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Opening Remarks by Ambassador Chull-joo Park
CSW Side Event on “Ending Gender-based Violence (GBV) to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”
<As Delivered>
Distinguished participants and guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to this CSW side event
“Ending Gender-based Violence to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: Leaving No One Behind and Taking it to Scale.”
(Significance of GBV Issue)
Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world. It is a global epidemic: roughly 35% of women worldwide experience some form of physical or sexual violence in their
lifetime. GBV disproportionately affects women and girls, and is more rife in low-income environments, though it knows no bounds, cutting across all nations, classes, ethnicities, age groups and sexes.
As one of the most widespread abuses of human rights worldwide, addressing GBV is a key component to realizing gender equality, building peace, and achieving sustainable development.
(Relationship between GBV and the SDGs)
Gender equality is a standalone goal, an end in and of itself. Korea recognizes that it is a precondition for sustainable development, an absolute necessity for achieving all of the SDGs. As a result, we stand firmly behind the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, which asserts that gender equality is
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not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
It is difficult to imagine how we will achieve the SDGs without eliminating GBV: GBV not only severely impact a survivor’s physical, psychological, social and economic well-being, it has much broader impacts on families, communities and societies. It undermines social fabrics and community
resilience to shocks; it encourages intergenerational cycles of violence; and it strains justice, health and social services. The costs of GBV are massive – even the most conservative estimates measure the costs of GBV in the billions of dollars.
Reductions in GBV are linked with poverty reduction, economic growth, greater agricultural productivity, reduced gender gaps in health, education and labour markets, and better nutrition and education outcomes for children.
This “multiplier effect” of GBV reduction gives further motivation to address development challenges in a collaborative, synergistic way.
(Korea’s Commitment)
In Korea, we deeply understand the importance of addressing GBV and have taken efforts to challenge it at home and abroad. We see it as a global scourge that cannot be tackled by one actor alone. Indeed Korea has a long history of building support for this issue, and has built many partnerships with the international community, including an ongoing collaboration with UNDP.
Since 2014, we have partnered with UNDP to explore innovative ways to prevent, respond to, and ultimately eliminate GBV. Much work remains and so we have redoubled efforts and committed to a new initiative on “Ending Gender-based Violence (GBV) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.” This project aims to take violence prevention to scale by bringing new partners, strategies and sources of financing to the table. We hope today’s discussion will provide much food for thought as we prepare to roll- out the project’s pilots in the coming weeks.
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The Republic of Korea is also working with the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre for the “Development Solutions Partnership on Gender-based Violence”. The DSP which was launched in the fall of 2017 accentuates the power of sharing of knowledge and lessons learned between governments to effectively tackle GBV and take the national initiatives to scale.
(Today’s discussion and conclusion)
Thanks to the tenacity of individuals and groups around the world, including many of you in this room, we have solid evidence of what works to prevent and reduce GBV. Many of the lessons from this work are context-specific, but others are global: we know that we need integrated, long-term
interventions that address the structural inequalities that underpin GBV.
We are here today to discuss bold and pioneering ways forward. An issue of this magnitude and gravity requires a collaborative, comprehensive and holistic approach. We hope to hear and learn from each of you, as part of a broader process of developing strategies to situate gender equality at the heart of all efforts to achieve sustainable development.
Before handing over to the panelists, I wish to, once again, express my thanks to UNDP and to all of you for taking part in this meeting. I look forward to a rich exchange of ideas. Thank you. /END/