very welcome, of course. The Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Ms. Nalla Haidar, who is joining us virtually, which I can't see on the screen, but presumably she will. And the Chair of the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, Ms. Claudia Flores, and the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, its Causes and Consequences, Ms. Reem Al-Salem. All of you are extremely welcome and we're very glad to have you here. Participants wishing to make comments and pose questions to our speakers are invited to press their microphone button within the next 10 minutes, please, after which the list will be closed. The time limit for each speaker will be announced before the floor is given to the first intervention, and I thank you for your cooperation. As you know, the time given to each speaker from the floor depends on how long we have. So I now move to an introductory statement by UNFPA and give the floor to Dr. Katharina Bohm, Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA. You have the floor. Thank you.


UNFPA · Deputy Executive Director [3:14]:

Thank you, Chair. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, good morning. It's my honor to present on behalf of UNFPA the latest report of the Secretary General on intensifying efforts to end obstetric fistula within a decade. We meet at a critical moment. With three years to 2030, we recognize that despite significant progress, over 700 women still die every day as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. For every maternal death, 20 to 30 women endure life-altering injuries, infections, and disabilities related to childbirth. And approximately 500,000 women and girls across 55 low- and middle-income countries are living with obstetric fistula, around 90% of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. What is obstetric fistula? Obstetric fistula is a severe but largely preventable childbirth injury caused primarily by prolonged obstructed labor without timely access to quality emergency obstetric care. around 90% of affected women lose their baby. Iatrogenic fistula is an injury caused mainly during surgery. And both obstetric fistula and iatrogenic fistula can leave women with chronic incontinence, psychological distress, and social exclusion. The costs of fistula extend far beyond physical suffering. They ripple through families, through communities and national economies. They lead to economic paralysis for households, for communities, to social isolation and stigmatization. It leads to out-of-pocket expenses for women and to broader economic losses for the entire society. Fistula really exposes the failures behind the toll of preventable maternal death and disability. timely emergency obstetric care out of reach, too few skilled, educated midwives and health workers, missing quality assured reproductive health supplies, and broken referral systems. One of these women is Emily, a mother of three from Kenya. Emily developed obstetric fistula at age 18. Her baby survived, but fistula marked almost every aspect of her life for 42 years. Emily loved singing in her church choir, yet days before the Sunday service, she stopped eating just to reduce the leakage enough to stand besides others and be able to sing. going hungry for the simple freedom to worship alongside your community. Last year, Emily finally received treatment thanks to UNFPA. What did she look forward to? Eating when hungry, singing without shame. These are quite ordinary freedoms. No woman should have to wait for four decades to reclaim these. That is what ending fistula means in practice. Excellencies, progress is possible. It's real. It's country-led and globally supported. 24 high-burden countries have costed plans to end fistula. 20 countries track cases annually. Nigeria now covers fistula treatment through national health insurance. Sierra Leone is making it part of routine hospital care. In Afghanistan, 430 midwives have been trained in fistula screening and referral, helping reach underserved communities. In Pakistan, a regional center of excellence is strengthening fistula care across Asia through surgical training and knowledge exchange. Continued progress is also possible due to the long-standing championship of Senegal, home to Professor Gueye, leading fistula surgeon, who in turn has trained hundreds of surgeons across the continent, helping to restore the dignity of thousands of women living with fistula. Globally, more than 153,000 women and girls have received fistula repair surgery with UNFPA support, with thousands more reached through the wider efforts of campaign partners. When these women are healed, they do not simply return to their former lives. They become advocates, educators, and community leaders. Together, let us build on this progress through strong national leadership, increased domestic financing, and predictable international support. UNFPA leads the campaign to end fistula. With government and partners, we connect prevention, treatment, and social reintegration, and we strengthen health and social systems. Yet, Excellencies, too many women, like Emily, are still waiting. This report calls on all of us to act. The Global Roadmap to End Fistula, requested by Member States with partners, will provide us a common framework for accelerated country-led action. Its implementation will support countries to cost interventions and identify the financing needed to end fistula by 2030. Excellencies, we need your continued leadership. Let us realize our shared promise to end fistula and put maternal mortalities and morbidities alongside growing efforts to end preventable maternal mortality. that's put it firmly on the global health and well-being agenda. Together, we can take our ambition further, from prevention of death to preventing disability, from treating injury to restoring health and well-being, and from addressing individual conditions to building health systems that work for women throughout their entire life course. No woman should wait four decades to reclaim her life. Women like Emily have waited long enough. Together, we can make ending fistula a reality. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [10:45]:

Thank you, Dr. Boehm. I now pass the floor to Ms. Catarina Cavallo from UN Women. You have the floor.


UN Women · Director of Intergovernmental Support [10:54]:

Your Excellency, Ambassador Larsen, distinguished delegates, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. The world today for women and girls is markedly different from several years ago when we last convened in this space. Data from the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals, the gender snapshot released last month, show that in relation to gender equality, not only SDG 5 target is not struck to be met by 2030, At the current rate of progress, it will take 171 years to achieve SDG 5. Progress on gender equality across the goals has been the most limited for the most marginalized groups of women and girls. While the vision of the 2030 Agenda is relevant as ever, we are witnessing profound changes at global, regional, and national levels. widening economic disparities within and between countries, democratic backsliding, conflict, rising authoritarianism, pushback on longstanding agreed norms and standards, and the shrinking of civil space, including for women's rights movements, are becoming more widespread. These changes have led to political, social, and economic impacts that have stalled or reversed progress on gender equality. Technology has extended the continuum of violence against women and girls into the digital sphere, where online harms, including Online stalking, digital surveillance, deepfakes, and AI-generated abuse increasingly function as prosecutors to an instruments of lethal violence. Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, the three reports prepared for this session on behalf of the Secretary General on efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, female genital mutilation, and trafficking in women and girls emphasize the needs to address impunity and survivors' needs. strengthen prevention efforts, and support for women's and girls' rights movements sustained by political will and resourcing. They highlight that digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, can help transform the landscape of violence against women and girls, prevention, and response. provide that the human rights perspective underpins the design, development, and use of all technologies to prevent harm and ensure women's and girls' safety, security, and privacy. In introducing the reports, Mr. Chair, and we will start with this year's report on trafficking of women and girls, has a special focus on the impact of technology. We are witnessing a profound shift in how trafficking is perpetrated. Technology and artificial intelligence have fundamentally transformed the trafficking landscape, creating new pathways into exploitation while outpacing existing safeguards. Criminal justice response have not kept pace with change. The tension and prosecution of technology facilitating trafficking remain extremely low, and platform accountability is inconsistent across the sector. The challenge before us is not only to stop traffickers from exploiting technology, but to harness technology to protect women and girls. This requires survivor-centered and human rights-based approaches to AI governance, stronger platform accountability, greater investments in prevention and digital literacy, and addressing the demands that fuels trafficking. Turning now into the report on intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, the Secretary General's report focused on the issue of homicide. Femicide is the most extreme manifestation of violence against women and girls and the preventable human rights violation. An estimated 50,000 women and girls were killed by an intimate partner or other family member in 2025. I repeat, 50,000 that were killed because they chose freedom. Data gaps obscure the true scale of the problem, however. The limited disaggregation of homicide data and the misclassification of these crimes due to systematic gender bias mean that femicide continues to be underdetected. The report sends a clear message. Femicide represents a system failure to prevent violence against women and girls. To end it requires sustained political will and a comprehensive, multisectoral response that includes stronger laws and implementation, investment in evidence-based prevention that transforms discriminatory social norms and harmful masculinities, better measurement through the UN statistical framework, and greater accountability for all institutions responsible for protecting women and girls, and of course, once and for all, to end impunity. Turning now into the report on intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation, the Secretary-General notes that progress in eliminating female genital mutilation needs to be 27 times faster to meet the global target of elimination by 2030. Without this increase in momentum, an estimated 22.7 million more girls will undergo FGM by 2030. He also notes that resistance to abandoning the practice has evolved. It is better organized, more politicized, and difficult to address. In his report, the Secretary General recommends enacting and enforcing existing legislation, criminalizing the practice, and holding practitioners accountable. He also calls for increased national allocation and development funding for scale-up of evidence-based policy, programming, and advocacy measures aimed at eliminating female genital mutilation. In closing, Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, we cannot waver in our efforts to end all forms of violence against women and girls. It is essential to build and sustain intersectional, coordinated, whole-of-society approach that brings together government, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders supported by long-term and flexible funding in order to support collective action and strengthening lasting partnerships. Digital technologies present challenges, but we must also ensure that innovation serves the rights and safety of women and girls, rather than becoming another tool through which violence and exploitation are perpetrated. Your leadership and action are needed now more than ever. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [17:52]:

Thank you, Ms. Carvalho. An announcement from the Secretariat, which is the list is now closed. We have a very large list of speakers and we will allocate two minutes per speaker for the delegation contributions. It's now my honor to invite the Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Ms. Nalla Haidar, who is joining us virtually. Ms. Haidar, you have the floor.


CEDAW · Chair [18:23]:

Thank you, Chair. Thank you very much. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, today is the second and last time that I have the honor to address you, the Third Committee of the General Assembly, in my capacity as chair of the CEDAW Committee. I regret that I am not able to engage personally in the interactive dialogue because of my responsibility as chair during the ongoing 93rd session of CDOW in Geneva, and due also to the ongoing UN liquidity crisis. Indeed, we meet at a time of profound global uncertainty. Wars and arms conflict, humanitarian crisis, disasters, and the accelerating impacts of climate change are converging with persistent economic and social inequalities. Their effects are not gender neutral. Women and girls face heightened risks of displacement, poverty, sexual and gender-based violence, loss of livelihoods, exclusion from decision-making, and disruption of access to health, education, and essential services. These crises compound existing discrimination and disproportionately affect those already facing multiple and intersecting forms of inequality. As we mark the 45th anniversary of the entry into force of the CEDAW Convention with 180 States Party, we are witnessing an unwavering backlash against gender equality across regions. In the face of these challenges, the CEDAW Convention is needed more than ever as the core legal framework for holding governments accountable for women's and girls' equal rights. Unfortunately, the CEDAW Committee, like the other human rights treaty bodies, faces unprecedented constraints. More than one third of its meeting time has been cut over the past year. Making planning unpredictable and further complicated by late confirmations of session. As a result, the committee was able to hold only 8 dialogue with state party and adopt concluding observation on the report, leaving its backlog for which comes up to 31 state party report as a backlog. However, despite the cancellation of the. 94th pre-sessional working group in February, the committee was able to adopt list of issues, nine of them prior to reporting under the simplified reporting procedure, as well as assessment of 18 follow-up reports to concluding observation by performing many of its mandated work informally online out of goodwill. Under article 2 of the Optional Protocol, which is ratified by 116 States party, CEDAW adopted also decisions on five individual communication. It found violations of the author's right in three cases concerning the failure to protect the rights to life and privacy of a victim of sexual and gender-based violence, denial of nationality for lack of language and cultural knowledge, and deportation to the DRC of a victim of trafficking and sexual violence. Also, under article 8 of the Optional Protocol, the Committee for the first time conducted a confidential inquiry online without a visit to the State Party to examine alleged grave and systematic violations of women's rights on grounds of ethnicity and perceived political and other opinions. The Committee regrets that the February session of its working groups on communication and on inquiries were cancelled due to the liquidity crisis. Now, if we examine the general recommendation, who have been a very important soft law tool, over the past year, CEDAW conducted a series of hybrid and virtual regional consultation on its draft general recommendation number 41 on gender stereotype. It's covered almost all regions with support from UN Women and OHCHR. Almost 200 stakeholder submission were received following a call for comments. The Committee held a first reading online of the draft and plans to adopt and launch the general recommendation at its current 93rd session in Geneva. In February 2026, CDOW adopted an addendum to update its landmark General Recommendation No. 30 of 2013 on women in conflict, conflict prevention and post-conflict situation. in relation to the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. The addendum addresses issues such as women leadership in peace and security, survivor-centric justice, conflict-related sexual violence, reparations, arms transfer, artificial intelligence and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, threats to women and girls' sexual and reproductive health rights in armed conflict, and the gendered impact of climate change. The Committee is also updating its General Recommendation No. 24 on women and health. And now, at a time when digital technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping every aspect of our society at an unprecedented speed, it is crucial to reaffirm that the rights enshrined in the CEDAW Convention remain fully applicable. CEDAW's Task Force on Business and Digital Technologies, including artificial intelligence, is working with other human rights mechanisms, States Parties, international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector to ensure that the Convention serves as a guidepost for the design, use, and governance of emerging technologies, including AI systems. On harmonization of working methods. Over the past year, our committee continued to harmonize its working method with those of other treaty bodies, notably by adopting revised rules of procedure. To mitigate the effect of meeting time cancellation, we adopted also decision to delegate authority to members for online adoption of list of issues. In the context of the treaty bodies strengthening process and at the 38th annual meeting of the chairperson of the human rights treaty body, A paper presented by the OACR was discussed focusing on three key elements: convening decentralized and clustered state review based on an eight-year cycle; simplified state review based simplifying state party reporting through an online report submission platform. However, the chairs concluded that the proposal required further discussion by the committees. Before I close, I wish to thank our partners, in particular UN Women, for its support together with OHCHR to the regional consultation on recommendation, General Recommendation 41, and also for their work on the inter-agency group on CEDAW reporting. I want to thank the country teams, OHCHR field UNFPA, UNHCR, IOM, IPU, IPU Asia Pacific, and the local NGOs, as well as the NHRI. Chair, distinguished delegates, and dear colleagues, we need a strong commitment from the member states to ensure resources that are adequate, predictable, and match the massive task that the treaty bodies have in helping to uphold the normative pillars of the global human rights protection architecture. On behalf of CEDAW, I thank you for this opportunity, and I'm at your disposal to answer any question you may have. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [26:04]:

Thank you very much indeed, Ms. Haidar. I now pass the floor to the chair of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, Ms. Claudia Flores. You have the floor.


Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls · Chair [26:15]:

Thank you, honorable chair. Honorable chair, excellencies, and distinguished delegates. It is an honor to address you on behalf of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls in this oral report. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to engage with the Third Committee alongside colleagues from UNFPA, UN Women, the Chair of the CEDAW Committee, and the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls. At the heart of the report that the Secretariat has presented to you in a note lies a simple and urgent truth that I hope I will communicate to you today. Artificial intelligence is not gender neutral. It is built on our data, our histories, and our inequalities. Today, AI and related digital technologies are reshaping the conditions under which we all exercise our human rights. They are transforming how we work, learn, take part in public life, and seek health care and justice. Yet these technologies are being developed and deployed in a world already marked by profound inequalities. As a result, AI reflects, reproduces, and amplifies discrimination against women and girls. This is why the working group has issued this report at this time, and why the report is grounded in one fundamental principle. Technology must serve human rights and not the other way around. That principle needs to be explicit in every intervention we make together on AI. If AI is to advance equality and human rights in our common future, innovation for its own sake is not enough. We must attend to the governance of AI and the accountability of its makers and embed a feminist and human rights based approach that places the dignity and agency of women and girls at its center. Our report finds that AI is expanding against a backdrop of persistent inequality. Across the world, women and girls have less access than men and boys to the internet, devices, digital skills, and emerging technologies. The gap is widest for women and girls already facing intersecting forms of discrimination, those living in poverty, in rural and conflict-affected communities, and in indigenous communities. When access to technology is unequal, access to opportunity becomes unequal. As AI becomes embedded in public services and decision-making, closing the digital divide is no longer simply a development issue, it is a human rights imperative. The working group report identifies three conditions for a gender equal digital future. First, the one I have spoken about is equal access to technology, and we cannot understate its importance. The second, AI and digital technologies that advance women and girls' economic, social, and cultural rights. And the third is that AI must strengthen rather than restrict women and girls' participation and leadership in public and political life. On economic rights, our report raises profound concerns. Much of the digital technology rests on underpaid and undervalued work on data annotation and content moderation performed disproportionately by women and girls, often with exposure to traumatic material and little protection. Without gender-responsive safeguards, AI risks deepening these inequalities. Designed responsibly, it can instead widen access to finance, work, and health care. AI is also reshaping our public and political lives. Digital spaces are now essential arenas for democratic participation. Yet women politicians, journalists, activists, and human rights defenders continually face violence, harassment, and intimidation there. And it's amplified, of course, by disinformation and surveillance. AI makes these harms easier to scale, eroding democratic participation more broadly. Yet AI can also support access to justice and give women and girls new ways to organize, advocate, and lead. Excellencies and colleagues, the promises and possibilities of AI are real, but they are not guaranteed. And some risks of AI are so grave that no benefit can outweigh them. The global discussion calls for AI red lines. Our report foregrounds four that have a devastating impact on women and girls. First, the use of AI in armed conflict. Lethal autonomous weapons systems threaten human dignity and human rights, and the working group joins growing international calls for a comprehensive prohibition of fully autonomous weapons systems. Second, the environmental toll of AI. Data centers place strain on water supplies in places already facing scarcity, and women and girls bear a disproportionate share of that burden. Third, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, which has reached alarming levels while legal protections remain inadequate in many countries, with deepfakes and nonconsensual images-based abuses expanding rapidly. Fourth, mass surveillance, which threatens the privacy, bodily autonomy, and public participation of women and girls. These harms have one thing in common: they fall hardest on those least able to defend themselves. Which brings me to urgency and to responsibility. Every one of these harms is much easier to prevent than to repair. Once biased systems are built into hiring, education, health care, and justice, they are very hard to undo. Equality cannot easily be retrofitted. Human rights must be built into AI from its inception, in the data, in the design, and in the rules that govern its deployment. And responsibility. Responsibility for this rests with states, not with the private sector or market forces. Companies that design, deploy, and profit from AI have a role to play, and we welcome those taking positive steps. But market incentives and voluntary commitments will not on their own close these gaps. States' human rights obligations cannot be delegated or transferred. We need states to lead the way. Honorable Chair, Excellencies, and Distinguished Delegates, Our message in this report, I hope, is very clear. The challenges we face are not inevitable consequences of technology. They are the result of our choices. Technology reflects the values embedded within it. If inequality is built into our institutions, it will be built into our algorithms. If discrimination is present in our societies, it will reappear in our data. But if we place equality, dignity, and human rights at the center of digital governance, technology can become a powerful tool for transformation. The working group therefore calls upon all states, the United Nations, and the private sector to act decisively, to close the digital divide, to build human rights-based and gender-responsive AI governance, to confront technology-facilitated gender-based violence, to protect privacy, to regulate surveillance, and address AI's environmental impact, and to ensure most of all that women and girls take part in and lead digital decision making. Let's together build this future where technology advances freedom rather than oppression, participation rather than exclusion, and equality rather than discrimination. A future in which women and girls are not merely subjects of technological change, but full and equal architects of it. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [33:25]:

Thank you, Ms. Flores. I now pass to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Ms. Reem Al-Salem. You have the floor.


UN · Special Rapporteur [33:36]:

Honorable Chair, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to address this committee for the last time before my mandate comes to a close at the end of July 2027. You will, however, for better or for worse, still read me and hear from me on at least two occasions. And I look forward to presenting two reports still to the Human Rights Council in June 2027, followed by writing one final report to the Third Committee to be presented by my successor in October 2027. I address you, of course, at the time when the UN is at the precipice of profound change, looking to become more fit for purpose. And like many of you here and around the world, I look forward also to welcoming a female Secretary-General a step that is long overdue. While we do not have time to delve into recommendations I would make to a new Secretary-General, I want to highlight one above all. The United Nations must do better to uphold the humanity, dignity, safety, security, and equality of women and girls. This can only happen if we uphold the objective and language of the binding international treaties that states have committed themselves to. We tend to forget that the Charter of the United Nations, its very founding document, reaffirms faith in the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of men and women, while its Article 1.3 calls for the promotion and encouragement of, and I quote, "respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to sex." The dignity of women and girls, more than half of humanity, can only be upheld by recognizing their humanity and material reality. Women and girls are real. They are not an idea. They are not a stereotype. I have already said on numerous occasions that the erasure of sex in data and in policies, as well as the erasure of female-specific language and needs, is one of the most serious regressions we have witnessed. as far as women's rights are concerned. It is one that obliterates how we understand and tackle violence against women and girls, ignores the specific needs of victims and survivors, and undermines how we measure progress of women and girls to achieving substantive equality. And substantive equality is not an empty phrase. It requires understanding women's rights and needs in relation to their sex, recognizing historical discrimination, correcting the resulting imbalance and improving access to fundamental rights for women and girls worldwide. Respect for this obligation requires the United Nations as a whole, all its bodies, all its staff, and all member states to also be consistent and coherent. So put bluntly, we need to speak consistently inside the chambers, but we also need to walk the talk without selectivity, without instrumentalization, without politicization. including the kind of rhetoric we see around national election time. Above all, we urgently need to come together to stop and reverse alarming regression in the protection that civilians, including women, children, including older women, enjoy in times of crisis and conflict, which we appear to have collectively normalized. Excellencies, this brings me to the report before you today, which, in my view, illustrates the points I've just made. I chose to focus on older women because as the report demonstrate, they remain largely invisible in laws, policies, data collection, and public discourse. This invisibility is not neutral. It's rooted in the intersection of ageism and sexism, the social devaluation of older women, the exclusion from decision making, public life, digital space, and economic insecurity, isolation, and they are affected also very much by crisis and armed conflict. And too often, older women disappear from our understanding of who can be a victim of violence. Yet violence in old age does not emerge in isolation. Many women carry into later life the accumulated consequences of discrimination and violence experienced through their lives, must therefore be understood as a continuum across life course. And certain groups of older women face heightened risks. I've mentioned them in the report, like widows, women accused of witchcraft, migrants, stateless, rural women, women with disabilities, women in institutional care, incarcerated women, and women living in conflict and crisis settings. We must also recognize the economic roots of violence against older women. A lifetime of lower wages, unpaid care work, interrupted employment, unequal access to property can become poverty and dependence in old age, leaving older women unable to escape abuse or exercise real autonomy. And the same, I would say, applies to healthcare and end-of-life care. Illness, disability, dependence, or pain must never diminish an older woman's dignity or the value of her life. I therefore take the opportunity to warn of the particular risks of older women being subjected to euthanasia or offered assisted dying without their free and real informed consent. And as the international community considers an international treaty on the rights of older persons, it's imperative that older women's sex and age-specific needs and vulnerabilities be recognized and addressed. So states must collect and publish age and sex disaggregated data, strengthen laws and remedies, and ensure that older women can effectively access justice, healthcare, housing, social protection, and long-time care. And above all, we must reject the notion that older women are merely recipients of care. They are right holders, decision makers. They contribute to their families, communities, and societies. I also recommend that States guarantee older women's adequate income and social protection, including pensions, and to protect them from financial exploitation. Related to this, States must ensure that the lack of income or care never undermines their autonomy or pressures them to accept life-ending interventions. Distinguished delegates, before I close, I wish to also speak about UN reform. As member states consider greater efficiencies, including through a possible reduction or combination of special procedures, I appeal to you to be guided not by the funds these decisions may save, but by the human rights consequences it might have. My mandate has existed for more than 32 years. I believe there is broad consensus that this mandate has played a pivotal role in deepening our understanding of the different forms of violence experienced by women and girls. In the last five years alone, the mandate has written or joined a total of 458 letters, carried out seven official country visits, and done three technical visits and tens of academic visits. despite the austerity measures. A specific standalone special procedure on violence against women remains essential to addressing a distinct gap in the human rights system. Finally, no mandate will be effective if mandate holders are not protected in their ability to do the work the Council entrusts it to do. Many of us have come under unprecedented attacks and have been subjected to smear campaigns for merely stating facts and calling out serious human rights violations. I will stop here, and I look forward to our discussion, and I wish to reassure you of my continued readiness to support and engage with you until the completion of my mandate. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [41:25]:

Thank you very much indeed, Special Rapporteur. We now move to our list of delegations who wish to take the floor, and I have the following to start: Morocco, Portugal, Ireland, Israel, and Slovenia. Morocco, you have the floor. think Portugal, you are. Microphone from Morocco, please.


Morocco [42:01]:

Mr. Chair, thank you. This year's reports remind us that discrimination and violence often follow women throughout their lives, from girlhood to old age, and from the physical world to the digital one. Women still face preventable risks in maternal health. Traffickers increasingly use technology to recruit and exploit. Older women remain largely absent from data and policies. These challenges share common roots, inequality, economic dependence, and persistent stereotypes. They also call for a common answer, placing women at the heart of development as actor and not only as beneficiaries. Mr. Chair, last month, His Majesty King Mohammed VI appointed for the first time ever in our history a woman, Ms. Fatima Zahra El Mansouri, head of government, a milestone that reflects the growing place of Moroccan women in public life. This conviction has guided Morocco's path. The 2011 constitution enshrined equality between women and men and the principle of parity. Successive government plans for equality have translated that commitment into public policy. Gender responsive budgeting has been embedded in our public finance framework. A national program for the economic empowerment of women support their access to employment, entrepreneurship, and financial services. The generalization of social protection, including health coverage and direct social assistance, is giving many women, particularly in rural areas, greater security and autonomy. Women's dignity cannot be partial. It must be secured at every stage of life and in every space women inhabit. Morocco will continue to work with all delegations towards that shared objective, and I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [43:53]:

Thank you, Morocco. I pass to Portugal, to be followed by Ireland. Portugal, you have the floor.


Portugal [44:01]:

Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.

I will focus on this report.

And thank you for bringing greater attention to violence against older women, an issue that remains underreported and insufficiently addressed. Violence against women and girls can occur at every stage of life. Yet, as the report highlights, the intersection of gender-based discrimination and ageism can expose older women to particular form of violence and heightened risks. Older women may experience domestic and intimate partner violence.

Psychological and economical violence, neglect, and other forms of abuse, including in care and institutional settings.

Dependency, isolation, limit access to information, and support services may further increase their vulnerability and contribute to underreporting. Responses to violence against women must therefore take into account the experiences and needs of women of all ages. This requires effective prevention, protection measures and accessible, adequate resources and age-responsive support services, while ensuring the autonomy and dignity of older women.

At the national level, at the beginning.

Of the year, Portugal adopted new legislation aimed at strengthening the protection and promotion of the rights of older people. Special Rapporteur, which measures do you consider most effective to ensure that older women are systematically included in policies and services to prevent and respond to violence against women, and to guarantee that the specific barriers they face in accessing protection and support are adequately addressed?

Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [45:44]:

Thank you, Portugal. I pass to Ireland, then Israel, and then Slovenia. Ireland, you have the floor. Microphone to Ireland, please. Microphone to Ireland. Yes, there we are. Thank you.


Ireland [46:23]:

Thank you, Chair. Ireland aligns with the statement which will be delivered by the EU and thanks the speakers for their presentations. Ireland recognises gender equality and women's empowerment as fundamental human rights and a strategic imperative and consistently promotes them across our foreign policy. The rights of women and girls are a key priority in our campaign for membership of the Human Rights Council from 2027 to 2029. We cannot ignore that progress in achieving SDG 5 has been too slow. Realising gender equality is impossible without the elimination of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against all women and girls and the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence, including technology-facilitated gender-based violence. When it comes to sexual and reproductive health and rights, Ireland has made significant progress in removing barriers and advancing access in recent decades. We believe that universal access to quality, integrated and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, including access to quality maternal healthcare, is essential for gender equality. Ms. Flores, we welcome the working group's report's focus on AI and its impacts, both positive and negative, on women and girls. The report calls for the integration of human rights law and feminist and gender equality perspectives into AI governance. What practical indicators or benchmarks would the working group recommend states use to measure whether AI regulatory frameworks are advancing gender equality?

Dr. Buma, thank you for presenting the Secretary-General's report on obstetric fistula.

What examples of good practice can you share to ensure that women and girls with disabilities are included in efforts to prevent maternal morbidity and support fistula survivors? And finally, Special Rapporteur, Ireland welcomes your report's focus on the issues facing older women, an often overlooked group. Can you elaborate on the particular risks faced by older women with disabilities and measures?

That states can take to support them? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [48:18]:

Thank you. I have Israel, Slovenia, European Union, Norway, Republic of Korea. Israel, you have the floor.


Israel [48:30]:

Thank you, Chair. Israel is committed to combating violence against all women and girls, including older women. Three years ago, on October 7, Hamas terrorists murdered families in their homes, burned communities, abducted children, mothers, and grandmothers, and committed sexual and gender-based atrocities with a cruelty that must be named clearly. They were tortured, murdered, held, humiliated, and abused. No age protected them. No status protected them. I hold a report named Silence No More, written by the Civil Commission, and I ask you to look and face the atrocities they document against Israeli women. The Civil Commission's report documents these crimes with evidence, testimony, and detail. Its findings reinforce what survivors and witnesses have carried with them for three years: that widespread and systematic sexual violence was part of the terror of October 7 and part of the abuse suffered by hostages in captivity. The report has earned global recognition, endorsed by world leaders and leading experts, including Secretary Hillary Clinton. Ms. El-Salem, as the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Will you unequivocally condemn Hamas's sexual and gender-based violence against Israeli women and girls? Will you acknowledge the victims, including the elderly women whose suffering cannot be erased by their age? And will you ensure that Israeli victims receive the same recognition, solidarity, and pursuit of justice that you rightly demand for women everywhere? Independence requires accountability. Mandate holders must uphold impartiality, integrity, and the universality of human rights. Selective empathy undermines human rights. Israeli women and girls deserve equal recognition, equal solidarity, and equal justice. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [50:16]:

Thank you, Israel. Slovenia, followed by European Union. Slovenia, you have the floor.


