WEBVTT 00:00.915 --> 00:02.850 - [Announcer] The Honorable Secretary of State, 00:02.850 --> 00:05.546 John F. Kerry, and Her Excellency, 00:05.546 --> 00:07.854 Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, president 00:07.854 --> 00:09.724 of the Republic of Croatia. 00:09.724 --> 00:11.974 (applause) 00:16.797 --> 00:18.410 - Good morning, everyone. 00:18.410 --> 00:21.543 So it's been five years since President Obama 00:21.543 --> 00:23.833 challenged all of us to break down barriers 00:23.833 --> 00:27.665 of women's political participation and economic empowerment. 00:27.665 --> 00:29.944 Since then, the Equal Futures partnership, 00:29.944 --> 00:32.956 which launched with only 13 original members, 00:32.956 --> 00:36.300 has grown to more than 30 today and still counting. 00:36.300 --> 00:39.381 The partnership is now led, and we're so grateful for this, 00:39.381 --> 00:41.677 by a new chair, the government of Croatia. 00:41.677 --> 00:44.501 And most importantly, members of the partnership 00:44.501 --> 00:47.038 have worked together to fulfill their commitments 00:47.038 --> 00:50.196 so that someday not too far in the future, 00:50.196 --> 00:53.337 women will have the same political and economic 00:53.337 --> 00:55.087 opportunities as men. 00:55.386 --> 00:57.941 The key here is that we work together, 00:57.941 --> 01:01.339 creating equal futures, equal opportunity 01:01.339 --> 01:04.037 to work, to lead, and to achieve, 01:04.037 --> 01:06.952 takes everyone, governments, the private sector, 01:06.952 --> 01:10.047 civil society, and citizens all around the world, 01:10.047 --> 01:13.047 coming together to make that change. 01:13.335 --> 01:15.247 That's why we're here today. 01:15.247 --> 01:16.806 Because we know that through the leadership 01:16.806 --> 01:18.807 of the countries represented here 01:18.807 --> 01:20.937 and in partnership with each other, 01:20.937 --> 01:25.104 equal futures for women and men are truly possible. 01:25.802 --> 01:27.930 It's now my pleasure to introduce a leader 01:27.930 --> 01:30.258 in the effort to achieve equality. 01:30.258 --> 01:31.667 Throughout his entire career, 01:31.667 --> 01:34.367 he's tackled some of the most stubborn barriers 01:34.367 --> 01:36.321 to women's political participation. 01:36.321 --> 01:38.043 From his days as a prosecutor, 01:38.043 --> 01:39.642 to his time in the US senate, 01:39.642 --> 01:42.029 to his leadership at the State Department, 01:42.029 --> 01:44.909 he has strengthened the foundation for gender equality. 01:44.909 --> 01:47.339 We are tremendously grateful every day 01:47.339 --> 01:48.959 for his leadership and support 01:48.959 --> 01:51.630 and we're truly delighted that he's here to join us today. 01:51.630 --> 01:53.714 So please welcome Secretary of State John Kerry. 01:53.714 --> 01:55.964 (applause) 02:02.792 --> 02:04.421 - Well, good morning, everybody, 02:04.421 --> 02:06.421 and good morning, Cathy, 02:07.609 --> 02:08.892 and thank you so much 02:08.892 --> 02:13.013 for your brilliant stewardship of this initiative. 02:13.013 --> 02:14.731 I really appreciate what you are doing. 02:14.731 --> 02:16.148 Everywhere I go around the world, 02:16.148 --> 02:19.122 Cathy is there with an army of women 02:19.122 --> 02:21.100 (laughter) 02:21.100 --> 02:24.203 that she has helped to organize somewhere in the world, 02:24.203 --> 02:26.333 and it’s wonderful to see what she is doing. 02:26.333 --> 02:29.750 And I am blessed to work with a President 02:30.190 --> 02:33.790 and Vice President, both of whom are married 02:33.790 --> 02:36.778 to remarkable women, as am I, I might add, 02:36.778 --> 02:39.611 and I have two fabulous daughters, 02:40.391 --> 02:43.048 both of whom are out in the world doing great things. 02:43.048 --> 02:45.465 So I literally cannot go home 02:47.039 --> 02:49.622 if I am not a champion of this. 02:49.622 --> 02:50.622 Just joking. 02:51.579 --> 02:55.746 And here I see the Vice President’s sister Valerie is here, 02:56.204 --> 02:58.203 who has been a great influence in his life 02:58.203 --> 03:01.953 and is a champion of this effort, as is Jill. 03:01.983 --> 03:05.635 So we are blessed to have a tremendous team, 03:05.635 --> 03:09.802 I want you to know, that is genuinely focused on this. 03:09.809 --> 03:10.984 And the Vice President and I 03:10.984 --> 03:14.564 worked on these issues in the Senate for years. 03:14.564 --> 03:16.115 As you know, he was the champion 03:16.115 --> 03:18.871 of the Violence Against Women Act, 03:18.871 --> 03:21.480 wrote it and led the efforts on it, 03:21.480 --> 03:25.647 and I was privileged to do many things as a prosecutor 03:26.031 --> 03:29.614 and otherwise in working for victim-witness 03:30.339 --> 03:32.486 and rape counseling and other things 03:32.486 --> 03:35.403 going back 30, 35, 40 years, scary. 03:37.259 --> 03:40.223 So I am really happy to be here with all of you 03:40.223 --> 03:44.306 and I am so grateful to Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, 03:46.086 --> 03:50.253 the president of Croatia, and also a Fulbright (mumbling). 