25 September 2009
Women’s Issues to Be Major Focus of U.S. Policy
United Nations showing more concern for injustice to women
Washington — Women’s issues will be the “centerpiece of my term as secretary of state,” Hillary Rodham Clinton told a gathering of female heads of state and foreign ministers September 24.
“I have advocated for many years that women are the key to progress and prosperity around the world,” Clinton told the luncheon guests, who were in New York City to participate in the opening of the 64th annual United Nations General Assembly.
“There are people who say, well, women’s issues is an important issue, but it doesn’t rank up there with the Middle East or Iran’s nuclear threat or Afghanistan and Pakistan. I could not disagree more. I think women are key to our being able to resolve all of those difficult conflicts, as well as provide for a better future,” Clinton said.
“We know that investments in women yield very big dividends, and we want women to be given the tools so that they can make the most out of their own lives,” Clinton said. “But what I have concluded over the years is that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. And in many places, opportunity is still out of reach for women. No matter how smart they are, how hard they work, how much encouragement they might be given even by their own families … it is still a very difficult task.”
The Obama White House has aggressively promoted women’s issues both in the United States and abroad. Earlier this year President Obama created a new position at the White House now held by Lynn Rosenthal to advise the president and vice president on domestic violence and sexual assault issues in the United States.
President Obama also created a new position at the U.S. Department of State: ambassador at large for global women’s issues. Melanne Verveer, who has a long career working for the advancement of women, was appointed to mobilize concrete support worldwide for women’s rights and to combat violence against women and girls in all its forms.
Clinton told the women leaders that at the upcoming session of the U.N. Security Council the United States will take steps to improve the U.N. response to sexual violence committed during armed conflict. The United States is sponsoring a resolution that will not only promote commitment to women’s empowerment but will also call for the appointment of a special representative of the U.N. secretary-general “to lead, coordinate and advocate for efforts to end sexual violence in armed conflict,” Clinton said.
The United Nations is showing greater commitment to women’s issues as a core issue, an improvement Clinton said she particularly appreciates. In August, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a report outlining the responsibility of states and other parties to prevent and respond to sexual violence. He urged the General Assembly to create a U.N. institution to improve gender equality and women’s human rights.
Clinton — the third female secretary of state in U.S. history — long has championed respect for women and their full participation in economic, political and social life. Her famous speech in Beijing in 1995, when she declared that “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights,” inspired women worldwide.
For more on the U.S. effort, see “Clinton’s Message on Gender-Based Violence Resonates Worldwide” and “United States Pledges $17 Million to Aid Rape Survivors in DRC.”
A transcript of Clinton’s comments at the luncheon is available on America.gov.