Slovenia [50:23]:

Mr. Chair, Slovenia aligns with the statement that will be delivered by the European Union and its member states. We would like to thank all speakers for their presentations. In our intervention, my delegation would like to focus on an issue of particular concern to us, namely violence against older women. In this respect, we would like to thank the Special Rapporteur for focusing her report on this very relevant issue. Older women face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence, which are often overlooked. They remain among those particularly vulnerable to violence, with much of it occurring in their homes or intimate spaces where they should feel safest. As a result, many older women experience violence in silence. Older women are not a homogeneous group. Their experiences are shaped by lifelong structural inequalities, including pay gap, career interruptions due to unpaid care work, and unequal pension accumulation. As life expectancy increases, these accumulated inequalities can have a lasting impact on women's economic security, leaving older women at higher risk of poverty. Such inequality can in turn increase their exposure to violence. Madam Special Rapporteur, as you have mentioned in your report, the Human Rights Council Intergovernmental Working Group on Older Persons has the mandate to elaborate a legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons and is currently drafting possible elements of such new legally binding instrument. Could you elaborate more in details which issues would need to be included in such document, specifically with regards to violence against older women? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [52:02]:

Thank you, Slovenia. European Union, Norway, Republic of Korea, Austria, Montenegro, Poland, and Belgium. European Union, you have the floor.


EU · EU [52:12]:

Thank you, Chair. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the EU and its member states. The full version of these statements will be available online. We are committed to achieving gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls, and upholding their human rights. We strongly support the mandates of all panelists. In light of the unprecedented pushback on gender equality and women's rights, your work is instrumental in advocating for those who are marginalized, delivering services for those in need, supporting states in fulfilling their obligations, and holding them accountable when they fail. Women and girls around the world are watching us and expecting all of us to deliver for them. Madam Chair of the Working Group, we welcome your report, share your concern that AI can reinforce discrimination and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and support your call for gender-responsive and human rights-based AI governance, state responsibility in upholding human rights, and accountability. Madame Special Rapporteur, we share your concern that many older women experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence, which is often overlooked, and we welcome your recommendations on addressing its structural causes and risk factors. How can we dismantle gender stereotypes and harmful social norms against older women? Madame Chair of the CEDAW Committee, We welcome the addendum to General Recommendation No. 30 on women in conflict prevention and the Committee's work on General Recommendation No. 41 on gender stereotypes. Could you share more about the key findings of the latter? We thank UN Women for the reports presented. We agree that prevention is the most effective way to end gender-related killings, including femicide, and save lives, and commend UN Women for its leadership in keeping this issue on top of our agenda. Finally, we strongly support UNFPA's work in providing quality care and services for women and girls, including sexual reproductive health.


3rd Committee · Chair [54:14]:

I thank the European Union. Now I pass to Norway, then followed by the Republic of Korea. Norway, you have the floor.


Norway [54:21]:

Thank you, Chair. I will be speaking in a national capacity and aligned with the statement that will be given by Latvia on behalf of the NBA countries. Norway thanks the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls for this timely report that examines how artificial intelligence affects women's and girls' human rights. I would like to start by posing a question for you, Ms. Flores. How can we best ensure that women's and girls' rights are strengthened through upholding basic principles of human direction, supervision, responsibility, and control of AI? Now, we share the analysis of the working group that AI can contribute to increase gender equality, but that technology also risk reinforcing existing discrimination, inequalities and power structures. Misinformation and disinformation produce gendered false narratives, including language that expresses prejudice, contempt or deeply integrated stereotypes against women. This can be used to incite violence, discrimination or hatred based on gender. Today's AI systems are often based on data and structures that already contain gender bias. The result is that discrimination and stereotypes can be reproduced or reinforced through automated decisions, algorithms, and digital platforms. Women and girls who experience multiple intersecting forms of discrimination are particularly hard hit. While international human rights provide a solid foundation for protection, the report shows that most AI regulations and governance models addresses impacts on women and girls only to a limited extent. We support the working group in calling for stronger government regulations and less reliance on voluntary self-regulation by tech companies. The need for action is exemplified by alarming reports from UNIDIR that highlights that seven out of 10 women experience online violence, including sharing of their private information without permission, according to a survey conducted across 119 countries. 98% of deep fakes are pornographic in nature, and 99% of these target women. Following recent years rapid development on.


3rd Committee · Chair [56:23]:

Thank you. Noah, I'm sorry, everyone knows it is the two-minute limit. The number is up on the screen. Republic of Korea, followed by Austria, followed by Montenegro. Republic of Korea, you have the floor.


Republic of Korea [56:34]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First and foremost, we welcome the Working Group's recent report highlighting the potential of AI to advance gender equality and the need to ground its design and deployment in human rights. The Republic of Korea is proud to have partnered closely with the Working Group. on the margins of CSW70, and to have co-sponsored an event commemorating the working group's 50th anniversary in June. We also thank the Special Rapporteur for shedding light on violence against older women. As one of the most rapidly aging societies in the world, the ROK recognizes the urgency of this issue. Mr. Chair, we have been working to ensure that every woman and girl can claim her rights and seek redress. Our third basic plan for gender equality policies prioritizes the legal rights of victims in responses to gender-based violence. In the digital space, our National Center for Digital Sex Crime Response now uses AI-based systems to automatically detect child sexual abuse material and request its removal. Internationally, we welcome the Committee's adoption in February of an addendum to its General Recommendation No. 30, addressing women's leadership in peace and security. These priorities guide our own engagement on women, peace and security. We also know with appreciation that the SDG's report on trafficking women and girls recognizes the group of friends for combating technology facilitated trafficking persons. Mr. Chair, the women and girls behind today's reports deserve nothing less than our concerted action. We will continue to work closely with all the mechanisms represented here today, I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [58:15]:

Thank you, Republic of Korea. I pass to Austria, Montenegro, Poland, and Belgium. Austria, you have the floor.


Austria [58:23]:

Thank you, Chair. Austria aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union. Let me thank the briefers for their insightful presentations. Austria reaffirms its strong commitment to gender equality and the women, peace, and security agenda. The anniversaries of 30 years of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and 25 years of Security Council Resolution 1325 have highlighted both the progress achieved and the work that remains.

In a world.

Marked by conflict and growing humanitarian needs, women's full, equal and meaningful participation is indispensable to sustainable peace. Austria will continue to place WPS at the heart of its international engagement and support women's leadership on every negotiation table. Austria attaches great importance to the Secretary-General's 2026 report on preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls. The continuing prevalence of femicide remains a serious concern and requires stronger prevention, data collection and accountability. We also welcome the attention to the links between technology-facilitated and offline violence. Against this background, we would like to ask: How can Member States, together with the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders, better identify and address the links between technology-facilitated violence against women and girls and femicide?

I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:00:01]:

Thank you, Austria. Montenegro, followed by Poland and then Belgium. Montenegro, you have the floor.


Montenegro [1:00:07]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Montenegro thanks all the briefers for their reports and valuable contributions. Despite important progress, women and girls continue to face discrimination and violence in different forms and at different stages of their lives. Persistent inequalities, economic and social exclusion, as well as new risks emerging in digital space, continue to limit the full and equal enjoyment of their rights. The reports before us also remind us that these challenges are often compounded by age, disability, poverty, and disparities in access to health and social services. In this regard, we particularly welcome the Special Rapporteur's focus on violence against older women. Too often, their experience remains invisible in policies and responses to gender-based violence, while age-related discrimination can further limit their access to protection, support, and justice. Therefore, we would like to ask Special Rapporteur Al-Salem, among the gaps identified in your report, where do you see the greatest implementation challenge for member states in ensuring that older women are not left behind in responses to gender-based violence? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:01:20]:

Thank you, Montenegro. I pass to Poland, followed by Belgium, then Cyprus. Poland, you have the floor.


Poland · Youth Delegate [1:01:26]:

Mr. Chair, Excellencies. I stand before you today not only as a youth delegate of Poland, but also as a young woman. The progress made towards gender equality is real and must be recognized. Yet, we must also confront emerging challenges, including those arising in the digital spaces where my generation spends so much of its time. Nearly one in three women globally has experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. Today, violence also increasingly take place online in the form of harassment, cyberstalking, image-based abuse, and deepfakes. Building on General Assembly Resolution 79/152, we call for stronger cooperation among governments, technology companies, and civil society to ensure that digital platforms are designed to protect safety, dignity, and human rights of women and girls. At the same time, women and girls must not be seen only as victims to be protected in the digital world. We must be included as equal partners in shaping it. Generations of women before us fought for the rights that we have today. Our responsibility is to ensure that these rights remain meaningful and accessible everywhere, including online. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:02:41]:

Thank you, Poland. Belgium, followed by Cyprus, then Greece. Belgium, you have the floor.


Belgium [1:02:47]:

Thank you, Chair. Belgium aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union and thanks the panelists for their insightful briefings. Our country remains a steadfast supporter of all of their mandates. Technology featured prominently in most, if not all, of the reports. Technology, including the rise of artificial intelligence, brings with it tremendous potential, but it is not without risk. Technology-facilitated gender-based violence, or TFGVB, in particular, is of concern to us. In June 2024, Belgium, alongside a core group composed of Albania, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Morocco, initiated resolution 56/19 at the Human Rights Council, which was adopted by consensus with the support of over 50 countries. It formally mandated the HRC Advisory Committee to conduct a comprehensive study on TFGPV, which was recently presented during HRC 63. It contains a solid analysis and makes many specific recommendations. Esteemed panelists, what could and should member states do in the context of this treaty session to further our response regarding TFGPV? In which resolutions do you see the highest need and opportunity to make progress on this issue?

I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:04:08]:

Thank you, Belgium. Cyprus, followed by Greece, then Malaysia. Cyprus.


Cyprus [1:04:14]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Cyprus aligns with the statement delivered by the European Union. We would like to thank all briefers for their reports and for their presentation before us today, and express our support to their mandates. Advancing gender equality, eliminating all forms of discrimination, and promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of women and girls, including their full, equal and meaningful participation in all spheres of life, as well as preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls, remain key priorities for Cyprus, including as a member of the Human Rights Council for 2025-2027. Cyprus has adopted a comprehensive policy on gender equality in accordance with the provisions of international conventions. In 2022, Cyprus took a pioneering step by criminalizing femicide as a distinct offense, explicitly recognizing gender-related killings within its legal framework. Cyprus is also addressing emerging forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence through strengthened policy, institutional responses, and multilateral cooperation, including through its participation in the High-Level Network of Gender-Responsive Policy. Cyprus wishes to express its full support to UN Women and its efforts and remains committed to working closely with UN Women and all partners to achieve tangible progress towards gender equality. In closing, allow me to ask a question to Special Rapporteur Alsaleem. Ms. Alsaleem, we welcome the focus of your report on the violence experienced by older women worldwide and the recommendations therein. What steps could be taken to facilitate the sharing of best practices, experiences and lessons learned among member states and other stakeholders? I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:05:55]:

Thank you, Cyprus. I pass to Greece, then Malaysia, then Bangladesh. Greece, you have the floor.


Greece [1:06:06]:

In my national capacity, I would like to thank all panelists for their insightful presentations at the following. For Greece, this morning's discussion is particularly timely as we currently hold the presidency of the UN Security Council. And on 27 October, Greece will chair the Council's annual open debate on women, peace and security, focusing on women, peace and security in the next quarter century, fulfilling the promise through implementation. During the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council a few months ago, Greece actively contributed to the consensus adoption of the resolution entitled Technical Assistance and Capacity Building for Empowering Women's Access to Education and Work in Digital and Cybersecurity-Related Fields. The resolution addresses the imperative need to tackle increasing digitalization to the extent that it undermines women's rights, including their access to education and work, a phenomenon also evident in the Special Rapporteur's thoughtful report. Madam Special Rapporteur, sharing strongly your view that the increasing digitalization of services excludes older women who lack digital access or confidence in managing them, We would appreciate your views on how education can help to emphasize that access to digital technologies alone is insufficient for the realization of the human rights of older women without adequate access to digital literacy, skills development, training opportunities and decent work. Thank you, Mr. Chair.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:07:34]:

Thank you, Greece. I pass to Malaysia, followed by Cuba. Malaysia, you have the floor.


Malaysia [1:07:39]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. At the outset, Malaysia thanks the distinguished presenter for their insightful presentation to the Committee. Malaysia remains committed to advancing the empowerment of women and girls, guided by our national policies and relevant regional and international commitments. These include the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, the Talian Kasih helpline, the One-Stop Crisis Centres providing integrated support and services. Mr. Chair, at the same time, the rapid evolution of technology is creating new challenges. Online harassment, stalking, sexual exploitation, sextortion, and the misuse of artificial intelligence and deepfake technology can amplify harms and create new evidentiary and enforcement challenges. In this regard, we take note of the working group's report on women's and girls' rights and artificial intelligence and related digital technologies. The report highlights, among others, gaps in legal and technical frameworks, as well as barriers to reporting, investigation and access to effective remedies. Against this backdrop, Malaysia would appreciate the working group's views on how Member States can keep their legal and institutional frameworks responsive to rapidly evolving technologies, particularly AI-enabled harms, while strengthening prevention, accountability, protection and access to justice. In this regard, what role can international cooperation and engagement with technologies and communication platform play in addressing challenges that may extend across national borders? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:09:19]:

Thank you, Malaysia. I pass to Cuba, to be followed by Uruguay. Cuba, you have the floor.


Cuba [1:09:26]:

Senator President, Chair, we thank the briefers for their presentations. Cuba is firmly committed to limiting discrimination in all its forms. including discrimination against women and girls, which directly violates CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Cuba continues to take steps to completely eradicate violence and discrimination against women and girls and promote their rights. We are proud that women occupy the majority of decision-making posts, seats in Parliament, and positions in key sectors such as education, science, the administration of justice, and health. Even so, as the Special Rapporteur rightly points out in her report 81/133, the U.S. embargo against Cuba negatively impacts women's rights. The embargo is real and causes widespread shortages of medicines, food, and hygiene products. You are absolutely right. It is the primary form of violence perpetrated against Cuban women. It is a form of collective punishment imposed on our country. The embargo and the current energy siege are not abstract concepts for Cuban women. They mean more hours of domestic and caregiving work, more obstacles to accessing health services, with very serious consequences for pregnant women and nursing mothers, and greater difficulties in ensuring adequate nutrition for their families. I could cite many more examples of the human face of the embargo, but there isn't enough time here. We invite the Special Rapporteur, as well as the Working Group, to continue examining in depth the devastating impact of UCMs as a form of violence against women and girls. Thank you very much.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:10:54]:

Thank you, Cuba. I pass the floor to the Permanent Representative of Uruguay.