03:51.933 --> 03:54.183 (applause) 03:56.882 --> 03:58.964 And we are really, really pleased 03:58.964 --> 04:03.131 that she is offering her leadership to make sure that women 04:03.194 --> 04:05.788 have access to opportunities and to rights, 04:05.788 --> 04:09.038 and she is going to take on this fight. 04:09.112 --> 04:11.202 And we’re so grateful to her for that. 04:11.202 --> 04:14.952 Also want to welcome our four newest partners 04:14.962 --> 04:18.013 in this effort: the Republic of Korea, Canada, 04:18.013 --> 04:20.096 Colombia, and Montenegro. 04:22.021 --> 04:25.823 Your contributions to this will help us to build 04:25.823 --> 04:29.990 on the momentum that was surged, really, five years ago 04:30.477 --> 04:33.851 when President Obama challenged the heads of state 04:33.851 --> 04:37.960 everywhere to break down gender barriers in health, 04:37.960 --> 04:41.710 education, political, and economic inclusion. 04:42.539 --> 04:46.706 At our first gathering, 11 nations answered that call, 04:48.455 --> 04:52.622 and as Cathy just mentioned, we now are up to 32 members. 04:53.246 --> 04:57.163 Most importantly, a host of allies in academia, 04:58.028 --> 05:00.591 civil society, the private sector. 05:00.591 --> 05:03.008 So we’re here because we know 05:05.918 --> 05:08.058 in our gut and in our heart 05:08.058 --> 05:12.064 as well as our head that ensuring equal access for women 05:12.064 --> 05:14.247 to economic and political power 05:14.247 --> 05:17.094 is not just a positive thing to do; 05:17.094 --> 05:21.261 it’s essential and it has profoundly important impacts 05:21.360 --> 05:25.048 to building civil society, to building community, 05:25.048 --> 05:27.961 to strengthening whole nation-states. 05:27.961 --> 05:30.461 And just as no team in sports, 05:31.736 --> 05:33.810 I mean, we all love our sports analogies, 05:33.810 --> 05:37.227 no team can win playing at half strength. 05:37.297 --> 05:41.135 Well, no country, no community can grow and prosper 05:41.135 --> 05:43.968 or ignore if it pushes to one side 05:44.267 --> 05:48.434 the energy and the talents of one half of its population. 05:49.381 --> 05:53.548 So the bottom line is simple: When more girls go to school, 05:55.561 --> 05:57.561 human capital increases. 05:58.189 --> 06:01.272 When more women join the labor force, 06:01.355 --> 06:05.215 economies become more sustainable and more diverse. 06:05.215 --> 06:07.746 When more women are engaged in public service, 06:07.746 --> 06:11.231 governments become literally more accountable 06:11.231 --> 06:15.314 and much more likely to meet urgent social needs. 06:16.206 --> 06:19.058 And despite all of this, obviously, 06:19.058 --> 06:22.162 we still know that unacceptable barriers 06:22.162 --> 06:24.316 to women’s participation in politics 06:24.316 --> 06:27.052 and in the workforce still exist, 06:27.052 --> 06:29.385 even here in my own country. 06:30.485 --> 06:34.485 Too many women still lack the access to capital, 06:35.124 --> 06:38.074 to credit, and to the training that they need 06:38.074 --> 06:40.533 in order to be able to compete fairly. 06:40.533 --> 06:43.507 And in some places, women are denied the right 06:43.507 --> 06:44.924 to even own land. 06:45.421 --> 06:48.135 In others, discriminatory traditions 06:48.135 --> 06:51.188 stack the odds against them going to college, 06:51.188 --> 06:52.726 against their getting a job, 06:52.726 --> 06:54.800 against their starting a business, 06:54.800 --> 06:58.467 against their full participation in society. 06:58.505 --> 07:01.590 As a result, women remain underrepresented 07:01.590 --> 07:04.681 in every aspect of political and public life. 07:04.681 --> 07:08.848 Only one in five of the world’s parliamentarians is a woman. 07:09.242 --> 07:12.992 Women control just one-fifth of global wealth 07:13.496 --> 07:17.663 and only 22 Fortune 500 firms are headed by women. 07:19.100 --> 07:21.433 That is less than 5 percent. 07:21.607 --> 07:24.607 In 2016, that is not a great record. 07:25.694 --> 07:28.347 And the good news is that pledges made 07:28.347 --> 07:31.689 through Equal Futures Partnership are, in fact, 07:31.689 --> 07:35.131 closing the gap, enacting laws that help women 07:35.131 --> 07:38.186 get on the ballot, launching action plans 07:38.186 --> 07:40.112 against gender-based violence, 07:40.112 --> 07:42.695 boosting women’s representation 07:42.737 --> 07:44.940 in male-dominated industries, 07:44.940 --> 07:48.752 creating mentorship programs for ethnic minority women, 07:48.752 --> 07:51.252 and, frankly, much, much more. 07:51.456 --> 07:54.623 So step by step, we are moving forward 07:55.668 --> 07:59.609 and I’m convinced that we’re going to continue to do so. 07:59.609 --> 08:03.776 Empowering women and girls is a strategic priority 08:04.053 --> 08:06.288 for the United States of America. 