Statement of the MDG Advocates on International Women’s Day

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, members of the UN Secretary-General’s MDG Advocacy Group issued the following statement:

“International Women’s Day is an important moment to reflect on progress made by the international community to advance the rights and well-being of women around the world. It is also a critical opportunity to assess challenges and gaps in meeting our goals.  The 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will convene March 10-21, 2014 at the United Nations to address the challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and girls.

With 663 days until the deadline for the achievement of the MDGs, we call on Member States to urge the Commission on the Status of Women to advance the goals set out by world leaders in 2000.  In negotiating the outcome document, we ask Member States to:

• Uphold all previously made commitments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW), Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Programme of Action at the International Conference on Population and Development, and MDGs;
• Provide strong leadership on and commitment to meeting the MDGs, developing acceleration plans wherever possible, and focusing on areas – such as women’s empowerment, health, and girls’ education – that are proven progress multipliers while also addressing areas that have lagged behind such as maternal mortality, access to family planning and access to basic sanitation; and,
• Encourage meaningful partnerships with civil society and the private sector to bring significant knowledge, resources and constituents to bear in support of the MDGs.

As members of the UN Secretary-General’s MDG Advocacy Group we stand ready to work in partnership to elevate key issues and mobilize targeted action toward MDG achievement.  We must spare no efforts to make progress for women and girls in these next 663 days.”

Signatories:

Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda

Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway

Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries

Stine Bosse, Board member of Allianz Group and Vice Chairman of ChildFund Alliance

Ray Chambers, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria

Philippe Douste-Blazy, United Nations Special Advisor on Innovative Financing for Development

Julio Frenk, Dean, Harvard School of Public Health, former Minister of Health of Mexico

Jeffrey Sachs, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the MDGs

Marina Silva, Environmentalist and politician

Ted Turner, Chairman, United Nations Foundation

Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman, Sumitomo Chemical and of the Japan Business Federation

Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank and Chairman, Yunus Centre