You have the floor.


Uruguay · Permanent Representative [1:11:00]:

Thank you, Chair. I wanted to begin by thanking you for the reports that we are considering, and we take due note of the recommendations, as well as the distinguished representatives for their presentations. they're all pointing in the same direction. Despite the important progress that's been made, discrimination and violence against women and girls, including in such serious forms as femicide, which continues in my country, Uruguay, continue to be persistent and changing. At the same time, there is a significant gap between the commitments made and their implementation. The reports also show that in the face of new realities and normative frameworks don't necessarily keep pace with events. This is particularly clear with regard to technology and its influence on gender. Trafficking women and girls, technology has changed the face of trafficking, making it much more difficult to keep tabs on the situation. AI could also make this work. As the working group on discrimination against women and girls says, AI has an important potential to promote equality. It also throws up significant risks if It's not developed with a gender and human rights approach. In that context, Uruguay is working through the National Women's Institute on a draft law on digital violence inspired on the Inter-American Model Law on Digital Violence adopted within the OAS as a follow-up mechanism for the Palendaba Treaty. This hemispheric initiative is an important technical and public policy reference. The cross-border nature of the digital world shows that no state can deal with this alone. We need to work together in order to strengthen standards. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:13:01]:

I thank the permanent representative of Uruguay. We have Latvia, Namibia, Georgia, Brazil, Nepal and India. Latvia, you have the floor.


Latvia · Nordic-Baltic countries [1:13:11]:

Thank you, Chair. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. We thank UNFPA, UN Women, the Committee, the Working Group, and the Special Rapporteur for their important work to promote and defend the rights of women and girls in all their diversity throughout respective mandates. We thank the Special Rapporteur for her report on violence against older women. and for bringing greater attention to an issue that has too often remained invisible in discussions on violence against women and girls. Madame Special Rapporteur, could you elaborate on which measures you consider most effective in improving the identification, reporting, and prevention of violence against older women in all their diversity? while ensuring that their autonomy and dignity are fully respected. In particular, women in need of care at home or in institutional settings, where factors such as dependence on care providers, communication barriers, and the intersection of age and disability often exacerbate the risk of abuse and limit autonomy. The Nordic-Baltic countries remain firmly committed to preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls throughout their lives. We welcome continued international attention to violence against older women in all their diversity and encourage States to translate the recommendations of the report into concrete measures at national, regional and international levels. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:14:56]:

Thank you, Latvia. I pass to Namibia, then Georgia, Brazil, and Nepal. Namibia, you have the floor.


Namibia · Africa Group [1:15:03]:

Thank you, Chair. I deliver this statement on behalf of the African Group. The African Group thanks the briefers for their presentation and recognizes UN Women's vital role in protecting the rights and empowerment of women and girls worldwide. Across Africa, countries have adopted laws, policies, and reforms to address violence, promote economic empowerment, increase women's participation in decision-making, and expand access to education, health, and social protection. However, significant challenges persist. International commitment must result in measurable progress for women and girls while protecting each country's priorities and development plans or paths. Chair, advancing women is essential for sustainable development, peace, security, and resilient societies. The African group is committed to working to accelerate women's empowerment. The African Group encourages UN Women to strengthen partnerships with regional and sub-regional organizations, as well as national institutions, with full respect to each country's national laws and policies. Finally, the Group has a question for the Executive Director of UN Women. How does UN Women plan to further strengthen its strategic partnership with the region to ensure that our priorities, including women's protection, economic empowerment, and advancement, are more effectively integrated in the African Union global programs and resources allocation. I thank you, Mr. Chair.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:16:36]:

Thank you, Namibia. I pass to Georgia, Brazil, Nepal, and India. Georgia, you have the floor.


Georgia [1:16:43]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Georgia thanks the briefers for their insightful presentations and comprehensive reports. We reaffirm that the protection and promotion of women's rights remain one of the key priorities for the government of Georgia. Georgia continues to implement the National Human Rights Strategy 2022-2030 and its action plan, as well as national action plans on combating violence against women and domestic violence and on women, peace and security. Significant steps have been taken to strengthen victim-centered protection and the support for women. In 2024, Georgia adopted national referral procedures to improve the identification, protection and assistance of victims. Protection measures have also been reinforced through updated risk assessment tools, electronic monitoring and the state compensation scheme. Georgia is equally committed to evidence based policymaking. Data collection on violence against women has been strengthened through an unified interagency system which incorporates various big five parameters. We are also advancing women's participation in public life, strengthening relevant public policies, as well as measures to prevent discrimination and sexual harassment in the public sector. Regrettably, Russia's illegal occupation of Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions prevents the effective implementation of these measures in the occupied territories, where women and girls remain particularly vulnerable to human rights violations. Georgia remains committed to further strengthening its legal, institutional and policy framework in full alignment with its international obligations, including the Istanbul and CEDAW Conventions. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:18:31]:

Thank you, Georgia. I pass to Brazil, followed by Nepal, India and Australia. Brazil, you have the floor.


Brazil [1:18:38]:

Mr. Chair, the full content of this statement will be available at the UN Journal. Brazil expresses its gratitude and full support for the work carried out by UNFPA and UN Women. The two entities constitute critical assets of the UN system, serving millions of women and girls around the world. Brazil supports ongoing efforts to enhance administrative efficiency, whether within the framework of UN 80 or beyond. As Brazil has already underscored on previous occasions, we remain unable to support the proposed merger between the two entities, and we encourage UN Women and UNFPA to continue exploring the proposed alternative measures, including those aimed at strengthening coordination in governance and enhancing delivery at the country level. Brazil supports the work of the CDEL Committee. and we remain committed to advancing gender equality and combating all forms of violence and discrimination against all women and girls. Regarding the report of the working group, Brazil recognizes its valuable insights into how the rapid development of AI and related digital technologies has profoundly transformed the landscape in which women and girls exercise their human rights. as well as the importance of integrating gender-responsive approaches into the design and deployment of AI systems. Brazil also welcomes the report's reference to the visit to the country in 2025, during which it participated in a series of meetings with civil societies and government entities. As for the report of the Special Rapporteur, Brazil would like to emphasize the importance of laws and policies that protect the rights of older women in all their diversity. Mr. Chair, at a time when both women's rights and multilateralism face setbacks, we convey a message of urgency and ambition, reaffirming our commitment towards gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:20:37]:

Thank you, Brazil. I pass to Nepal, India, Australia, Cameroon, and Germany. Nepal, you have the floor.


Nepal [1:20:47]:

Mr. Chair, Nepal appreciates the reports and enlightened presentations under the agenda item advancement of women. Nepal remains committed to advancing the rights.

Empowerment and meaningful participation of women and girls while working to prevent and eliminate gender-based violence in all its forms. The Constitution of Nepal guarantees equality and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

The Constitution and laws prohibit violence and harmful practices against women.

Nepal pursues zero tolerance towards gender-based violence, online and offline, and implements the National Gender Equality.

Policy.

Recent Nepal efforts also prioritise stronger legal and policy responses to technology-facilitated gender-based violence, digital safety and survivor-friendly reporting.

Nepal has established one-stop crisis management centres, women, children and senior citizen service centres across all 77 districts, a 24-hour.

Helpline and a gender-based violence elimination and single women protection fund supporting.

Survivors. Gender-responsive budgeting further reinforces these efforts.

We note with appreciation the Special Rapporteur's attention to violence against older women and recognition under.

Good practices of Nepal's measures addressing witchcraft accusations. Section 168 of Nepal's National Penal Code criminalizes and prohibits degrading or inhuman treatments, including witchcraft accusations. Mr. Chair, our goal must be clear: no woman or girl should face violence or discrimination, whether offline or online. In this context, I wish to ask a question: how?

Can States ensure that technological progress expands women's rights and opportunities without creating new forms of violence and exploitation?

I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:22:38]:

Thank you, Nepal. India, followed by Australia, then Cameroon and Germany. India, you have the floor.


India [1:22:45]:

Mr. Chair, India thanks the briefers for their presentations. Full version of the statement will be uploaded online. We appreciate the mention in the report of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women on India's efforts to democratize access to AI literacy. We also thank the acknowledgment in the SG's report on our recent domestic initiatives that have had positive.

Impact on safety of women in India.

Amidst the good work undertaken in my country, the Special Rapporteur, Reem Alsaleem's assertions on India paint a picture of lawlessness in my country in stark contrast to the ground reality. The report mentions plight of widows in Vrindavan referring to a 2022 dated article that intentionally omits any reference to government initiatives for widows since then, such as home for widows set up in Vrindavan in 2024, the Shakti Sadan specifically designed to cater to destitute women in difficult circumstances, the National Widow Pension Scheme that guarantees financial support for them, and the Annapurna Scheme that provides access to food to aged persons. None of these initiatives find mention in the report. We strongly condemn the report's assertion that hastening death of older persons is an Indian ritual. SR's choice of the source based on a paper that reached its conclusion from a focus group discussion among 22, I repeat, 22 residents in rural Tamil Nadu, and four, I repeat, four interviews is an act of pure bias and prejudice. One cannot broad-brush 1.4 billion people from a focus group discussion of 22 persons and four in-depth interviews. It is precisely this kind of biased, prejudiced and shoddy work that gives the UN and its human rights.

Pillar a bad name?

We sincerely hope that the Sr. will improve her methods of work and bring greater rigour to her report. Chair, we have always maintained that comments received from civil society organizations must be verified. It is indeed condemnable that in the 21st century, UN of all institutions should suffer from a colonial hangover.

I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:24:39]:

Thank you, India. Australia, Cameroon, Germany, and the Holy See. Australia, you have the floor.


Australia [1:24:46]:

Thank you, Chair. At a time when hard-won gains are being increasingly challenged, Australia remains steadfast in our commitment to gender equality and to the full, equal and meaningful participation of all women and girls in economic, social and political life. Australia is proud to work with partners across the Indo-Pacific and globally to promote women's human rights, leadership and economic empowerment. prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and expand access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health services. At home, we are taking concrete steps to ensure gender-responsive budgeting, improve equity in health services, and address the systemic drivers of gender inequality. Australia welcomes the focus of the respective reports on femicide, the impact of technology on trafficking in women and girls, violence against older women, the imperative to end obstetric fistula, and female genital mutilation. All of these issues highlight the need for rights-based, survivor-centred approaches that address discrimination and ensure access to quality services. So we ask the briefers here today, how can we effectively centre the perspectives of women and girls in our efforts to prevent and respond to these harms? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:26:02]:

Thank you, Australia, Cameroon, Germany, Holy See, Switzerland, and Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Cameroon, you have the floor.


Cameroon [1:26:12]:

Thank you, Chair. My delegation thanks the briefers for their presentations. It expresses its sincere gratitude to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls and commends her on the remarkable work that she has done to address structural gaps in protection frameworks. We decisively support the focus on specific manifestations of violence against older women. For too long, the intersection of violence against women and girls and ageism has remained in the shadows. Older women face specific and grave threats that are very different from those encountered by women of younger age. This includes physical and psychological violence, both at home as well as in specialized establishments. Due to a lack of disaggregated data, these crimes remain largely underreported on the global level.

Cameroon remains firmly committed to eradicating this scourge. Through the Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Family, we are actively working to strengthen our legal response for finalizing a comprehensive standalone bill designed to explicitly criminalize violence based on sex and reinforce legal protections for all women and girls across their lifespan. However, as we bolster our national judicial infrastructure, we recognize that protecting older and isolated women requires specialized methodologies. Madam Special Rapporteur, as your mandate deepens in its investigation into this critical intersection, what specific guidance can you offer to Member States like Cameroon to maximize the impact of our national strategies? Especially, how can we better design and deploy national reporting mechanisms to detect, investigate and prosecute hidden forms of violence against older women who are isolated in domestic homes or physically confined into institutional care. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:28:10]:

Thank you, Cameroon. Germany, Holy See, Switzerland, and DPRK. Germany, you have the floor.


Germany [1:28:17]:

Thank you, Chair, for giving me the floor. Germany aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union and thanks the Secretary-General and the mandate.

Holders for their respective reports. With only four years left until 2030, not a single indicator under SDG 5 is on track. At the current pace, achieving gender equality could take another 170 years. This requires renewed action, particularly to prevent and eliminate gender-based violence.

According to the report by the Secretary.

General, around 50,000 women and girls were killed by an intimate partner or family member in.

2024 alone, a shocking number.

Femicide is often the culmination of a continuum of violence, including abuse, coercive control, and stalking, both offline and online.

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including digital stalking and image-based abuse, can reinforce and escalate existing patterns of violence.

We must therefore act with urgency.

When campaigning for a seat in the Human Rights Council 2027-29, Germany pays particular attention to the advancement of women's rights.

In Germany, the Violence Support Services.

Act establishes a legal right to protection and counseling for all women and girls affected by violence.

We have three questions.

Which measures are most effective in identifying all women and girls at high risk?

How can states ensure that AI governance effectively addresses this violence and which gaps need to be closed to better prevent.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:30:18]:

Thank you, Germany. I pass to the Holy See, followed by Switzerland. Holy See, you have the floor.


Holy See [1:30:23]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Our delegation expresses gratitude to the distinguished rapporteurs and their important work. The Holy See considers the recognition of women's equal dignity to be fundamental to justice. This recognition knows no age limit. It endures throughout life. We therefore warmly welcome the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Madame Reem Al-Salem, on violence against older women. Madam Al-Salem, your report describes a wide range of circumstances that place older women at risk of harm, including poverty, negative attitudes and stereotypes, past abuse, poor health, disability and a lack of accessible services adapted to their needs. We note with particular interest that in this context, you also address the risk of pressure towards assisted suicide and euthanasia, practices to which the Holy See is firmly opposed as violations of human dignity. These practices are often presented as expressions of personal autonomy. Many societies perceive older people as a burden, especially older women, as you observe in your report. In this regard, we would like respectfully to ask you: Do assisted suicide and euthanasia risk reinforcing these harmful attitudes? It is accurate to describe them as one choice among others, given how many older women lack adequate social, financial, medical and palliative support? Thank you very much.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:32:10]:

Thank you, Holy See. I pass to Switzerland, DPRK, Mexico, Nigeria, Sudan, and Algeria. Switzerland, you have the floor.