08:06.288 --> 08:08.455 And no matter which party, 08:08.533 --> 08:10.783 (applause) 08:13.520 --> 08:15.792 no matter which party leads our government, 08:15.792 --> 08:18.506 we are committed to making sure that women 08:18.506 --> 08:21.288 have an equal chance on the boards of corporations, 08:21.288 --> 08:23.488 in parliaments, in congresses, 08:23.488 --> 08:26.405 and at leadership across the table. 08:26.684 --> 08:30.767 We know also that gaining full equality for women 08:31.443 --> 08:35.276 still is a challenge, but it’s an easy choice. 08:38.218 --> 08:40.278 I mean, it’s really not something 08:40.278 --> 08:43.173 you have to wrestle with that hard to figure out, 08:43.173 --> 08:47.256 particularly as the planet gets closer and closer 08:48.480 --> 08:51.851 and communications have opened up opportunities 08:51.851 --> 08:54.216 for everybody everywhere to know 08:54.216 --> 08:56.750 what other people are thinking and able to do 08:56.750 --> 08:58.327 everywhere else in the world, 08:58.327 --> 09:01.994 which also illuminates what people are not able to do 09:01.994 --> 09:04.411 in the places that they live. 09:04.523 --> 09:08.190 So accomplishing this goal of full equality, 09:12.816 --> 09:15.043 if you read all of the studies, 09:15.043 --> 09:18.280 look at all of the analysis, and there’s a lot more of it 09:18.280 --> 09:22.447 nowadays than ever before, it all documents the benefits 09:24.079 --> 09:28.085 that flow to countries, to corporations, to entities, 09:28.085 --> 09:31.528 to local governments, to anybody who does this 09:31.528 --> 09:35.469 actually winds up benefiting significantly from it. 09:35.469 --> 09:38.386 And so I can tell you unequivocally 09:40.620 --> 09:44.727 that we will not rest until we can say with confidence 09:44.727 --> 09:48.251 that all the barriers to justice have been removed, 09:48.251 --> 09:51.796 that all the examples of discrimination have been exposed, 09:51.796 --> 09:55.031 that all glass ceilings have been shattered, 09:55.031 --> 09:58.195 and all perpetrators of abuse and bigotry 09:58.195 --> 09:59.862 are held to account. 10:00.424 --> 10:03.856 And in that effort, we invite people everywhere in the world 10:03.856 --> 10:06.356 to join us and we caution all: 10:07.574 --> 10:10.728 nobody’s going to stop this from happening. 10:10.728 --> 10:11.561 Thank you. 10:11.637 --> 10:13.887 (applause) 10:23.216 --> 10:26.606 My great pleasure now to introduce the president of Croatia, 10:26.606 --> 10:28.795 President Kitarovic, thank you. 10:28.795 --> 10:31.045 (applause) 10:40.411 --> 10:42.078 - I think this is... 10:43.878 --> 10:44.711 Thank you. 10:46.848 --> 10:49.858 Thank you, Secretary Kerry and Ambassador Russel 10:49.858 --> 10:53.349 for your hard work and leadership in this initiative. 10:53.349 --> 10:57.012 Allow me to welcome you all, our members and partners, 10:57.012 --> 10:59.494 and those who are yet to join us, 10:59.494 --> 11:01.749 at the Equal Futures Partnerships 11:01.749 --> 11:04.416 is growing stronger by the year. 11:04.743 --> 11:07.990 Your presence here today is a sign of recognition 11:07.990 --> 11:10.476 that political leadership is crucial 11:10.476 --> 11:13.995 in ensuring positive trends and providing support 11:13.995 --> 11:17.648 to women's full participation in politics and business 11:17.648 --> 11:19.065 around the world. 11:19.158 --> 11:22.405 In four short years, our partnership grew 11:22.405 --> 11:25.072 into a strong, global initiative 11:25.758 --> 11:28.823 with each and every member and partner 11:28.823 --> 11:31.698 strongly committed to ensuring gender equality 11:31.698 --> 11:33.115 as a human right. 11:33.304 --> 11:36.405 I would like to thank the members for your endorsement 11:36.405 --> 11:40.322 of Croatia's bid to chair the partnership 2016, 11:40.765 --> 11:43.604 The responsibility that Croatia assumed 11:43.604 --> 11:45.437 in March of this year. 11:45.894 --> 11:49.477 We have so far held three very constructive 11:49.613 --> 11:52.367 expert meetings and topics that were recognized 11:52.367 --> 11:54.700 as paramount by our members. 11:55.109 --> 11:57.411 Together, with the United States, 11:57.411 --> 12:00.391 we have launched a website that will serve as a platform 12:00.391 --> 12:03.008 for direct exchanges between partners 12:03.008 --> 12:06.069 and for the promotion of our actions. 12:06.069 --> 12:08.736 And today I join Secretary Kerry 12:09.876 --> 12:12.959 in proudly welcoming four new members 12:13.150 --> 12:15.545 that joined our partnership this year, 12:15.545 --> 12:19.446 Canada, Columbia, Montenegro, and the Republic of Korea. 12:19.446 --> 12:22.675 This enlargement is a sign of recognition 12:22.675 --> 12:24.925 that despite global effort, 12:25.029 --> 12:28.470 gender inequalities are still deeply rooted 12:28.470 --> 12:29.887 in our societies. 12:30.543 --> 12:33.703 Women continue to earn considerably less, 12:33.703 --> 12:36.719 have fewer assets, and bear the burden 12:36.719 --> 12:38.719 of unpaid work and care. 12:39.179 --> 12:42.266 Violence against women continues to affect 12:42.266 --> 12:45.963 one in three women, making it one of the widest spread 12:45.963 --> 12:47.963 human rights violations. 