Statement by Mr. Tigran Galstyan, First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the UN, at the General Discussion of the UNGA77 Third Committee on the Advancement of Women (Item 26)

04 October, 2022

Madam Chair,

Advancement of women is of the utmost importance for tackling the world’s global challenges across all pillars of the United Nations from peace and security to sustainable development, climate change and human rights.

Armenia attaches great importance to the protection and promotion of women’s rights, achieving gender equality, including through gender-responsive regulations to ensure empowerment of women and their full, equal and meaningful participation in all spheres of public life. At present, the Armenian Parliament has achieved a record of more than 35% of women in legislature, which is a major step towards achieving gender equality and empowerment of women in political sphere. Today, women’s participation in the Armenian ICT sector is 40% - twice as much as the international average. Building on the progress achieved in the ICT industry, Armenia has been working to underpin international efforts for bridging gender digital divide including through our country’s leadership of Action Coalition for “Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality” of the Generation Equality Forum.

As member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and in line with our efforts to contribute to the advancement of women globally, Armenia reaffirms its support to the strong and forward-looking commitments contained in the Agreed Conclusions of the Commission and the Political Declaration adopted on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Armenia prioritizes advancing of Women and Peace and Security agenda in the framework of its national policies and programmes in line with the National Action Plan on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325. The newly adopted National Action Plan 2022-2024 is instrumental in promoting nationally the role of women in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and peacemaking and ensuring effective international cooperation in this regard.

Madam Chair,

Women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by conflicts and complex humanitarian emergencies, including in our region. In this regard, safe and unhindered humanitarian access of the UN agencies to Nagorno-Karabakh is essential for comprehensive assessment of the humanitarian and early recovery needs of the population, including women and children who are most vulnerable in conflict and post-conflict settings. The obstruction by Azerbaijan of the humanitarian access of the UN agencies to the Nagorno-Karabakh continues to undermine efforts for long-term humanitarian response to the needs of the civilian population.

The acts of aggression of Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia since May 2021 violate the fundamental human rights of women and girls of the eastern and south eastern regions of Armenia, including their right to life, health, education, freedom of movement and access to basic services. The latest large-scale military offensive of Azerbaijan on 13 September was accompanied with deliberate targeting of densely populated areas, which caused destruction of civilian buildings and critical infrastructure. This act of aggression resulted in killing of more than 200 people, among them civilian population and temporary displacement of around 8000 civilians, mostly women, children and elderly. In flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan captured, tortured and executed a number of Armenian military personnel, among them several women. The abhorrent videos of despicable barbarities towards female military personnel, including sexual assault, violent murder and mutilations were particularly cheered and extensively celebrated over Azerbaijani social networks. The international community should resolutely condemn these barbaric acts and urge that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes be brought to justice.

Madam Chair,

Armenia is committed to further streamlining empowerment of women in its national reform agenda and promoting women’s active participation in political and public life. We stand ready to further contribute to the international efforts on empowerment of women, which is indispensable for upholding peace and security, promoting human rights and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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