Statement: H.E. Mr. Garen Nazarian Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women

Commission on the Status of Women 

55th  session 

22 February to 4 March 2011 

H.E. Mr. Garen Nazarian 

Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women 

Opening remarks  

Deputy Secretary General, President of the Economic and Social Council, Under-Secretary-General,
Distinguished delegates,

 I am honored to welcome you all to the 55th  session of the Commission on the Status of  Women. I extend a special welcome to representatives from Capitals and in particular to Ministers  and senior Government officials, to the large number of non-governmental organizations and to the entities of the United Nations system that have joined us for this important gathering.

 We meet at a moment of tremendous expectations, excitement and promise.  
 In 2010, achieving the goals and commitments  for gender equality, development and peace
was the central objective of a number of review sessions, commemorations and summits.  
 Member States and other stakeholders strengthened the basis for real change for gender
equality, women’s rights and empowerment.  It is  now our responsibility to see to it that these
commitments are turned into reality for girls and women in all parts of the world.  
  
 The establishment of UN  Women has created an unprecedented momentum for action
towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. UN Women will be a key partner in all our
efforts.    It gives me very great pleasure to welcome UN Women, and its Executive  Director, Ms.
Bachelet, to the United Nations family.  

Distinguished delegates,  One of the key tasks of the Commission on the Status of Women is to monitor progress achieved and  problems encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.   The annual sessions are the occasion where we focus on a specific theme in an in-depth manner, and identify good practices, lessons learned and results achieved.  It is also the occasion where we resolve to accelerate implementation of previous commitments and make additional  action-oriented recommendations  addressed to States and other  stakeholders.

We review the status of implementation of previously agreed commitments, highlight new
and emerging issues of concern, and exercise a catalytic role in promoting gender mainstreaming.  
This year, the main focus of our work will be on the role of education, training and science
and technology, and the transition of women from education into the world of work.  While much
progress has been, and is being made, inequalities between women and men persist in all parts of the
world.

There will be ample opportunity for dialogue to share experiences and exchange views on
good practices and lessons learned in high-level roundtables and interactive expert panels.  
The Commission’s deliberations should result in a set of agreed conclusions on the priority
theme that are focused, practical and action-oriented, so that they can effectively guide the different
stakeholders towards implementation.   The Commission’s discussions should also result in a renewed effort to eliminate all forms of  discrimination and violence against the girl child, which is the topic of our review theme.  And they  should raise the visibility of gender perspectives in the preparatory process for the 2012 Conference  on Sustainable Development.   Many parallel events organized by Member States, United Nations entities, nongovernmental organizations and other stakeholders will further enrich our work.  I look forward to  two weeks of dedicated work with concrete outcomes that will improve the lives of women and girls  globally.