Switzerland [1:32:21]:

Chair, we are facing a worrying rollback of the rights of women and girls, threatening hard-won gains. This is accompanied by restricted civic space and weakening support for women's rights organizations. Women and girls are agents of change, but Their rights are often the first to be called into question in times of crisis. In a context marked by technology-facilitated gender-based violence and the rise of misogynistic rhetoric, the role of the CEDAW Committee remains essential. Switzerland encourages it to continue its work in helping States to respond to their challenges while preserving the universality of women's rights. The situation in Afghanistan remains particularly alarming. Switzerland condemns the systematic restrictions imposed on women and girls, which violate their human rights and fundamental freedoms and deprive the country of essential skills and prospects. Switzerland will continue to support the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, which is essential to Afghanistan's future. Our international commitment remains firm, as does our action at the national level. In response to the rise in femicides in Switzerland since 2025, urgent measures have been defined, including the systematic conduct of an inter-institutional analysis whenever new cases occur. Switzerland calls on all States to turn their obligations into action. Together, We can make women's rights a reality. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:33:57]:

Thank you, Switzerland. Democratic People's Republic of Korea, followed by Mexico, Nigeria, Sudan, Algeria, DPRK. You have the floor.


Democratic People's Republic of Korea [1:34:10]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The protection of women's rights and interests from all forms of discrimination is a universal principle enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. Since the adoption of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, the international community has made enormous efforts to advance women's rights. Yet, serious challenges remain, including gender-based discrimination, violence, human trafficking and sexual slavery, particularly in situations of war and armed conflict. In this context, my delegation once again draws the Committee's attention to the military sexual slavery perpetrated by the Imperial Japanese Army against Korean women and other women in Asia and elsewhere during the last century. Despite the seriousness of these crimes, successive Japanese authorities have failed to acknowledge their responsibility and have instead attempted to evade their historical, legal and moral obligations. History gave us a lesson that denying past crimes can lead to their recurrence. If Japan's commitment to peace and human rights is genuine, it should demonstrate this through a sincere apology and appropriate action to address all past crimes, including military sexual slavery. Mr. Chair, the DPRK attaches great importance to the protection and promotion of women's rights since the promulgation of the Law on Gender Equality in 1946. Women have enjoyed equal rights with men in all spheres of state and social life. Today, women's rights are guaranteed by constitution and relevant laws. Women participate in state affairs and play key role in public health, education, sports and other fields. They are also...


3rd Committee · Chair [1:36:11]:

Thank you, DPRK. Mexico, Nigeria, Sudan and Algeria. Mexico, you have the floor.


Mexico [1:36:20]:

Thank you very much, Chair. Mexico recognizes the importance of this dialogue at a critical moment for the human rights of women and girls in all their diversity and for gender equality. For Mexico, preventing, investigating, punishing, and eradicating femicide constitutes a state priority. This requires strong legal frameworks to address this. that will include recommendations of the CEDAW Committee and an intersectional, intercultural approach in order to strengthen the protection of the rights of all women, adolescent girls and girls. Mexico also recognizes that AI offers important tools for prevention and also to address, but it can also reproduce stereotypes and amplify new forms of violence. And here I'd like to put the following questions to the CEDAW Committee and the Working Group on Discrimination. Your findings indicate that despite legislative advances in the criminalization of femicide, barriers still exist. How can you guide States so that the application of due diligence necessarily includes the assessment of emerging risks? And to UN Women and UNFPA, how can you coordinate your programs against gender-based violence in order to address the growing anti-feminist and anti-women movements and prevent femicide from its earliest stages, including during childhood and youth? Thank you very much.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:37:53]:

Thank you, Mexico. I pass the floor to Nigeria, Sudan, and Algeria, followed by Myanmar. Nigeria, you have the floor.


Nigeria [1:38:02]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Nigeria aligns with the statement delivered on behalf of the African Group, and we want to thank the briefers for their detailed and insightful presentation on this agenda item. The issue on advancement and the empowerment of women and girls lies at the heart of our collective commitment to sustainable development, human rights, peace, and international cooperation. One of the most disturbing manifestation of gender inequality is the continued prevalence of sexual violence, including the killing of women and girls on the basis of their sex. However, due to severe gaps in data collection, lack of formalized tracking mechanisms, conflict, and vast population of young people in Africa, we are concerned about the reliability of data on femicide as contained in Secretary-General's report. The rapidly evolving digital landscape presents both unprecedented opportunities and emerging threats for women and girls. We must strengthen efforts to harness the transformative potential of digital technology as a catalyst for the advancement and empowerment of women and girls, while ensuring that it is not exploited as a means of perpetrating trafficking, violence, abuse, or discrimination against them. Nigeria reaffirms its commitment to preventing and combating the trafficking of women and girls, recognizing trafficking as a grave violation of human rights that undermines the dignity, safety, and advancement of women and girls. However, no single country can effectively address the complex and transnational nature of trafficking on women and girls. Nigeria, therefore, underscores the importance of a comprehensive, coordinated, and survivor-centered approach and enhance cooperation and effective prosecution of perpetrators at origin, transit and destination countries. We have one question. Nigeria would want to know if there are existing strategic coordination initiatives established with governments relevant to...


3rd Committee · Chair [1:40:09]:

Thank you, Nigeria. Sudan, Algeria, Myanmar, Ethiopia, United Kingdom. Sudan, you have the floor.


Sudan [1:40:20]:

Chair. I would like to thank the speakers for their briefings, and I repeat the commitment of Sudan to promote women and promote their participation in peace processes, and that despite the challenges that war presents. In this regard, my government is continuing its work on women, peace and security in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1325. This goes hand in hand with the national context, and we've also adopted a national plan to fight gender-based violence in conflict, together with the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations for Sexual Violence in Conflict. And the government is also strengthening reform of the security sector, and we have mechanisms in place to protect women and girls and prevent gender-based violence in that regard. We have established an office for the protection of women and children. That is an essential office for protecting women and including women and girls within and under civilian protection. This effort underscores that protecting women and girls is not an intermediary short-term response. It's a national priority. for institutions so that they can help prevent and protect women and increase their participation. My government reiterates the importance of ongoing cooperation with the UN and international and national partners, as well as with civil society and women-led organizations to support our national abilities. Microphone has been cut off.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:42:26]:

Thank you, Sudan. I pass to Algeria, then Myanmar, Ethiopia, and United Kingdom.


Algeria [1:42:34]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We thank the distinguished briefers for their presentation and for their valuable contribution to advancing the rights and empowerment of women and girls. The reports and presentations highlight persistent challenges. including the area of health, violence and trafficking, as well as emerging challenges linked to the use of technology. My delegation believes that addressing these challenges requires strengthening national capacities and institutions, while taking into account the specific circumstances, priorities and development level of each country. In this regard, international cooperation and adequate means of implementation remain essential, particularly for the developing countries. We would like to ask in this regard, how can the United Nations system further support member states, particularly developing countries, in translating the recommendations and commitments highlighted in these reports into concrete national policies and facilitating access to and transfer to technology? I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:43:44]:

Thank you, Algeria. Permanent representative of Myanmar, followed by Ethiopia, United Kingdom, and permanent representative of the Netherlands. Myanmar, you have the floor.


Myanmar [1:43:55]:

Thank you, Chair. Mr. Chair, I thank the briefers for their insightful presentations. In Myanmar, the military junta uses HEVB, including rape, sexual assaults, and torture, as a deliberate weapon of war to terrorize communities and break resistance. In prisons, detention centers, and during interrogations, women and girls are subjected to widespread torture and sexual violence in immeasurably cruel ways, where sexual humiliations and assault have become systemic tactics of the military junta. Moreover, we are witnessing an increasing number of deaths of female political prisoners within these past few months. Furthermore, echoing urgent global warning from UN Human Rights AI and digital technology, the military hunter is actively waging a high-tech war of digital repressions. We thank international human rights bodies and investigators for the consistently documenting the military hunter as the primary perpetrators of these atrocious crimes. On our part, we, the NUG, SEEF, aligned democratic forces are taking active, concrete steps to uphold the rule of law and protect human dignity. True justice requires robust accountability, binding standards, and an absolute end to impunity. As I conclude, I would like to hear your strong recommendations for holding the military hunters accountable for its systematic and gender crimes, and as how can international mechanisms and the UN system better support our democratic forces, local women like networks, and the transitional justice for praying was to ensure survivor-centered remedies for conflict-related and digital sexual violence where the domestic judicial system has totally collapsed. and a military dictatorship. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:45:49]:

Thank you, Myanmar. Ethiopia, United Kingdom, Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Tunisia. Ethiopia, you have the floor.


Ethiopia [1:45:58]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We are aligning ourselves.

To the African Group statement and thank the briefers for their reports and their invaluable contribution to this discussion. It recommends the efforts of UN Women and UNIFPA to support Member States, particularly developing countries, in consolidating national efforts to advance the rights, empowerment and well-being of women and girls. We recommend the agencies to continue implementing relevant UN resolutions in a manner consistent with the respective country programme documents, national priorities and with due regard to national ownership and context. Mr. Chair, we particularly appreciate the Special Rapporteur, Madame Rimane Salim, for her attention to violence against older women and to the protection of women and girls from the emerging forms of violence. Madame Special Rapporteur, as your mandate enters its final phase, and with the hope of engaging with you again during the upcoming CSW, what would you identify as the most important priorities for the remainder of your tenure, particularly concerning the protection of girls? Also, across the different perspectives presented today, we would be interested to hear how the briefers and mandate holders see the appropriate balance between strengthening the protection and autonomy of children, particularly girls, and preserving the legitimate role, responsibility and the authority of parents in their upbringing and guidance. In conclusion, Ethiopia reaffirms its commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

I thank you, Mr. Chair.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:47:35]:

Thank you, Ethiopia. United Kingdom, Netherlands, Tunisia, and Croatia. United Kingdom, you have the floor.


United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [1:47:42]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The United Kingdom champions the rights of women and girls in the UK and around the world. Violence against women and girls is a global emergency requiring collective action both online and offline. Harms that begin online do not remain online. They can silence women in public life, drive journalists, human rights defenders and political leaders from digital spaces, and expose victims and survivors to further harm. When women cannot participate safely and equally, our democracies, economies and societies are weaker. That is why we reaffirm the importance of protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights and ensuring universal access to comprehensive services. As a UK, we will continue to resist regression, strengthen multilateral cooperation.

And accelerate progress towards a world where every woman and girl can live free from violence and discrimination and participate equally.

As part of this commitment, the UK will host a global summit on violence against women and girls next year, and we look forward to working with relevant UN actors to ensure the summit is a success and addresses many of the challenges that the panel has put forward today.

Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:48:55]:

Thank you, United Kingdom. Kingdom of the Netherlands, Tunisia, Croatia, and Angola. Netherlands, you have the floor.


Netherlands (Kingdom of the) · Representative, Women's Council of the Netherlands [1:49:03]:

Thank you, Chair. As law professor and representative of the Women's Council of the Netherlands, I speak for all women that suffer from structural and intersectional inequalities. Extensive research and women's stories expose that worldwide institutions are failing girls and women. Longstanding international legal obligations are not materializing into women's rights in practice and in equal political and economic representation. Institutions even victimize women by not upholding their rights and not taking their claims seriously. This must change. Governments have a constitutional responsibility and duty of care not to treat women as second-class citizens. They are liable for the harmful effects of their gender-negligent institutions, policies, and behavior, be it related to gender-based violence, climate justice, the digital space, or finance. Taking the responsibility entails prioritizing, first, the active protection, consolidation, and implementation of women's rights for what they are, hard legal obligations to secure at all times and not a menu for politicians to choose from. Second, the prevention of harm by securing gender-responsive regulation, standardizing the use of gender impact testing of new and existing laws. Compliance must be safeguarded by establishing a sustainable and independent supervisory body with a powerful mandate to consistently monitor and enforce women's rights and progress. Assuming this responsibility collectively alleviates the burden on individual women to obtain justice in court. And this is what is at the heart of democracy, the rule of law, and gender justice for half of the world's population.

I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:51:00]:

Thank you, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Tunisia, Croatia, Angola, El Salvador, and Papua New Guinea. Tunisia, you have the floor.


Tunisia [1:51:08]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is genuinely one of the favorite interactive dialogues of Tunisia. There is something very inspiring about hearing from women who have dedicated their time and work to ensuring and advancing other women's rights. To all our distinguished speakers, we value your efforts and we express our support to all your work and all the efforts you implement in advancing women's rights. This is something very appreciated in Tunisia. Allow me also to express a particular appreciation to Ms. Nahla Haider, who said that she's presenting her last intervention to the Third Committee in her capacity of chair of the CEDAW.

And we really appreciate Thank you for all the determination and dedication you have shown, the leadership in.

Advancing women's rights, mainly in our region. And we are proud of her, like from the Arab world, to have such a leader in this.

We've also been.

Particularly struck by the special rapporteur's, Ms. Reyma, reminder, 32 years of documenting violence, amplifying women's voices, and demanding accountability.

This is not.

I think we really appreciate and really value the efforts you have been implementing during all this time. And we strongly support the preservation of this essential and independent mandate at a time when women's rights are facing real challenges and the.

Backlash is visible, is clear.

We are not in a position and we cannot afford to weaken the very mechanisms.

Established to protect women's rights.

So you have the full support of Tunisia?

And so many questions have been raised in the room.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:53:06]:

I'm sorry, Tunisia. Croatia, Angola, El Salvador. Croatia, you have the floor.


Croatia [1:53:16]:

Thank you, Chair, for giving me the floor.

Croatia aligns itself with the statement delivered by you.

I wish to make some remarks in our national capacity. We thank all the briefers for their presentations. For Croatia, gender equality represents a fundamental value of our society and remains central to our engagement both domestically and internationally. Despite our strong commitment to preventing domestic violence and violence against women, gender-based killings still take lives. Recognizing the need for a strong and comprehensive response, Croatia introduced femicide as a distinct criminal offense. At the same time, we recognize the importance of complementing our normative framework with preventive measures, education, and awareness raising. Evidence from our context indicates that older women in vulnerable socioeconomic situations face heightened risk of such violence. In this regard, we would like to ask how can member states ensure their protection and straight to the prevention of abuse against older women in the context of digital technologies? Protecting women and girls must also mean protecting them online. As technology advances, our response must evolve accordingly.

During the High-Level Week, Croatia organized a side event with UN Women on technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.

