The 18th Session of the Human Rights Council Annual Discussion on the
Integration of a Gender Perspective in the Work of the Human Rights Council
Geneva, 26 September 2011
Statement of the Republic of Korea
Thank you, Madam President,
First of all, my delegation would like to express our sincere gratitude to the panelists for taking the time to share their insights and experiences with us. The Republic of Korea welcomes this opportunity to discuss how gender perspectives could be applied both systematically and effectively throughout the work of the Human Rights Council.
Since the adoption of resolution 6/30, the Council has achieved a number of important advances in strengthening gender mainstreaming efforts in all areas of the Council’s work.
Recognizing these achievements and acknowledging the importance of continuing this forward momentum, there have been repeated calls for the Council to further renew its efforts to more effectively implement gender mainstreaming policy and to more clearly demonstrate tangible results.
As one panelist mentioned earlier this morning, we believe that a major challenge facing the Council in bridging the gap between policy and practice comes from a lack of awareness and degrees of cultural resistance. Indeed, resistance and a lack of understanding among the staff as well as Member States concerning the fundamentals and relevance of improved gender mainstreaming policy have hampered the Council’s ability to effectively implement such initiatives. Considering this, it would be beneficial if the panelists could provide practical recommendations for raising awareness on gender mainstreaming and suggest a means of introducing a framework of good practice regarding gender-awareness training that could be applied to the Council.
Another issue that we would like to raise is gender mainstreaming as it relates to development planning. Acknowledging gender equality as a key cross-cutting issue, the Republic of Korea is working strongly to incorporate gender mainstreaming into our ODA programs. The Korean Government has introduced gender-sensitive measures such as the Gender Desk Officer system and the 30-percent female quota system for invited trainees from partner countries. Furthermore, as the host of the upcoming 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4), to be held this November in Busan, our Government is spearheading the initiative to promote the gender agenda during the forum.
In this context, we would appreciate hearing panelists’ views and experiences on promoting gender equality in development assistance programs and would like to welcome any recommendations to the Council on possible measures to contribute to effective gender mainstreaming in this area.
Thank you. /End/
