The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) attended a United Nations ministerial-level conference on gender equality in Bangkok, Thailand, where a new declaration was adopted to further progress equality in the Asia- -Pacific region.
Ministers and high-
-level officials from 45 countries in the region attended the three-day conference. In order to expressly recognize women’s contributions to society, specifically in combating poverty and inequality, as well as to ensure that adequate measures will be in place to safeguard the rights and freedoms of women, the participating states hence adopted the declaration.
“Asia and the Pacific have made remarkable advancements so far,” said a statement by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), an organizer of the ministerial conference.
“The declaration notes several emerging megatrends slowing the progress of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the region, such as climate change, intensifying disaster risks, [the] growing digital divide, rapid urbanization, rising inequalities within and between countries, and increasing acts of violence and extremism against women and girls,” the ESCAP elaborated.
The ministerial conference was held in preparation for next year, the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the “Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on Gender Equality.”
Principles concerning gender equality were publicized in the declaration. The Platform for Action, meanwhile, set out strategic goals for action and required its stakeholders to take responsibility.
At the conference, delegates from Macau and China shared the city’s portfolio on advancing gender equality. Work, such as providing 15 years of education and healthcare for pregnant women free of charge, has been conducted by the Macau SAR government to ensure gender equality.
Another action that the city has completed is increasing the ratio of women-to-men receiving tertiary education, which now stands at 52.6%.
IAS officials attended the conference as part of the Chinese delegation, led by the National Women’s Federation. AL
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