Focusing on access to protection and effective remedies. At the national level, Croatia is taking steps to strengthen gender equality safeguards in the digital space, including by reinforcing corporate responsibility to prevent harmful and violent uses of technology. As we continue with these efforts, what legal and institutional reforms do you consider most urgently needed to address the rapid rise of technology facilitated gender-based violence? As our questions are cross-cutting, we would welcome an answer from any of the briefers. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:54:54]:

Thank you, Croatia. Just for delegates' awareness, we have on our list, Angola, El Salvador, Papua New Guinea, Japan, France, Egypt, Colombia, Luxembourg, and Russian Federation, at which point the list is closed. Angola, you have the floor.


Angola [1:55:12]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for giving this delegation the floor. Angola thanks the briefers for the presentation and intensify efforts to end obstetric fistula within a decade. Obstetric fistula is a preventable and treatable maternal health condition that disproportionately affects women and girls in vulnerable communities. Its persistence reflects inequalities in the sex to qualify maternal health care and undermines women's rights to health, dignity and equality. In Angola, Estimates indicate that approximately 20,000 women may be living with obstetric fistula, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Mr. Chair, Angola reaffirms its commitment to eliminate obstetric fistula through a comprehensive right basis and survival-centered approach, consistent with the Beijing Platform for Action, the 2030 Agenda, and universal health coverage. Our national priorities for the coming decade focus on five areas: first, prevention; second, treatment; third, centralization; fourth, reintegration; fifth, accountability. Mr. Chair, Angola calls upon UN system, development partners, and international financial institutions to scale up predictable financing, technical assistance, and capacity building for countries facing persistent maternal health In this context, we ask what innovative financing mechanisms and partnerships can the United Nations mobilize to accelerate the centralized obstetric fistula prevention and treatment, particularly in remote communities affected by climate and economic shocks, ensuring that no woman or girl is left behind. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:57:07]:

Thank you very much indeed. I now move to El Salvador, to be followed by Papua New Guinea.


El Salvador [1:57:19]:

Thank you very much, Chair. El Salvador thanks the presenters and reaffirms its commitment to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all women, as well as to fulfilling the obligations assumed under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. We value the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and reaffirm our willingness to maintain a constructive dialogue based on cooperation and respect for national priorities and circumstances. In February of this year, El Salvador submitted its 10th periodic report and engaged in an interactive dialogue that provided an opportunity to share the progress achieved and to address remaining challenges. We've taken due note of the concluding observations as input for continuing to strengthen the State's actions in accordance with national priorities. El Salvador will continue to cooperate with the Committee and to promote opportunities for and the full participation of women. We also thank the Secretary-General for the presentation of the report on the eradication of obstetric fistula and recognize the important work of UNFPA, particularly its specialized mandate and its contribution to strengthening maternal and neonatal health. El Salvador recognizes the importance of quality care to prevent obstetric complications. And this is why we passed a law, Born with Love, promoted by the Office of the First Lady, and this has strengthened maternal and neonatal care. in a context of sustained reduction in the maternal mortality ratio, which declined from 62.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021 to 21.8 in 2025. We reiterate our commitment to continue to strengthen these services and value the technical cooperation provided by UNFPA within the framework of its mandate and in accordance with our national priorities. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [1:59:20]:

Thank you, El Salvador. Just to give colleagues a heads up, we're just exploring whether we can extend the time a little bit to enable a relatively small group of additional states who are listed behind the time at which the list closed, and we'll come back to you on that. But in the meantime, Papua New Guinea, you have the floor.


Papua New Guinea · Permanent Representative [1:59:42]:

Distinguished Chair, it's good to see you at the helm of this committee and best wishes On my delegation's behalf, I have some comments and a question to pose to Ms. Reem Al-Salem, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls. May I firstly thank the respective briefers for their insightful and thought-provoking briefings on this agenda item and for their work. Papua New Guinea particularly thanks Ms. Al-Salem for her report and for the work done during her tenure, including the recent visit to Papua New Guinea. We are particularly referring to paragraph 40, to sorcery accusation-related violence in the report. Mr. Chair, SARV against women, including older women, who are particularly vulnerable, remains a serious concern in some, but not all, communities in Papua New Guinea. Let me be unequivocally clear. SARV is condemned in the strongest terms by Papua New Guinea. Such criminal conduct has no place in our country. Eradicating this scourge remains an important national priority. We are therefore according priority to addressing it through our 2024 to 2029 National Action Plan against Sorcery-Related Violence and through the criminal justice system under the 2022 Glassman Act. Our national action plan is geared towards preventing such violence, protecting victims, providing access to justice, ensuring accountability for perpetrators, and providing appropriate support to victims. Chair, let me pose our question to Madam Special Rapporteur. Noting paragraph 40 and footnote 108 of your report, what prompted you to draw from the foreign media source cited in your report?


3rd Committee · Chair [2:01:45]:

I thank the Permanent Representative of Papua New Guinea. I have Japan, France and Egypt. Japan, you have the floor.


Japan [2:01:53]:

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to first touch upon Mr. Al-Salam's report. With regard to the past war, the issue of reparations, property and claims, including those related to the issue of comfort women, was legally settled through the San Francisco Peace Treaty, relevant bilateral treaties and other instruments. Additionally, from the perspective of facilitating feasible remedies for former comfort women, Asia Women's Fund was established in 1995 under the cooperation of the people and the government of Japan. It has provided former comfort women in ASEAN and other countries with atonement money as well as medical and welfare support along with letters from the prime ministers expressing apologies and remorse. Regarding the reference to the issue of comfort women as sexual slavery in the report, Japan must clarify that this contradicts the facts and should not be used. There was a reference made earlier by North Korea regarding historical issues that claims the DPRK mentioned regarding Japan are based on factual errors and are groundless. I will now repeat Japan's position on the issue of comfort women as stated earlier. Each and every country and region should squarely face its own history with humility. This is exactly what Japan has been doing. And it's proven by the past it has worked as a peace-loving nation since the end of World War II. Japan remains committed to supporting the effective implementation, CDA, and continues to promote WPS as a key pillar of its foreign policy. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:03:41]:

Thank you, Japan. I have France, Egypt, Colombia, Luxembourg. France, you have the floor.


France [2:03:48]:

Thank you, Chair. Directors, Chairpersons, I would like to thank you for your respective briefings and for your commitment to promoting and defending the rights of women and girls within the framework of your respective mandates. Through its feminist diplomacy, France puts these rights and gender equality at the heart of its foreign policy. In the face of challenges to the rights of women and girls in all their diversity, we are determined to defend them and to reaffirm their fundamental and irrevocable and universal nature in all forms. The economic empowerment of women, their full, equal, and effective participation in peace processes, the fight against all forms of gender-based violence, and support are concrete initiatives aimed at achieving the goals in the 2030 agenda. In 2025, In Paris, France hosted the fourth ministerial conference on feminist diplomacy. 31 states underscored their commitment to existing international frameworks for gender equality and reaffirmed their dedication to building a strong bulwark against attacks that threaten the rights of women and girls. Madam Executive Director of UN Women, the report of the Secretary General reminds us that violence against women and girls, up to and including its most extreme form, femicide, remains a universal phenomenon affecting every region of the world. It also underscores the crucial importance of the UN statistical framework developed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Women. How can the statistical framework be further utilized as an operational tool to design targeted and effective prevention strategies? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:05:30]:

Thank you, France. Egypt, followed by Colombia, Luxembourg, then the Russian Federation. Egypt, you have the floor.


Egypt [2:05:37]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to deeply thank the panelists for their insightful presentations. Egypt wishes to align itself with the statement delivered on behalf of the African Group.

I would like to emphasize.

That Egypt remains a strong advocate for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. And this was significantly manifested in our National Strategy for Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030.

And National Human Rights Strategy 2021-2026.

And pertaining to Ms. Salem's report, we thank you on the excellent work conducted in this regard, and we share the concerns expressed about the risks of AI on the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls. And in this view, if you could kindly elaborate more on how to better navigate the challenges that the older women face specifically those living in rural areas and under foreign occupation, especially Palestine, when it comes to violence against women and girls that occur through or is amplified by the use of technology, and to better address online fraud, impersonation, scams, artificial intelligence-enabled deception, and digital financial exploitation.

Thank you so much.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:06:57]:

Thank you, Egypt. Colombia, followed by Luxembourg, followed by Russian Federation. Colombia, you have the floor.


Colombia [2:07:05]:

Thank you very much, Chair, Your Excellency. We're very grateful for the presentation of the reports, and in particular, we'd like to refer to the fundamental importance of the mandates of the Special Rapporteur, Ibrahim Salim, to address a matter that hasn't been dealt with enough historically. Violence against women should be part of the effective protection of this group of the population. We agree with the rapporteur that the intersection between age and gender discrimination leads to clear situations of violence against women. This vulnerability is made significantly worse because of the lack of a breakdown of information in these statistics. For Colombia, international action should always be putting the citizen at its heart and focus on security and the full protection of human dignity at all stages of life. We believe it's essential to strengthen multilateral cooperation to address the abandonment, to promote the emancipation of older women and ensure they have quality at all stages of life. We're grateful for the report of the rapporteur and Colombia's commitment is to continue to engage in multilateral dialogues that will lead to concrete results. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:08:36]:

Thank you, Colombia. Luxembourg, followed by the Russian Federation. Luxembourg, you have the floor.


Luxembourg · Youth Delegate [2:08:43]:

Chair, Luxembourg fully aligns itself with the statement by the EU. As youth delegates from Luxembourg, we are here today to speak on behalf of young people. Luxembourg can be proud of its progress in terms of women's protection, among other measures. There is a new draft law that criminalizes deepfakes. We also have a new first action plan that was adopted. Yet, equality in the laws is not always experienced day-to-day. The first concern and primary concern that young people have is technology-facilitated gender-based violence, such as sharing images without consent or the creation of deepfakes. Affected youth say that the shame must shift sides. It should be felt by those who create and disseminate this content and not the victims. And the responsibility lies with the platforms that allow it to circulate. Young people are also concerned about algorithms that expose young boys to misogynistic rhetoric of the manosphere. Tomorrow's violence is being shaped in today's social media fields. Therefore, we would like to ask the representative of UN Women, how can we make sure platforms are held responsible for deepfakes? Madam Chair of the Working Group, in the face of manosphere rhetoric that is reaching young boys, what specific measures can states take so that boys and young men can become genuine allies for equality? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:10:09]:

Thank you, Luxembourg. Russian Federation.


Russian Federation [2:10:17]:

Chair, distinguished briefers. The reports presented today demonstrate, clearly demonstrate the persistence of numerous and diverse challenges related to the status of women. They convincingly show the need to consolidate the efforts of the international community to address them. We believe that for these purposes, it is necessary to fully leverage existing international legal mechanisms and specialized bodies within the scope of their respective mandates, and bearing in mind that the principal intergovernmental forum covering the entire spectrum of women's issues is the UN Commission on the Status of Women. At the same time, we do not support persistent attempts to promote controversial concepts, including replacing the generally accepted term sex with the word gender. These concepts are not supported by the global majority and are questionable from the standpoint of international law. We call for abandoning such confrontational approaches and for respecting the national, historical, cultural and other particularities of different states. We believe it is extremely important for any proposed changes to be adopted on the basis of consensus and after a comprehensive discussion by all UN member states. This fully applies to the possible merger of UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund, as well as the options being considered as an alternative to such a merger. We would like to once again emphasize that we still have not received detailed and compelling answers to a number of fundamental questions concerning preserving the unique mandates of both entities. how a potentially merged body would be funded, the composition of its governing body, and others. Without detailed information on these matters, it appears highly problematic to continue further discussions, much less to take any decisions on this issue. Thank you very much.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:11:59]:

Thank you, Russian Federation. The Secretariat informs me we do have time to conclude the list, including all those who were initially excluded. So the delegations I have listed here are Mali, China, Ukraine, Senegal, Spain, Canada, Congo, and Italy, and the Sovereign Order of Malta. And we have an opportunity to hear each of those. So we'll start with Mali and then on to China. Mali, you have the floor.


Mali [2:12:29]:

Thank you, Chair, for this. It would be hard to remain silent on such an issue. Allow me to commend the quality of the briefings today and express my governance gratitude to UN Women for its investment in promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls, which is at the heart of our priorities. Chair, the rights of women and girls are rooted in our country since the area of the empire. In this context, the government is establishing policies and programs to promote and protect the rights of women and girls. My question is as follows. It is addressed to UN Women. Distinguished representative of UN Women, violence against women is It creates conditions of dependency, poverty, and this is particularly so in the African context. In this regard, I wish to know, or if you could provide an overview of structural projects that ensure women's financial independence on our continent that are focused on the family, given that the family also plays a very important role in this context. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:13:59]:

Thank you, Molly. I have China followed by Ukraine, then Senegal.

China.


China [2:14:07]:

China thanks the briefers for their briefings and also commends UN Women and UNFPA and other agencies in terms of their efforts in implementing the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action. China is committed to work with the HRC special mechanisms in terms of cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and we hope that relevant mechanisms can carry out their work according to their mandates in an objective and impartial way and using reliable information. Now, the world is going to tremendous changes, and we are at a crossroad in terms of women's issues. To achieve our target, we still have a lot of work to be done. China highly values the advancement of women and always implements the basic state policy of gender equality and advances national action plans for the all-round development of women and has greatly improved health, employment, education, public participation, social security for women and ensuring their equal participation in social and economic development and also equal access to the benefits of reform and development. China has consistently supported the UN in playing a central role in advancing women's development, has been working with UN Women and also organized the Women's Summit and fulfilled our obligations, promoted cooperation. China has been working with UNESCO in setting the UNESCO Prize for Girls and Women's Education, and also have a batch of small but impactful projects, including the maternal and China -- or rather, maternal child health projects, et cetera. And we've been hosting the Global Leaders Meeting on Women, Injecting Momentum. President Xi has proposed a global governance initiative and advocates people-centered, and China is willing to work with all parties to implement the initiative as an opportunity so as to work with all countries, as so as to further advance women's development, to create a new blueprint, and also to open up a new chapter in this regard. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:16:03]:

Thank you, China. Ukraine, followed by Senegal. Ukraine, you have the floor.


Ukraine [2:16:11]:

...Presentations and reports. We also thank the UN agencies working on the ground in Ukraine, particularly UNFPA's lifesaving work in reproductive and maternal health care, including in frontline areas, and its specialized services for survivors of gender-based violations. We also commend UN Women for supporting women's leadership, economic empowerment, and participation in recovery, as well as advancing the women, peace, and security agenda. Despite Russia's ongoing aggression, Ukraine continues to advance gender equality. In February, we adopted our third national action plan on women, peace and security through 2030, followed by corresponding plans in every region. Today, more than 75,000 women serve in Ukraine's armed forces. At the same time, Russia continues to subject Ukrainian women and girls to grave violations, including conflict-related sexual violence, particularly in captivity and under occupation. In June, Ukraine launched a mechanism for recognizing survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and providing urgent interim reparations, including direct payments, in line with our framework of cooperation with the United Nations. Drawing on Ukraine's experience, we wish to ask the distinguished briefers how can the United Nations strengthen practical support for women in conflict situations, particularly by ensuring access to protection, essential services, and reparations, while supporting their meaningful participation in recovery and peacebuilding. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:17:42]:

Thank you, Ukraine. Senegal, followed by Spain.


