Statement by H.E. Mr. Mher Margaryan, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Armenia, Chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at the UNFF14

07 May, 2019

UN Forum on Forests
14th session, 7 May 2019

Statement by H.E. Mr. Mher Margaryan,
Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Armenia,
Chair of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

Mr. Chair,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the panel discussion, in my capacity as Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women. This is the second year in a row of interaction between these two functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council and is indicative of the commitment by the UNFF14 to contribute to the accelerated achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

As the principal UN policy-making body for gender equality and empowerment of women, the Commission on the Status of Women grounds its work in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It also plays a catalytic role in promoting gender mainstreaming in the United Nations system. Since 2016, CSW has placed clear emphasis on contributing to the follow-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which underlines the centrality of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals.

I wish to draw the attention of the Forum on Forests to the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which we will mark in 2020. This anniversary is not only an opportunity to take stock of progress made, share best practices and success stories. It is also the time to assess gaps and challenges and chart the way forward on commitments made and accelerate implementation of the Beijing platform for action. All States are encouraged to conduct national reviews, with the participation of stakeholders. This anniversary and its preparatory process is an excellent opportunity to link up implementation work streams, including in regards to the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030.

The Commission on the Status of Women is cognizant of the relevance, value and opportunities that forests can bring to the rights, well-being and livelihoods of women and girls, and consequently, the importance of attention to gender perspectives in their management and safeguarding. In 2017, for example, the Commission highlighted the role and contribution of women and girls living in rural areas as critical agents in poverty eradication, and in enhancing sustainable agricultural and rural development. Meaningful progress in these areas necessitates women’s access to, and ownership of and control over land, forests, water and land tenure security. I am pleased to note that the Commission explicitly referenced the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security as a tool for strengthening rural women’s role as stakeholders and agents of change.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Commission remains mindful of the challenges of, for example, deforestation in the context of climate change. Women and girls, especially in developing countries, are often disproportionately affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, extreme weather events and natural disasters and other environmental issues, including deforestation. This calls for comprehensive action to strengthen and build resilience and adaptive capacity in a gender-responsive manner. Indigenous women and girls, and those living in remote areas, are subject to multiple forms of challenges, requiring additional action to ensure that barriers of access to, and benefit from natural and economic resources can be overcome.

Women’s voice, leadership and participation is critical in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and also in the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan on Forests 2030 and the achievement of its Global Forest Goals. This is one of the areas where the UN Forum on Forests can make a decisive further contribution. Women’s full, equal and effective participation in the management of forest resources would echo CSW’s past calls to leverage women’s participation and influence in decision-making processes and the management of natural resources such as forests, land, and water.

CSW will continue to advocate for the mainstreaming of a gender perspective across all relevant national and local institutions, in order to ensure that national planning, decision-making, policy formulation and implementation, budgeting processes and institutional structures contribute to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. This could be an incentive for forest-related processes to cooperate and coordinate systematically with national gender equality mechanisms. CSW also advocates for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data, disaggregated by sex, age, disability and other characteristics relevant in national contexts to support policies and actions. This could be an area of common interest with forest-related work.
Forest-based actions and solutions in support of inclusive growth, enhanced social inclusion and environmental sustainability thus need to be gender-responsive, and ensure the full and equal participation and leadership of women and girls. The Collaborative Partnership on Forests has the opportunity to champion and lead gender-responsive forest-related action and advocate for women’s participation.

As Permanent Representative of Armenia a middle-income, landlocked developing country with mountainous ecosystems, I want to emphasize the importance of collaborative actions between the Government and the NGO community and civil society at large in meeting the challenges of deforestation. In October, Armenia will host the inaugural Forest Summit, which will bring together regional and international expertise with the aim of catalyzing improvements in forest conservation and restoration.

As the Commission on the Status of Women prepares for the comprehensive review and appraisal of 25 years of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, I look forward to the contribution of the UN Forum on Forests, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and other partners in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls through forest-based solutions.

I thank you.

MFA RA
official website

Dual citizenship

Electronic visa

Visa applications