12:48.045 --> 12:52.128 However, your interest is also a clear indication 12:52.243 --> 12:55.736 of our partnership's value in closing the gender gap 12:55.736 --> 12:58.837 and of the benefits realized through cooperation 12:58.837 --> 13:02.403 and the exchange of ideas, practices, and experiences, 13:02.403 --> 13:04.653 both positive and negative. 13:04.949 --> 13:08.116 We encourage our members to cooperate, 13:08.884 --> 13:11.275 regardless of geographic boundaries, 13:11.275 --> 13:13.670 to find the most appropriate solutions 13:13.670 --> 13:15.584 to our common problems. 13:15.584 --> 13:19.751 We promote and support pairings on very specific issues. 13:21.092 --> 13:23.608 From the economic empowerment of survivors 13:23.608 --> 13:27.275 of gender-based violence, through the empowerment of women 13:27.275 --> 13:29.839 in managerial positions in trade, 13:29.839 --> 13:34.006 to the promotion of girls and women in the IT sector. 13:34.862 --> 13:39.029 In September of last year, we adopted the 20-30 agenda 13:39.123 --> 13:41.059 for sustainable development 13:41.059 --> 13:44.530 and the ambitious sustainable development goals. 13:44.530 --> 13:47.363 In seeking to realize human rights 13:47.698 --> 13:49.606 of every single individual, 13:49.606 --> 13:53.773 we define gender equality not only as a standalone goal, 13:53.863 --> 13:58.030 but as a key indicator in the achievement of other goals. 13:58.898 --> 14:02.857 This is where the Equal Future Partnership steps in. 14:02.857 --> 14:04.865 through our specific commitments, 14:04.865 --> 14:06.898 we can address the structural causes 14:06.898 --> 14:10.569 of gender based inequalities by enacting laws, 14:10.569 --> 14:13.519 enabling solid institutional infrastructures, 14:13.519 --> 14:16.103 and adequate financial resources. 14:16.103 --> 14:20.270 We can educate, change attitudes, and gender norms. 14:21.201 --> 14:24.045 Together, and through concrete projects, 14:24.045 --> 14:25.199 we can support each other 14:25.199 --> 14:27.604 in creating a favorable environment 14:27.604 --> 14:31.771 for gender responsive implementation of the 20-30 agenda. 14:32.087 --> 14:35.920 As a member of the Equal Futures Partnerships, 14:37.099 --> 14:39.346 Croatia remains strongly committed 14:39.346 --> 14:42.631 to achieving our shared goal of women's political 14:42.631 --> 14:46.798 and economic empowerment and of permanently putting an end 14:47.000 --> 14:50.667 to all forms of sexual and gender based violence. 14:50.667 --> 14:53.492 We're currently drafting a new, fifth in a row, 14:53.492 --> 14:55.955 national policy for gender equality 14:55.955 --> 14:58.538 for the period of 2016 to 2020. 14:59.853 --> 15:02.020 However, we are well aware 15:02.379 --> 15:06.051 that there is still a lot of room for improvement 15:06.051 --> 15:08.911 in our own country and of course worldwide. 15:08.911 --> 15:12.243 The fact that only 19 women were elected 15:12.243 --> 15:14.256 to the Croatian parliament 15:14.256 --> 15:16.976 during the last parliamentary elections in Croatia 15:16.976 --> 15:20.143 that took place only about 10 days ago 15:20.241 --> 15:23.144 was a sobering and disappointing fact. 15:23.144 --> 15:27.311 Women will now take only 12.5% of seats in the parliament, 15:27.548 --> 15:31.131 compared to an already devastating 15% 15:31.311 --> 15:33.329 after the previous elections. 15:33.329 --> 15:37.329 And the trend that, instead of having more women 15:37.425 --> 15:40.508 in parliament through consecutive elections, 15:40.508 --> 15:44.285 their number, our number, has actually been decreasing. 15:44.285 --> 15:46.732 This is well below the 40%, 15:46.732 --> 15:50.899 which is the gender quota for each party's electoral lists. 15:51.285 --> 15:55.416 And I'm horribly disappointed that political parties 15:55.416 --> 15:57.166 will rather pay fines 15:57.783 --> 16:01.200 than include women on their ballot lists. 16:01.577 --> 16:04.744 A sign of how far we still have to go. 16:05.012 --> 16:08.929 No community, no country, no region can prosper 16:09.014 --> 16:11.940 if the rights of women, half the world's population, 16:11.940 --> 16:12.857 are denied. 16:13.743 --> 16:16.201 I'm looking at Valerie here and I remember 16:16.201 --> 16:19.805 our meeting in Brussels on women empowerment 16:19.805 --> 16:21.305 several years ago. 16:21.398 --> 16:25.101 When we concluded that if you, as an individual, 16:25.101 --> 16:28.568 use only half of your brain, half of your strength, 16:28.568 --> 16:31.954 half of your imagination, you will only arrive 16:31.954 --> 16:33.454 to half solutions. 16:33.991 --> 16:37.713 And as humanity, if you use only half of your power, 16:37.713 --> 16:41.880 half of your people, you will never achieve full progress. 16:42.195 --> 16:46.278 So let us continue our fight against gender based 16:46.488 --> 16:48.333 discrimination and violence. 