The General Conference of UNESCO adopted Resolution 41 C/57 on November 23, 2021, designating January 25 as the International Day of Women in Multilateralism. UNESCO launched the International Day of Women in Multilateralism on January 25, 2022. This International Day was established by the Gabonese Ambassador, HE Ms Rachel Annick Ogoula Akiko, and approved by the UNESCO General Conference at its 41st session in November 2021.
The goal of this day is to acknowledge the crucial part that women play in the multilateral system’s efforts to advance human rights, world peace, and sustainable development.
The International Day of Women in Multilateralism advocates for agreements and policies that are more gender-responsive that will benefit women and girls. It also advocates for more women to hold senior positions of decision-making that create and implement global agendas.
Furthermore, it provides a global forum for dialogue between the current multilateral women leaders and the upcoming generation of women who will hold positions of leadership in global governance. Since the creation and adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945, women have played a significant role in world governance. Without a number of outstanding women, this ground-breaking Charter would not have been as inclusive as it is today, historians remind us.
Today, more and more women have assumed senior positions in UN organisations, in the diplomatic missions of their countries, and in a number of global institutions. In addition, they have promoted human rights, peace, and gender equality by promoting access to healthcare, education, and voting rights, among other things.
The elimination of violence, harassment, and discrimination against women and girls remains a top priority for the United Nations, especially in light of the rise in these incidents that took place in COVID-19 detention facilities around the world.
An International Day of Women in Multilateralism is essential to both highlighting the crucial contributions made by female leaders during the United Nations’ foundation and serving as inspiration for the next wave of female leaders. In the areas of international politics, economics, and human rights, women are gaining power.
But in many other areas of authority and decision-making, women are still disproportionately underrepresented. In UN-led or co-led peacekeeping processes, women make up only 23% of delegates. Gender-related elements were only included in 28.6% of peace accords in 2020 (down from 37.1% in 2015).
Such evidence is startling, especially since it has been shown that peace agreements are more successful and more long-lasting when women participate in the negotiations and when they are gender-sensitive from the start.
Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay places a high premium on women’s leadership in multilateralism. She challenged the world community to create a new style of multilateral leadership to achieve gender equality alongside Iceland’s Prime Minister, Katrin Jakobsdóttir. They stated that feminist leaders not only play a key role in achieving gender equality but also plan and create systemic change. They take the risk to invent, teach, and create.
Leaders in the feminist movement expose injustices and unfair opportunities. They are aware that discrimination and exclusion are the root causes of gender inequality and that only by removing these obstacles will significantly change be possible.
The Director-General of UNESCO is reissuing this call for a “collective reflection to address the specific challenges of women to guarantee them a fair representation at all levels” in her message for International Day of Women in Multilateralism 2022. This calls for taking multilaterally agreed measures and tackling the underlying causes of inequality.
UNESCO is dedicated to offering a global forum that will broaden the perspectives of future generations of women and give them the opportunity to co-shape multilateral decisions that will affect gender equality in the fields of education, science, culture, communication, and information.
At the end of the day, UNESCO stands together with its international partners to work towards the Sustainable Development Goals for gender equality and embodies this belief through the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
“Today, women’s leadership is a cause. Tomorrow it must be a norm. This is how we will transform international peace and security,” says Antonio Guterres.