Senegal [2:17:49]:

Chair, Senegal thanks the Secretary-General for his report on obstetric fistula and takes due note of its primary conclusions and recommendations. We also commend UNFPA and thank them for their constant commitment and their efforts to eliminate this preventable disease. Obstetric fistula remains a major consequence of unequal access to maternal health care, which particularly affects women and girls who are in the most vulnerable situations. Resolute action is therefore required in the area of prevention, access to obstetric care, as well as strengthening of health system, but also social reintegration of women who are victims of this. In this context, Senegal reaffirms its commitment to the elimination of obstetric fistula. stresses the importance of greater mobilization on the part of the international community, particularly to support the most vulnerable countries and communities in this context. And as facilitator of resolution on obstetric fistula on behalf of the African group, Senegal will work constructively with all delegations in order to preserve the spirit of consensus that has always characterized this issue and to move forward in our collective efforts to eradicate this preventable disease. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:19:22]:

Thank you, Senegal. Spain, followed by Canada, Congo, then Italy. Spain, you have the floor.


Spain [2:19:32]:

Chair, thank you very much. I align myself with the statement by the European Union, and we thank all the briefers. We reiterate our full support for their work and for the promotion and protection of the rights of all women and girls around the world. The statements we heard today highlight a common reality. The inequalities and discrimination and violence affecting women and girls manifest themselves in various spheres and throughout their entire life, from digital environments to conflict settings, and from birth through the later stages of life. We agree on the need to put human rights at the center of public responses, consistently reinforcing women's full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in decision-making and moving toward comprehensive policies capable of preventing discrimination and violence against women and girls in all their forms. Equality and women's leadership are a matter of rights and an essential pillar for ensuring genuine representative multilateralism. Spain remains the leading contributor to UN Women and is committed to these objectives and to a truly feminist foreign policy. Gender equality and the rights of women and girls are always and at all times a priority of our policy and our external action. Our question is to Ms. Flores as chair of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls. in an increasingly digital context and in light of the challenges identified today, what specific recommendations do you consider a priority for strengthening the women's effective participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and decision making? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:21:21]:

Thank you, Spain. Canada, followed by Congo. Canada, you have the floor.


Canada [2:21:27]:

Thank you very much, the.

Chair and the members of the panel. Canada takes a approach based on people's rights to prevent and eradicate gender-based violence, as this is a manifestation of historic inequality and structural discrimination. In this regard, Canada is concerned by discriminatory concepts based on sex, violence against women is not solely based on biological sex. It is rooted in gender inequality, gender stereotypes, and unequal power relationships, power imbalances that shape women's experiences throughout these lives. We have two questions for the Special Rapporteur, Ms. Reem Alsalem. How can states collect data to ensure the gender dimensions of violence against older women, particularly the influence of stereotypes and unequal power relationships, and how can States better address intersecting and overlapping forms of discrimination that increase the vulnerability of older women to violence? Canada welcomes the recognition of feminicide as a systematic failure of preventing violence against women and girls in all their diversity and calls for an integration of gender equality and women's rights into the design, development, and governance of artificial intelligence. This is essential to ensure that these technologies do not reproduce or amplify existing inequalities. Canada reaffirms the importance of access to sexual and reproductive health, including obstetrical care, which is essential to preventing obstetric fistula.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:23:27]:

Thank you, Canada. Congo, Italy, and then the Sovereign Order of Malta. Congo, you have the floor.


Congo [2:23:36]:

Thank you, Chair. My delegation would like to thank the Chair of CEDAW for introducing their report, and we welcome the efforts deployed by the Committee to promote and protect the rights of women and girls. In February 2025, our country presented its eighth periodic report to the Committee, reaffirming our commitment to constructive dialogue and to the implementation of our international commitments. However, despite the progress made, challenges remain, particularly the effective implementation of laws, the fight against violence against women and fair access to social services, particularly in rural environments. Congo remains convinced that international cooperation and technical assistance are indispensable to consolidate and build on the progress we have made. Chair, my delegation would like to put two questions. First of all, what measures is the Committee going to take to improve technical assistance for developing countries, particularly countries in order to facilitate the effective implementation of your recommendations? And secondly, in the light of the current financial constraints, how is the Committee going to preserve the effectiveness of its follow-up mechanisms and the quality of dialogue with States Parties? Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:25:03]:

Thank you, Congo. Italy, followed by Sovereign Order of Malta. Italy, you have the floor.


Italy [2:25:09]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let me begin by thanking the Special Rapporteur, Rima Salem, for her report and for drawing our attention to the specific challenges faced by older women in the context of violence. Italy aligns with the statement made by the European Union. Preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls remain a long-standing priority for Italy. This commitment is reflected in our national strategic plan on violence against women and domestic violence 25-27, which identifies older women as a group experiencing heightened vulnerability and recognizes that violence against them remains significantly underreported. The plan therefore provides for targeted prevention and protection measures, addressing their specific needs. As regards access to justice, Law No. 181 of December 2025 introduced femicide as an autonomous criminal offense. The plan also dedicates one of its four pillars to the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators and aims to ensure equal access to support services, taking into account the barriers that may prevent older women from reporting violence. Turning to economic abuse, we recognize that economic and emotional dependence on partners or family members, who are often also caregivers, can be a significant risk factor. Italy, therefore, promotes women's empowerment and financial autonomy while investing in care provision to reduce situations of dependency. The first national plan for care of vulnerable and non-sufficient elderly people strengthens home-based care with more than 1,000 billion euro allocated to its implementation. What further measure will you, Madam Special Rapporteur, suggest to strengthen protection for older women and improve the collection of disaggregated data on violence against them?

Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:27:08]:

Thank you, Italy. And finally, Sovereign Order of Malta, you have the floor.


SMOM [2:27:13]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. UN Women estimates that 840 million women have been subject to sexual and physical violence in their lifetimes, often by an intimate partner or relative. 137 women and girls a day are victims of femicide, and those living in humanitarian contexts experience gender-based violence at twice the rate of the global average. The Sovereign Order of Malta remains steadfastly committed to tackling violence and discrimination against women and girls, particularly for those who are internally displaced and refugees. In the past year, the Order of Malta's International Relief Agency provided training opportunities to women in Nigeria and cash assistance programmes in Sudan to help women support their families. In South Sudan, we supported the establishment of a new water source, meaning women and girls no longer have to travel 20 kilometres to collect water. In Kenya, we distributed menstrual hygiene kits, and in Rhino Camp refugee settlement in Uganda, we trained refugees to make reusable pads. Access to clean water and menstrual hygiene products can break down some of the barriers that keep an estimated 133 million girls out of school across the world. In the words of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, "Women are protagonists and creators of a culture of care and fraternity that is indispensable for giving a future and dignity to all humanity." We call for the protection and empowerment of women and girls so that they can live lives of dignity and freedom without fear. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:29:09]:

I thank the Sovereign Order of Malta. That brings to a conclusion the statements from the floor. We now have an opportunity to hear from each of the briefers. I'll go in the same order that we began. Dr. Bohm, UNFPA, you have three minutes, I think, according to the Secretariat, so welcome you to the floor.


UNFPA · Deputy Executive Director [2:29:37]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank all delegations for their contributions, and Angola, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, and Ireland for their specific attention to obstetric fistula, including the strong call for integrated sexual and reproductive health included under universal health coverage. We deeply appreciate Senegal's leadership in supporting a consensus approach to the resolution to end fistula by 2030, and we stand ready to provide any support needed. Today's wider discussion on equality, violence, and AI reminds us that women's rights must be protected in every part of their lives. Progress in ending fistula is a real practical test of that commitment. Fistula signals failures in health systems, but also failures to protect girls from child marriage and early pregnancy, and to ensure access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Addressing these root causes is essential to prevention. Preventing maternal death and injuries is a political choice. That choice must translate into investment in midwives, reproductive health supplies, family planning, and timely emergency care, underpinned by strong data systems that enable accountability. Women living with fistula must have access to treatment and support to rebuild their lives. This requires a strong, integrated social and health sector response, under the principle of one country-owned plan, budget, and report. Such an approach aligns all available financing, including domestic, concessional, and grant funding, in support of resilient systems able to reach deep into communities, including those affected by conflict and climate change. Allow me, last not least, to also thank the African group, EU, and Nordic countries for their sustained partnership, including support for UNFPA's Maternal and Newborn Health Fund, which hosts the global campaign to end obstetric fistula. UNFPA stands ready to work with all of you to turn commitments into care, safety, and dignity for every woman and girl, especially those furthest left behind. I thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:32:13]:

Thank you, Dr. Bohm. Ms. Cavallo from UN Women, you also have three minutes. Yes.


UN Women · Director of Intergovernmental Support [2:32:21]:

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Well, I will try and apologies in advance because I assume that I'm not going to be able to answer all the questions. I just would like to, and please feel free to reach out to us and I'm more than happy to have answered your questions. I will start with Austria and the question on the facilitator of violence and femicide, because the 2025 global estimates on femicides report refers to an adoptal links between violence perpetrated and online and femicide. There still needs to be more data, and this is one of the important things that we, it's across all of the answers, data, it's quite important. UN Women and UNODC are working on developing a technical brief that we will provide further guidance on meaning on the TF violence against women and how it leads to femicide. To Belgium, and also the questions of the FGBV and how we can throw throughout the different spaces, for instance, one example is on the trafficking. It is important to undertake an in-depth global study on trafficking women and girls and how is this examining the emerging patterns and different vulnerabilities how is all this linked online, because it is a fact that many things are happening and we are not really doing what should be done. With the African group, I mean, we have several grounded several programs with Africa. We are strengthening the effectiveness and accountability of our partnership with the African Union Commission. We are building on existing partnerships with regional economic communities and regional mechanisms, both in Addis with AU, but also at the subregional level. We are shifting from gender-specific interventions alone towards systematic integration of gender equality across the AU programs. And we are strengthening also evidence and accountability, specifically on the violence against women. We supported the development of the Convention on Violence Against Women, which also answers to achieve the expiration of Agenda 2063. We also have UN Women European Union Act program to end violence against women and girls in Africa. We are very much investing with the feminist movements and strengthen alliance and coordinated and shared advocacy agenda to end violence against women in the region. To Germany, I mean, very quickly, we have How we be comprehensive is we must support states to adopt strong norms and laws on AI. We must have better data and evidence to prevent also the third one is to prevent social norms to, we need to, to, to prevent the social norms and the safety digital ecosystem. We must have a survivor center, justice focus on response, and we must support women's agency, leadership, and resilience digital spaces. Mexico, very quickly, we must highlight the anti-gender rhetoric and the real world are escalating violence against women and femicide. Data collection, again, it's very important. We need to have this data in order to define, to better define the policies. We must ensure justice systems are fit for purpose and they must the survivor center and the perpetrator. We have to strengthen coalitions to bridge the gap between anti-femicide activists and women movements and civil society to create a unified front against against those that continue to insist on misinterpretations of the long-standing commitments and obligations of international law, including the Charter and Universal Declaration for Human Rights. I don't know if I'm probably already more than time, but just France on the framework for violence against women, we first we can use it to track the SDG targets because in specifically SDG target 5.2, again, this is a question of data and data and data. Secondly, we need to fix data gaps. We need also to establish common definitions and typologies. This means consensus definitions on terms. And the data collection can also inform evidence-based policy legislation. And I will stop here because otherwise Mr. Chairman is going, but more than happy, again, to answer all the questions that were made throughout the session. And thank you again. Again, UN Women stands here to support member states in the implementation of the commitments and working with you in order to achieve the commitments made. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:37:22]:

Thank you so much. We now have the SDO chair, Ms. Nala Haidar, and you have 10 minutes, and you're online.


CEDAW · Chair [2:37:37]:

Did I hear you clearly?


3rd Committee · Chair [2:37:39]:

Yes, we can. Excellency? Yes, we can.


CEDAW · Chair [2:37:42]:

Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. I want to start by thanking all the speakers for their intervention and for their vote of support and belief in the mandates of the panelists. All of us are in that together. We work in complementarity with the working group and with the Special Rapporteur, and it is really heartwarming to continue to listen to this kind of support and also to the expectation. I am not going to try to answer many of the questions that because they cross also with the area that I'm sure Claudia will cover better on the AI since she focused a lot on it and Reem on her report and other activity. I would like to address the question raised by the EU in the name of several countries about gender stereotype and the upcoming GR. And I just want to say, because the question was, what did you find? What are your findings? I would say that we all agree that gender stereotypes are not merely attitude. They produce discrimination. They reinforce unequal power relations. And we have this, these are particularly harmful when they cross with other ground of discrimination. So, I think that we have all of us mentioned that it's not about just changing the stereotype in the attitude through the media and technology, through the education, through several ways of addressing it, through temporary special measures, through accountability, but it is about changing structures, laws, institutions, social norms, because through this stereotype, we are facing concretely the impact of the discrimination. The recommendation, General Recommendation 41, is not only dealing with the stereotype affecting women, it's affecting women and men and the relationship between the two sexes because of the the perception that one is more powerful, one is more worthy of living than the other. It is very difficult to try to dismantle that only by legal instrument. It has really to be accompanied from bottom up and top down, working with religious leaders, traditional leaders in schools, in universities, even with women themselves who perpetrate also these stereotypes that block them from their independence and strength. I'm sure that you will find a lot of positive guidance in this general recommendation, and I look forward to the meeting we're going to have with state parties on the 23rd in Geneva before the launch. All these state parties are your colleagues on the Geneva end, and we will keep the conversation around how we promote this general recommendation. And I seize this opportunity just to try to answer a specific question by Congo, and that is how to implement those general recommendations. This very important question. I can only point all member states who are interested in understanding the importance of this soft law to seek capacity building from the Office of the High Commissioner. They are equipped to bring the content of those soft law closer to the context in which they have to be implemented, and they to help you. Even we have done that in the past with UN women, develop trainers guides for general recommendation. In particular, we did that for general recommendation 30, put them in local languages. There are many ways for you to be able to benefit and understand and engage with. And I would like also to come to the question raised by Mexico and thank Mexico for referring to the dialogue and the fact that Mexico has a full menu with the concluding observation. We had a very important dialogue with Mexico and the issue of femicide featured importantly in that. And eventually, I think the answers are with Mexico. They know that the most important thing is not to misclassify those women killing, not to make them invisible, not to allow for them to be recorded as simple, I wouldn't say simple, but as homicide, to have a gender sensitive definition. They already know that the failure to recognize risk before the killing create more, you know, unfortunately, negative context for the imminent killing. The fact that there is a fragmented institution, police, prosecutor, et cetera, the information is not shared. I mean, I know that they know all of this and that they are working on promoting a proper legal framework and trying to dismantle the barriers to preventing femicide, it requires that we dismantle the structure that makes women's lives less protected. That goes from discriminatory stereotype to fragmentation, impunity, inadequate data, et cetera. But we'll be very happy, of course, to continue to work with Mexico and to see also in the context of follow-up what can be done. And again, on the issue of follow-up, this was a question also asked by Congo, I think, how can we preserve the effectiveness of follow-up procedure, quality of dialogue, et cetera. I think this is becoming very, very difficult because of the lack of meeting time, lack of ability to continue to produce and pursue. As I said in my statement, we managed still to produce 18 follow-up reports, although we were not able to meet. So we are very keen about the follow-up procedure. It's a very important tool that helps both the Committee and the State to continue to move forward. We are going to try to find answers in our capacity, giving our time online beyond the call of duty, but this cannot be sustained forever. It must be answered in a systematic way. And the other point I wanted to raise in answer to the question, again, I think by Algeria, that was how do we go about implementing the COPs? I would say that one of the best way has proven to be when the country establishes a national mechanism for reporting, implementation and follow up, that national mechanism is very much helped and assisted by the UN country team. With a, with a different agency, and most of the time you and women is present most of the time you and is present. So that there is this UNICEF is present. This opportunity to look at the priority from the perspective of of the state party and go accompany them in the implementation of the cops. On the issue of AI, all what I can say is that. We are in this business together. It's a multi-stakeholder issue, and I really think that the best person who can reply, including on behalf of CDOW, is Claudia, because we have started to work between the committee and the working group also on this issue. And I'm ready to take up any, if I miss any question, Monsieur le President, please don't hesitate to bring it to my attention if it was really requested from CDOW more specifically, because I think many of the comments were generic and general. Thank you very much, and I am with you until you adjourn the meeting.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:46:06]:

Thank you so much. Appreciate it. I now pass the floor to Ms. Flores, Chair of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls. You also have 10 minutes. Thank you.


Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls · Chair [2:46:17]:

Thank you so much, Chair. And let me just begin by expressing my gratitude to the member states who have engaged today in this discussion and those who engaged with us in preparation of our report. We're very grateful for the partnership. And then, of course, all of you who have shared the work that you are doing within your domestic context on advancing the rights of women and girls and gender equality more broadly. I think we can all acknowledge that we've seen some real progress. in these debates over the course of the session and in the past several months. The interventions today have rightly recognized that AI regulation must serve many different goals, mutually reinforcing, from peace and sustainable development to preventing violence and discrimination, And I do want to repeat what I what I hope I communicated at the outset, which is that the imperative across all of these concerns and initiatives remains the same, which is that I must be working for human rights and for the equal enjoyment of women and girls. I'm not going to repeat the report's findings, but I do want to just take up sort of four specific themes that emerged in many of your interventions and questions. The first is the various comments and questions on the issue of indicators and governance more broadly on AI. Indicators are incredibly important. And one of the challenges that we heard over and over in our consultations is that there's just missing data, missing monitoring, and missing accountability. So I really do encourage you to read our report carefully with all of the many things that you are reading, because we made a robust attempt to try to provide indicators in various areas. I can give you some examples here on digital exclusion, monitoring smartphone ownership, broadband access, ensuring that you track the percentage of women and girls that have access to the internet, and then looking at the ways that there are distinctions between rural and urban communities, marginalized communities. In the context of education, looking at girls in STEM and tracking that as it changes over time. and also access to AI literacy. So I could spend a lot of time on indicators, but we generally look at them in three groupings, equal access, equal benefit, and equal power and participation. And so that is an area that states can do quite a bit of work, even just to get a sense of what are the challenges and the issues within your jurisdictions. The second thing I wanted to note is just the many interventions on good practices and the work that's being done by all of you. It is very heartening to hear about domestic legislation that is trying to target technology facilitated gender based violence and drawing that connection between that form of violence and femicide, which I'll talk about a little bit more in a moment. It was great to hear about the existence of global summits, and we hope very much that the working group will be invited to these convenings. We are open, and I hope that it has been clear for the life of the working group that we are very open to providing technical assistance to states that wish to engage with us on particular challenges that they're facing or legislation or other initiatives. And then, of course, some of you mentioned the importance of the work that's being done at the domestic level on corporate responsibility, which I will also talk about a little bit more. The third point that I wanted to just highlight is this issue of global cooperation, and my colleague at the CEDAW Committee mentioned this as well. This is just a borderless challenge, artificial intelligence, and these communities that are being developed are also across borders. The working group recognizes that this presents some serious challenges for states in terms of trying to determine how to issue regulations and craft them, but it also makes this conversation at the United Nations, at the multilateral level, and at the regional level particularly important. And while it is good for us to have a united front on these things, it's also incredibly important to have these debates and to disagree, because that's how we can actually find a space in which we can all act. On technology facilitated gender-based violence and femicide, also, I welcome all of the comments on this as well. In doing our report, we were incredibly mindful of this connection between the online digital violence and how it actually manifests itself in real life, as my teenager would say. We understand that the violence that we're seeing online has real world effects, and this has always been true. It's no different than what was happening a decade ago, two decades ago. and urge states also to be very thoughtful about the different forms of discrimination that are manifesting itself in technology facilitated gender based violence, both sex discrimination based on our biological realities and gender discrimination, which is just the mere recognition that societies and cultures create harmful stereotypes associated with the sexual realities. that harm and create hierarchies. And these are two concepts that are well established under international law, thanks to our colleagues at the CEDAW Committee, and that any interventions need to be thinking about women and girls in all of their diversity and also the intersectionality of their various identities. These are complex issues, but they are important for us to be thinking about. Now, let me just take these discussions on AI holistically in my remaining moments. We all are talking about prevention, planning, and accountability to ensure that gender equality in this space is a priority. We are concerned, and we have been concerned, that there are few regulatory frameworks that are focusing specifically on gender-responsive expertise and human rights-compliant design. We have identified a number of practical measures that states can take, and I won't use my time to state those now. But I do want to just note that many of the harms of AI are very visible, and have all noted them, especially in the context of technology facilitated gender based violence, the deep fakes, the harassment and the abuse. But some of the most consequential harms are not as visible. And this is where harmful stereotypes and harmful inequalities are hiding. And this is in the algorithms, and this is in the back end of what's happening on artificial intelligence. And they remain hidden precisely because we lack transparency, we lack data, we lack accountability, and we don't have sufficient regulatory oversight. So I want to just leave you with a note that algorithms really should be a focus of regulatory efforts. And in order to ensure that algorithms are thinking about gender equality at the front end, we need women in AI leadership, design, and development. One of the participants in our consultations said something that stuck with a lot of the working group members, which is just that misogyny is not a design flaw. It's actually a feature of a lot of existing technologies. And why wouldn't it be? Because it's reflected so much in many of our societies and cultures. We We also wanted to note that surveillance is another area of deep concern. Women and girls are being targeted online, and so their participation in leadership has met great challenges. In my final few moments, I just want to say that in the debates around AI, we're often met with this argument that regulation will stifle technological progress, and everybody's concerned about this. The working group is fully aware, and we've documented the positive possibilities of this innovation in this sector. I described some of them earlier. But innovation cannot be premised on noncompliance with international human rights or worse, on amplifying human rights harms. Regulation is not the enemy of innovation. It is a necessary condition. Meaningful and inclusive governance is the only way to channel AI's transformative potential beyond profit motives and towards genuine improvement of human lives. In my opening, I said that the challenges we face are a result of choices. And in this session, many of you have described the really important regulatory choices you are making that have worked and why progress has been difficult. And I just want to emphasize that these choices matter a lot because women and girls are not waiting for AI to arrive. They are living with it, with its consequences. And what remains is to make sure that the rules catch up with their lives and that women and girls have a say in how those rules are written. Thank you so much on behalf of the working group.


3rd Committee · Chair [2:54:47]:

Thank you so much, I appreciate it. And finally, I pass to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Mazrim Al-Saleem.


UN · Special Rapporteur [2:54:59]:

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, too, appreciate the wide positive reception of the thematic report on older women from member states who spoke today. I also want to thank you all for the strong support you expressed towards the mandate and the work of the mandate. To the question about the last three reports I will be presenting, it will be on violence against girls, an addendum report on unilateral coercive measures and its relationship to violence against women and girls, and then for next year's third committee, which, as I said, I will write but present, it will be the relationship between violence against women and girls and *********** which I addressed very briefly in my report on prostitution. To the representative of the Government of India, the source that was cited in the report is from a peer-reviewed journal, the Indian Journal of Palliative Care, and indexed in major databases. Also, the report says some parts of India and does not generalized to all of India. And I also beg to differ that I did not mention any example of good practice because I did in paragraph 80. I and other special procedures have been seeking a more constructive engagement from your government over the years, and we look to making this possible. There were a number of questions around some of the greatest challenges in preventing and responding to violence against older women, so I have clustered those around five issues, because there were also other questions that came to these five issues. One is guaranteeing informed consent and autonomy for older women. We have to regulate representation schemes and prohibit any delegation of their capacity to act without their consent. We have to establish supported decision-making mechanisms for older women. These mechanisms must include the use of continuing power of attorneys rather than solely advancing directives or guardian schemes, and also ensuring that such mechanisms are officially registered by the states. And older women have to have legal advice, and all these schemes must be subjected to regular monitoring and clear revocation procedures. Economic violence is also a big challenge. We have to establish safeguards against pension appropriation, guarantee older women's equal right to own, inherit and dispose of property, address the scam fraud that often happens online and which is a cause of concern for many of you, and ensure that financial services are not only digitally available. I mentioned some good examples, such as the one from Canada, where the code of conduct for the delivery of banking services to seniors requires banks to publish annually on their website a report on the steps they have taken to support older women. A third very big challenge, I think, is the issue of health. And in yesterday's side event that we co-hosted with the government of Italy and also the intergovernmental group on aging, One obvious one, but still very much underfunded, is researching and responding to specific health needs of older women, including menopause. Since the health situation of older women relates also to experiences during their life, I would say that one obvious one is to improve the treatment of health conditions resulting from pregnancy and childbirth, as that may worsen with age. I included a lot on that in my report on violence against mothers. A fourth challenge is addressing violence and abuse in institutional care. We know that older women in institutional care, particularly women with disability, are at particular risk. They face also a lot of barriers in accessing justice, and many are involuntarily institutionalized through the use of physical or chemical restraint in care settings. So, in terms of responses, we must explicitly prohibit and sanction institutional practices that harm older women, we must ensure that there are single-sex spaces available in institutional settings, which benefits all women. It is important that states mandate safeguarding standards, regular inspections, independent monitoring bodies and confidential complaint mechanisms. Another key issue where you also had many questions is, of course, the access to justice and that many older women are denied an effective access to justice. So we have to also strengthen that also when it comes to transitional justice available to women, including reparations for older women that have experienced violence in their youth, including in wars. And here, if the representative of Japan would allow me, regarding comfort women, there are a number of letters from several special procedures, including my mandate, to the Government of Japan concerning the inadequacy of reparations, including those related to truth and memorialization for comfort women. On the broader issue of justice, it is also important to make justice available through free legal aid, procedural accommodations, and mobile courts, and to visibilize the violence caused by adult family perpetrators, which is often difficult. issue of stereotypes, which was raised by Italy, is also important, tackling stereotypes. So here we know that older women are often more stereotyped than men. They are rejected or often perceived as old as a reaction to negative stereotypes, and it's consequences. Patriarchal social norms devalue women that are not seen as reproductively viable. And so we have to address that. And I agree with the Holy See that the lax and available sort of readily and easily available avenues to euthanasia and assisted suicide can strengthen the negative stereotypes against older women by presenting them as a burden because of their increased vulnerability and their increased need for care. And This violates, in my view, the state's duty of care towards older women and doesn't take into account the circumstances under which they may actually not be able to make informed and free choices. On how to increase the leadership by older women, I would say promote intergenerational initiatives aimed at strengthening mutual understanding and reducing loneliness, and on increased participation of older women, We also must link this to fighting negative stereotypes, because that impedes participation in general and impedes leadership. Older women are rarely consulted in surveys when they are older than 75 years old, because they are perceived to have cognitive impairments and therefore cannot reliably participate. At the same time, we must provide them with tailored and facilities to enable their participation. And we know that assessments are often conducted when caregivers are present, discouraging open communication. So it's also important to combat stereotypes and improve participation to educate professionals coming in contact with older women regarding the recognizing sexual violence and raising awareness on the specific challenges and needs of older women. And here I mentioned a very good practice in Australia, the campaign, Hear Our Voices, which aims to educate professionals working with older women. To the representative of the government of Israel, I wish to say that I have on numerous occasions condemned the violence experienced by Israeli women and girls on 7th of October, including sexual violence. So for Israel and its supporters to keep claiming that I have not is disingenuous and false. And if Israel is truly invested in the justice for victims of the 7th of October, including women, it would provide independent mechanisms and special procedures like mine with the primary information that we have been asking for for three years. It would allow us to enter Israel, as I've myself offered to the government of Israel, so that we can do also our work in line with the code of conduct and the procedures of work. It is also interesting that the representative of Israel failed to acknowledge that my report, namely, includes for the first time a reference to 7th of October's impact on women, because I mentioned in the report the abduction of older Israeli women on the 7th of October. And I wish to clarify here that this was the first time I received a direct submission from an Israeli actor, a university in this case, which I complemented with other available information. Above all, I think it's important that Israel allows former hostages and the family of victims and hostages to freely engage with us special procedures. My door has always been open to speak with survivors and all actors who may wish to bring forward information. And in this regard, I'm very happy, actually, that I am meeting with a former hostage next week in Geneva, which could have taken place earlier. Finally, I'll close by what to include in the convention older women. We already spoke about the need to disaggregate better data alongside age and sex and other elements, of course, important to the experience of women, but also to include security amongst the general principles of this treaty. So include effective protection from violence, abuse, neglect, coercion, and other human rights violations. and also involve more closely representatives of older women and their organizations in the negotiations. Thank you.


3rd Committee · Chair [3:04:59]:

Thank you very much. And can I take this opportunity to thank all of our speakers this morning for a most constructive panel. Thank you, colleagues, for your timeliness and your contribution. The committee will continue its general discussion at 3pm on agenda item 70, and forthcoming speakers are identified in the live list which has been circulated on iGov. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you.