16:48.333 --> 16:51.239 Our fight for equal rights and equal opportunities 16:51.239 --> 16:53.979 for women and girls around the world. 16:53.979 --> 16:56.882 As leaders, we have the responsibility 16:56.882 --> 16:59.537 to ensure that empowerment of women and girls 16:59.537 --> 17:01.811 and the protection of their human rights 17:01.811 --> 17:03.325 is a national priority 17:03.325 --> 17:07.075 and an issue of global progress and security. 17:07.232 --> 17:10.953 And in the end, let me quote President Obama, 17:10.953 --> 17:13.209 who will soon be leaving the office, 17:13.209 --> 17:17.376 but I hope that the US will continue the same policy. 17:17.619 --> 17:20.499 when I was Croatia's ambassador to the US, 17:20.499 --> 17:24.666 the most striking thing that I heard from President Obama 17:24.741 --> 17:27.324 in his first electoral campaign 17:27.513 --> 17:30.096 that really made me respect him 17:30.842 --> 17:34.509 was his strong sentence "I want my daughters 17:34.856 --> 17:39.023 to have the exact same opportunities as your sons." 17:39.834 --> 17:41.954 And this is what it is all about. 17:41.954 --> 17:43.224 Thank you very much. 17:43.224 --> 17:45.474 (applause) 18:03.194 --> 18:05.494 - Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary, Madame President, 18:05.494 --> 18:07.990 really very much appreciate your participation today. 18:07.990 --> 18:09.217 Thank you for that. 18:09.217 --> 18:11.386 Unfortunately, Secretary Kerry, as you can imagine, 18:11.386 --> 18:14.263 has a crazy schedule and has to attend another meeting. 18:14.263 --> 18:16.513 (applause) 18:20.973 --> 18:23.374 So I would now like to introduce Mr. Troy Jongmoon, 18:23.374 --> 18:25.148 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs 18:25.148 --> 18:27.032 for Multilateral and Global Affairs 18:27.032 --> 18:28.625 for the Republic of Korea 18:28.625 --> 18:31.692 as a representative of our four new Equal Futures members 18:31.692 --> 18:33.359 that joined in 2016. 18:33.463 --> 18:36.243 We're so excited that the Republic of Korea joined us 18:36.243 --> 18:38.907 only three weeks ago and is already sharing 18:38.907 --> 18:41.299 its views on the future of the initiative. 18:41.299 --> 18:44.520 And our final speaker will be Miss Lakshmi Puri, 18:44.520 --> 18:48.687 my friend from, she's Executive Deputy of UN Women 18:49.390 --> 18:51.468 and just an incredible powerful voice 18:51.468 --> 18:54.529 and strong advocate for women around the world. 18:54.529 --> 18:55.362 Sir? 18:56.297 --> 18:59.124 Would you like this thing out or in? 18:59.124 --> 19:00.931 This is what happens when you have a tall Secretary 19:00.931 --> 19:01.764 (laughter) 19:01.764 --> 19:03.681 and have this thing up. 19:04.172 --> 19:06.422 (applause) 19:10.045 --> 19:12.128 - He must be pretty tall. 19:14.768 --> 19:15.851 Good morning. 19:16.406 --> 19:18.888 The President Grabar-Kitarovic 19:18.888 --> 19:21.969 and Ambassador Laselle and Lakshmi Puri, 19:21.969 --> 19:23.883 Deputy Executor of UN Women 19:23.883 --> 19:25.966 and ladies and gentlemen. 19:26.625 --> 19:28.196 It is my honor and pleasure 19:28.196 --> 19:31.479 to be a part of this auspicious occasion this morning 19:31.479 --> 19:35.479 and to say a few words on behalf of new members, 19:36.751 --> 19:40.001 if I use a sports analogy, new rookies. 19:40.535 --> 19:43.868 Namely Canada, Colombia, and Montenegro, 19:45.722 --> 19:47.555 and Republic of Korea. 19:48.111 --> 19:51.313 The membership of the Equal Future Partnerships 19:51.313 --> 19:54.006 has sharply increased over the past few years, 19:54.006 --> 19:56.139 which I believe is the testimony 19:56.139 --> 19:59.556 of the invaluable role that it has played 19:59.721 --> 20:02.971 in advancing women's political participation 20:02.971 --> 20:04.971 and economy empowerment. 20:05.574 --> 20:09.148 To this meeting, it's especially timely and appropriate 20:09.148 --> 20:11.682 as it is being held in the very first year 20:11.682 --> 20:13.765 of implementing the SDGs, 20:14.382 --> 20:16.815 which include sustainable goal, 20:16.815 --> 20:18.423 goal five for women and girls, 20:18.423 --> 20:22.169 for those cross courting a gender respective targets 20:22.169 --> 20:23.419 and indicators. 20:24.976 --> 20:27.393 Since the designation of 1975 20:27.527 --> 20:29.834 as the International Women's Year, 20:29.834 --> 20:32.762 the international community has continued to invigorate 20:32.762 --> 20:36.929 the discussions on gender equality and women's empowerment 20:36.986 --> 20:39.391 holding a world conference on women 20:39.391 --> 20:43.474 in Mexico City, Copenhagen, Nairobi, and Beijing, 20:44.089 --> 20:45.109 to name a few. 20:45.109 --> 20:49.276 Indeed, it has come a long way and progress has been made. 20:50.036 --> 20:52.453 As for the Republic of Korea, 20:52.919 --> 20:54.169 there have been 20:55.599 --> 20:58.630 in my script, it is great, but actually I am not sure 20:58.630 --> 21:01.822 whether it is great, but some, we have made some progress 21:01.822 --> 21:03.739 in the status of woman. 