Yesterday, 11 March, in New York, USA, Minister of Justice Inese Libina-Egner highlighted Latvia's achievements in gender equality at the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. In the 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, Latvia has worked determinedly to eliminate gender-based violence, ensure equal rights and opportunities in the labour market and education, reduce harmful gender stereotypes and mainstream equality in policy planning.
Addressing the session, the Minister underlined Latvia's commitment to reducing the gender pay gap and ensuring equal access to the labour market. Latvia already actively supports women in entrepreneurship, promotes a family-friendly working environment and creates better opportunities for work-life balance. At the same time, the Minister stressed that true gender equality is not possible without the involvement of men, underlining their role in achieving this goal.
Latvia will also continue to promote women's involvement in STEM sectors and representation in leadership positions. Latvia is one of the world leaders in the representation of women in science - more than 50% of scientists and more than 40% of heads of research institutions in Latvia are women.
"Latvia also prioritises the fight against gender-based violence by strengthening legal protection, expanding support for victims and raising public awareness of the issue. We have ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, committing ourselves to ensuring a safer society for everyone," the Minister recalled.
She also pointed out that while much has been achieved globally on gender equality, there are still challenges and increasing backlash against women's rights. The Minister stressed that true gender equality must also be ensured within the UN: in 79 years, no woman has held the post of UN Secretary-General. Latvia calls on Member States to take active steps to nominate women to this high office.
At the same time, women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by armed conflicts and crises in countries around the world. In commemoration of the UN resolution "
Women, Peace and Security", Latvia will continue to support the implementation of the resolution, underlining its commitment also in its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2026-2027.
"There is an urgent need to address sexual violence related to armed conflict, which is unfortunately widespread around the world - from Ukraine to Sudan, from Haiti to the Democratic Republic of Congo. We must support victims while demanding justice and accountability from perpetrators," stressed Ms Liebigne-Egner.
VIDEO: Recording of the plenary session available here https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k11/k1151ugo63 (Speech by the Latvian Minister of Justice from 01:39:20 to 01:43:07.)
As previously reported, from 10 to 13 March, Minister of Justice Inese Libina-Egner will be in New York, USA, to attend the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The session of the Commission on the Status of Women is the world's largest gender equality forum, this year dedicated to one of the world's founding documents on gender equality - the Beijing Declaration and the thirtieth anniversary of its adoption.