Joint statement on the implementation of the UNICEF Gender Action Plan 2018-2021

Thank you for giving me the floor. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of Canada, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, The Kingdom of Netherlands and my own country Denmark

 

Thank you to for the comprehensive presentation on the Annual Report on the implementation of the Gender Action Plan 2018-2021.

 

First of all we would like to commend UNICEF and the Gender team on the progress achieved, especially given the significant challenges brought on by not least Covid-19. [The Gender team may be one of the smallest teams in UNICEF, but with wide reaching impact.]

We would also like to commend UNICEF for efforts towards reaching gender parity, and the significant progress achieved.

 

We would like to emphasize the need to ensure that women and girls, in all their diversity continue to be at the heart of UNICEF’s work and that gender norms and power relations are continually addressed. We appreciate UNICEF’s efforts to do this as it transitions towards gender-transformative approaches.

 

We would also like to emphasize the importance of UNICEF focussing on providing differentiated approaches in recognition of the fact that children of all genders experience conflict, violence and abuse in different ways. There is in particular an urgent need for designing tailored and gender sensitive interventions in complex emergencies.

 

We also welcome UNICEF’s continued and strengthened collaboration with other UN Agencies, national and local partners, civil society and private sector. We in particular wish to encourage UNICEF to continue to strengthen the collaboration with UN Women to increase the capacity on gender within UNICEF as an organisation. Updated and relevant knowledge, capacity and capability within the organisation to follow up on matters relating to gender equality is a prerequisite for key operational results – both for UNICEF as an organisation and results on the ground.

 

We are pleased to see UNICEF’s continued support for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights through its Gender Action Plan, including ensuring targeted work on comprehensive sexuality education, HIV, menstrual health and hygiene, child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation and cutting - especially in humanitarian situations where some of these form part of everyday hazards for children. We especially wish to stress the centrality of the rights component of SRHR.

We note with appreciation strengthening of disability inclusion and the integration of online dimensions in UNICEF’s work on preventing and responding to violence against girls and boys and encourage further work in this direction. 

 

We wish to conclude with two questions:

 

1. We note that core resources allocated to the implementation of the action plan has decreased substantively – we would welcome an explanation? We also note that the thematic funding for gender is one of the least funded – we welcome your reflections on this and what UNICEF and member states can do to address the funding gap.

 

2. We are half a year into the implementation of the new ambitious SP and Gender Action Plan – what or where do you see the greatest challenges to achieving the desired goals set out in the new Gender Action Plan and SP?