21:04.380 --> 21:06.607 I don't have to look far for an example. 21:06.607 --> 21:08.974 When I joined the foreign service in 1983, 21:08.974 --> 21:11.974 in my base of 20, they were all men. 21:13.114 --> 21:14.701 Not even a single woman. 21:14.701 --> 21:18.165 But however today, there are more female diplomat 21:18.165 --> 21:21.498 joining the ministry than male diplomat. 21:22.571 --> 21:24.821 (applause) 21:27.936 --> 21:31.203 And then whether you believe it or not, last two year, 21:31.203 --> 21:34.286 we make use of the affirmative action 21:36.364 --> 21:37.947 for male candidate. 21:41.793 --> 21:42.626 Yes. 21:45.354 --> 21:47.930 However, you know, I don't want to mislead 21:47.930 --> 21:49.263 all of you here. 21:49.523 --> 21:52.162 You know that, I know that, everybody knows that 21:52.162 --> 21:54.741 we still have a long, long way to go 21:54.741 --> 21:55.991 before we slip. 21:56.392 --> 22:00.000 Korea in particular is facing all kinds of problems 22:00.000 --> 22:03.750 in the field of women's, the gender equality, 22:03.960 --> 22:05.844 and empowerment, and blah blah blah, 22:05.844 --> 22:07.849 you just name it, we have it. 22:07.849 --> 22:11.116 And then particularly we are faced with, 22:11.116 --> 22:14.699 if I choose one, most serious issue is the, 22:15.976 --> 22:18.689 the discontinuation of women's careers 22:18.689 --> 22:22.603 due to pregnancy, child birth, and child bearing. 22:22.603 --> 22:24.797 In this regard, Korea looks forward 22:24.797 --> 22:28.476 to the different experiences and best effective policies 22:28.476 --> 22:31.806 and asset over the year for member countries 22:31.806 --> 22:35.212 contributing greatly to the full realization 22:35.212 --> 22:38.059 of gender equality and women's empowerment. 22:38.059 --> 22:41.597 Not only in my country, but also across the globe. 22:41.597 --> 22:42.430 Thank you. 22:42.758 --> 22:45.008 (applause) 23:04.086 --> 23:08.253 - Ambassador Russel, Mr. Minister from Korea, dear friends. 23:10.688 --> 23:13.855 Indeed, UN women has been a committed, 23:17.113 --> 23:21.280 what shall I say, partner, but also an avid supporter 23:24.259 --> 23:26.592 of this wonderful initiative 23:28.073 --> 23:31.190 which has been, and which will, I believe, 23:31.190 --> 23:35.357 be regarded as one of President Obama's great legacies 23:36.274 --> 23:40.441 and a symbol of the commitment of the US administration 23:41.615 --> 23:45.508 as a whole, the vice president, the secretary of state, 23:45.508 --> 23:49.675 every one of them and yourself, Ambassador Russel, 23:50.174 --> 23:53.674 also in your role as the global ambassador 23:53.867 --> 23:55.442 on gender equality. 23:55.442 --> 23:59.609 You really carried the torch, and when the US speaks, 24:00.911 --> 24:02.411 the world listens. 24:02.413 --> 24:05.746 So it's really important that this torch 24:05.779 --> 24:07.362 is carried forward. 24:08.173 --> 24:10.840 So I hope that on this occasion, 24:12.020 --> 24:15.853 we all give a strong message to all in the US, 24:21.268 --> 24:25.435 the present government, but also succeeding government 24:25.619 --> 24:29.619 that this is a torch that must be taken forward. 24:29.891 --> 24:34.058 We also, of course, congratulate the government of Croatia, 24:35.325 --> 24:39.242 the president was here to taking over as chair. 24:41.649 --> 24:45.816 And on our part, I think it's very important to recognize 24:47.615 --> 24:50.448 that the two major gender equality 24:54.837 --> 24:58.337 agendas that this Equal Futures Opportune, 25:00.719 --> 25:02.886 this initiative represents 25:03.399 --> 25:04.232 is 25:05.779 --> 25:09.029 the women's economic empowerment agenda 25:09.597 --> 25:13.264 and equal voice participation and leadership 25:15.233 --> 25:18.650 in all aspects of decision making agenda. 25:18.698 --> 25:22.680 Now all of that plus of course everything that goes with it, 25:22.680 --> 25:24.807 ending violence against women, 25:24.807 --> 25:28.974 everything that goes with it, human rights in its totality, 25:29.054 --> 25:32.221 all of that now, we have a very strong 25:34.104 --> 25:38.021 international compact, gender equality compact, 25:39.025 --> 25:42.775 represented in agenda 20-30, and within that, 25:43.758 --> 25:44.591 in SDG-5. 25:46.413 --> 25:49.580 The Sustainable Development Goal Five. 25:50.215 --> 25:53.789 Gender equality has become a sustainable development goal 25:53.789 --> 25:56.956 and the targets, including these ones, 25:57.490 --> 26:00.917 have become sustainable development targets. 26:00.917 --> 26:04.167 So we have a very strong representation 26:04.610 --> 26:07.777 of what you Equal Futures is trying to 26:07.852 --> 26:09.674 and has been trying to advance 26:09.674 --> 26:12.174 in this international compact. 