Removing barriers top priority to help women, girls: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that it must be a top priority for the international community to remove the barriers that women and girls on the margins of the society.

The secretary-general made the remarks as he was speaking to participants at the annual Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) event at UN Headquarters in New York.

"Removing the barriers that keep women and girls on the margins of economic, social, cultural and political life must be a top priority for us all -- businesses, governments, the United Nations and civil society," Ban said at the 59th Commission on the Status of Women side-line gathering.

"As we reflect on the Beijing+20 findings and prepare to implement the sustainable development goals that will guide us for the next 15 years, until 2030, it is extremely positive to see so many business leaders stepping up to work with us," the secretary-general said.

Among the participants were the former U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the secretary-general's special envoy for climate change, Mary Robinson, and the UN under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

The Women's Empowerment Principles provide a roadmap for businesses to play their role in respecting and supporting women's rights.

Launched by the secretary-general in 2010, the initiative aims to engage businesses to advance gender equality and sustainability. Over the past five years, it has reached nearly 1000 companies, each of which has made a commitment at the highest level to implement the seven guiding Principles.

"I am particularly gratified that seven Women's Empowerment Principles are resonating around the world, helping hundreds of companies to identify gaps and scale up their efforts to implement gender equality and empower women in their workplaces, marketplaces and communities," the secretary-general said.

Earlier Tuesday, Ban presided over a ceremony to launch the report Saving Lives, Protecting Futures alongside Amina Mohammed, the UN special advisor on post-2015 development planning, in the UN Economic and Social Council.

Ban noted that the Every Woman Every Child health partnership was the fastest growing in history.

"This young, dynamic partnership has already developed real momentum," he said. "Because of our collective endeavor, more women and children are surviving than ever before. Since 2010 alone, the world has saved the lives of some 2.4 million women and children."

Ban said the issue of maternal and child health was a "personal cause" to him because of his experiences of losing a sibling and his travels, which he said had exposed him to "needless suffering" around the world.

Under the partnership, remarkable progress had been made in the 49 countries targeted, on preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission, and of increasing availability of oral rehydration therapy for treating infant diarrhoea, of exclusive breastfeeding and of post-natal care for women.

Other achievements include greater availability of professional maternity care, family planning, childhood vaccinations, and prenatal care.

"Every Woman Every Child" garnered over 400 commitments by more than 300 partners around the world, ranging from governments and foundations to business, civil society and low-income countries themselves.

The variety of partners that came together for the partnership is one of the most salient achievements of "Every Woman Every Child." Endi