CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Cuba welcomes the creation of UN women

 

NEW YORK, 7 July 2010.- Cuba welcomes the creation of a new Entity for gender, called UN Women, by the unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly, as the resolution on the United Nations System-Wide Coherence was adopted last 2 July, after long and intense negotiations, in which our country engaged actively.

The creation of UN Women constitutes an important step in fulfilling the commitments undertaken in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, aimed at achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women worldwide.

The active participation of Cuba and its innovative proposals in the negotiation of this new Entity, the creation of which we supported from the beginning, correspond to the tradition of our country as champion of the advancement of women. Our country’s participation is also consistent with the fact that Cuba was the first country to sign and second to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Along with the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Group of 77 and China and the Non-Aligned Movement (JCC), Cuba promoted most of the guiding principles the work of UN Women will be based on. Particularly, we championed the principle of universality, since the advancement of women must be a reality in all countries and regions.

Likewise, we defended the creation of a new Executive Board as guiding organ of UN Women, supporting the efforts of Member States in the field. Likewise, we promoted an equitable geographic composition of the Board in correspondence with the current membership of the General Assembly.

Cuba expects UN Women, in accordance to the mandate adopted by the General Assembly, to develop specific mechanisms in the follow-up to all commitments made in the Beijing Conference, including addressing the item of affected populations due to the imposition of unilateral coercive measures contrary to the international law.

Cuba will continue developing actively the item of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls worldwide.

(Cubaminrex – DAM)