26:13.686 --> 26:17.353 So the Equal Futures members, member states, 26:17.864 --> 26:21.197 should really now become the flagbearers 26:23.909 --> 26:27.576 of implementing that gender equality compact 26:28.216 --> 26:31.716 that's represented in agenda 21, in SDG-5, 26:33.615 --> 26:36.783 and by the way, women's economic empowerment 26:36.783 --> 26:40.283 is seen as a major means of implementation 26:41.829 --> 26:44.079 of agenda 20-30 as a whole, 26:45.679 --> 26:48.512 but of course SDG-5 in particular, 26:48.641 --> 26:52.037 which is about achieving, and not just promoting, 26:52.037 --> 26:54.204 achieving gender equality, 26:54.408 --> 26:57.325 and empowering all women and girls, 26:57.386 --> 27:00.136 leaving no women and girl behind. 27:01.295 --> 27:05.462 So I think this really gives our mission a new traction. 27:07.417 --> 27:11.084 And we have all heard that despite progress, 27:11.720 --> 27:14.282 we still have a long way to go. 27:14.282 --> 27:16.344 We have heard all the examples. 27:16.344 --> 27:20.261 But this is something, a very strong ammunition 27:20.731 --> 27:22.564 for us moving forward. 27:23.496 --> 27:27.663 Now I also want to draw attention to the work we are doing 27:28.711 --> 27:32.420 as part of the, in supporting the Secretary General's 27:32.420 --> 27:35.564 high level panel on women's economic empowerment, 27:35.564 --> 27:38.833 which is meeting just as we speak and meet here. 27:38.833 --> 27:42.250 So that's going to be a major initiative, 27:42.352 --> 27:45.498 and I hope members of the Equal Futures Partnership 27:45.498 --> 27:47.650 will also weigh in on that. 27:47.650 --> 27:49.567 I want to also say that 27:51.443 --> 27:54.871 the Equal Futures Partnership is a testament 27:54.871 --> 27:56.288 to what is needed 27:58.093 --> 28:02.260 in order to get the gender equality compact really going. 28:02.936 --> 28:05.763 But also something else that I want to say. 28:05.763 --> 28:09.346 One is, of course, as Secretary Kerry said, 28:10.367 --> 28:14.534 it's important to see this as a strategic priority. 28:15.934 --> 28:18.252 Every government must see this 28:18.252 --> 28:20.669 as a strategic priority, must 28:22.115 --> 28:24.760 put the political weight behind it. 28:24.760 --> 28:28.084 Otherwise, it will, you know, if you have 17 goals, 28:28.084 --> 28:31.643 of course it is mainstream throughout other goals. 28:31.643 --> 28:32.560 But gender. 28:32.968 --> 28:36.010 But we still need that political will, 28:36.010 --> 28:38.274 that strategic prioritization. 28:38.274 --> 28:42.441 The second aspect is we have to find innovative solutions, 28:43.689 --> 28:47.439 innovative ways of overcoming the resistance, 28:48.695 --> 28:52.028 the inertia, the neglect that this issue 28:52.254 --> 28:53.921 has seen in the past 28:54.671 --> 28:56.921 and is tending to continue. 28:57.712 --> 29:00.129 We just heard how in Croatia, 29:00.592 --> 29:04.290 we have seen this reversal, and many other countries. 29:04.290 --> 29:06.957 So you know the risk of reversal 29:08.626 --> 29:11.820 and regression is something we have to really, 29:11.820 --> 29:14.737 we have to make irreversible gains. 29:14.751 --> 29:18.768 And for that, we really need to find innovate campaigns, 29:18.768 --> 29:21.548 innovative ways of changing minds, 29:21.548 --> 29:23.715 of winning constituencies, 29:25.362 --> 29:29.000 so this is something that we really need to. 29:29.000 --> 29:31.892 And then of course partnerships, the power of partnerships. 29:31.892 --> 29:35.892 Of all stakeholders, governments, civil society, 29:37.038 --> 29:40.903 and in civil society I want to emphasize women's movement, 29:40.903 --> 29:43.070 which is a very key alive, 29:43.145 --> 29:46.367 we have to foster them, they are under tremendous stress 29:46.367 --> 29:47.911 in so many parts of the world. 29:47.911 --> 29:50.296 So we really need to support them. 29:50.296 --> 29:54.381 And we need to foster them and we need to bring them up 29:54.381 --> 29:57.298 into different convening situations 29:57.767 --> 30:01.910 where their voice is heard, they can make an impact 30:01.910 --> 30:05.264 on decision making, and hold governments accountable 30:05.264 --> 30:08.210 to implementing this gender equality compact. 30:08.210 --> 30:12.377 But also the other part of civil society is the youth. 30:12.737 --> 30:16.764 Youth will be the change agents for gender equality. 30:16.764 --> 30:20.681 So we really need to empower and support youth, 30:21.972 --> 30:25.168 young women lead organizations in particular, 30:25.168 --> 30:28.372 but also get young men led organizations 30:28.372 --> 30:30.280 to support gender equality. 30:30.280 --> 30:34.091 So we have a youth and gender equality strategy 30:34.091 --> 30:38.258 at UN Women which we are rolling out and implementing. 30:38.658 --> 30:42.825 And I also want to say that as far as UN Women is concerned, 30:43.102 --> 30:47.265 we are working on both women's economic empowerment 30:47.265 --> 30:51.098 in 70 countries and on political participation 30:51.814 --> 30:54.397 and leadership in 80 countries. 30:54.429 --> 30:57.346 But we really need to do much more. 30:58.182 --> 31:01.260 So please support us in our programs, 31:01.260 --> 31:04.052 and of course we will work very closely 31:04.052 --> 31:05.719 with this peer group 31:09.021 --> 31:12.688 that is championing the Equal Futures ideals 31:16.242 --> 31:19.325 and of course agenda 20-30 and SDG-5. 31:20.939 --> 31:21.939 We also need 31:23.613 --> 31:27.113 this initiative to work on data revolution 31:27.723 --> 31:30.056 and the knowledge revolution 31:30.257 --> 31:33.162 and the evidence revolution that we need 31:33.162 --> 31:35.495 to take this agenda forward. 31:35.533 --> 31:39.000 We need, and UN Women is trying to do that, 31:39.000 --> 31:41.279 yesterday we launched a major initiative 31:41.279 --> 31:42.984 with Melinda Gates' Foundation 31:42.984 --> 31:46.067 on that gender statistics revolution. 31:46.486 --> 31:49.653 And then we need, of course, advocacy. 31:51.547 --> 31:55.714 Huge advocacy campaigns and the power of social media, 31:57.657 --> 32:01.170 but also media in general has to be deployed. 32:01.170 --> 32:05.071 And we have, as you know, very successful campaigns, 32:05.071 --> 32:07.058 but we want you all to join them. 32:07.058 --> 32:08.891 Plan it 50-50 by 2030. 32:10.925 --> 32:12.778 Step it up for gender equality. 32:12.778 --> 32:15.411 That's one campaign and I think this is something 32:15.411 --> 32:19.037 that can be universally accepted and universally driven. 32:19.037 --> 32:21.954 He for she campaign, which is again 32:22.916 --> 32:27.083 another flagship campaign which has had tremendous impact. 32:27.281 --> 32:31.448 Of course, miles to go still, but we are making the dents. 32:31.592 --> 32:35.675 And unite to end violence against women campaign. 32:35.754 --> 32:38.740 So these advocacy campaigns are critical. 32:38.740 --> 32:40.507 I want to say one last thing, 32:40.507 --> 32:42.411 and that's, you know when, 32:42.411 --> 32:45.744 this year's UNGA is very much focused on 32:46.362 --> 32:49.945 the crisis, the migrant and refugee crisis, 32:51.369 --> 32:54.452 so I want to flag that whatever we do 32:55.408 --> 32:58.991 in the context of Equal Futures Partnership 32:59.382 --> 33:01.893 and international cooperation on that, 33:01.893 --> 33:05.143 I think it's very important to focus on 33:05.170 --> 33:08.170 humanitarian settings in the context 33:09.556 --> 33:12.948 of conflict and post-conflict peace building. 33:12.948 --> 33:15.698 And in the context of, of course, 33:15.998 --> 33:18.498 refugees and migrant settings. 33:20.733 --> 33:24.900 So I think in every setting, we need to keep this objective 33:26.959 --> 33:28.376 front and center. 33:28.433 --> 33:32.016 So thank you very much for your leadership, 33:32.247 --> 33:36.414 and you can count on UN Women's continued commitment 33:38.439 --> 33:40.939 to advancing towards the goals 33:42.655 --> 33:45.405 of the Equal Futures Partnership. 33:45.469 --> 33:47.969 The way we are going about it. 33:48.211 --> 33:50.544 But also last but not least, 33:51.597 --> 33:52.680 we cannot do, 33:54.309 --> 33:57.280 we cannot get progress without investment. 33:57.280 --> 34:00.447 So a strong plea that every government 34:01.639 --> 34:03.806 must invest significantly, 34:05.944 --> 34:08.971 and what we call transformative financing, 34:08.971 --> 34:12.159 of gender equality is what is called for. 34:12.159 --> 34:15.507 And that also means supporting the global institution 34:15.507 --> 34:18.757 that UN Women is in terms of investment 34:18.990 --> 34:20.657 in this institution. 34:21.326 --> 34:22.971 Thank you very much. 34:22.971 --> 34:25.221 (applause) 34:31.877 --> 34:34.044 - Alright, with that, thank you all again. 34:34.044 --> 34:36.475 The only point I would like to emphasize is that 34:36.475 --> 34:39.161 this truly is a partnership, and it's only going to work 34:39.161 --> 34:41.016 if everyone participates in it. 34:41.016 --> 34:43.698 So we're grateful to everyone who's here. 34:43.698 --> 34:46.157 Obviously there's a huge role for governments, 34:46.157 --> 34:49.194 for multilateral partners, for the private sector, 34:49.194 --> 34:50.433 for civil society. 34:50.433 --> 34:53.615 The key to moving women forward is really trying 34:53.615 --> 34:56.180 to work together, to reinforce each other's efforts. 34:56.180 --> 35:00.180 And I think this platform is, it's certainly not 35:00.321 --> 35:02.774 the only answer but it's an important piece of the puzzle. 35:02.774 --> 35:04.551 Because it gives us a place to come together 35:04.551 --> 35:06.102 to try to do new partnerships, 35:06.102 --> 35:08.846 to try to work together in ways that we haven't done before. 35:08.846 --> 35:10.933 So thank you all for being here, thank you so much 35:10.933 --> 35:11.830 for participating. 35:11.830 --> 35:13.799 Stephanie Foster is right there, 35:13.799 --> 35:15.723 she's our point person on our team. 35:15.723 --> 35:17.897 If anybody has any ideas, any thoughts, 35:17.897 --> 35:19.317 please share them with us. 35:19.317 --> 35:20.412 We really very much appreciate it. 35:20.412 --> 35:21.245 Thanks so much. 35:21.245 --> 35:23.495 (applause)