Remarks at the Launch of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

Remarks by Bakhodir Burkhanov, UN Resident Coordinator

Friday 24th November 2023, 18:00 - 20:00

Patuxay

Mme. Aly Vongnorbountham, President of Lao Women’s Union and Vice Standing Chairperson of the National Commission for the Advancement of Women, Mothers and Children (NCAWMC)

Representatives from the Government, diplomatic corps and civil society

Representatives of UNFPA and UNDP; other colleagues from the United Nations

Members of the public, women and men, boys and girls:

Good evening and welcome!

Today, this wonderful national monument will be lit up in orange, marking the beginning of a 16-day campaign to eliminate violence against women and girls.

From today and up until the Human Rights Day on 10 December, hundreds of events will be taking place all over the world to advocate against gender-based violence.

Launched under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General 15 years ago, the UNiTe campaign is a global partnership of voices that reinforce one crucial message – that violence against women, anywhere and everywhere, must stop. Standing here today and delivering these remarks, I am honored to add my voice to this initiative in Lao PDR.

This initiative, perhaps more than any other, demonstrates the true nature of partnerships. Born out of civic activism, it now brings together many other actors in the society around one goal that we can all get behind.

I would like to commend the leadership of the Lao Women’s Union in tackling a range of issues related to violence against women and girls, victims of trafficking, adolescent pregnancies and child marriage. The Union’s presence in every province in Laos is crucial to address the needs of women from different ethnic and income groups and socio-economic conditions.

Allow me to congratulate the National Commission for leading the National Action Plans on Gender Equality and combating violence against women and children, and for their new role acting as the overarching coordination mechanism for gender-based violence.

This year, the theme of the global and national campaign calls to Invest to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Quoting the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, “investment in prevention is to invest in our collective well-being”. Prevention means looking at both root causes and drivers of violence. Needless to say, prevention is much more effective than dealing with consequences as it reduces human suffering and despair.

I am pleased to acknowledge that a lot has already been done in Lao PDR to drive investments to respond to and prevent gender-based violence. The UN is a committed partner of the Government in support of this goal; allow me to mention a few of our collective achievements:

• With support from the UN Population Fund, social and health systems have been strengthened in the last two years to provide counselling and social services for victims of gender-based violence;  
• UNFPA has also strengthened GBV response and coordination mechanisms through the adaptation of international standards, guidelines and tools;
• The United Nations Development Programme is working with the justice system to develop clear processes for GBV response;
• Collaborative efforts between UNFPA, UNICEF and UNDP are aiming to address early and child marriage, and prevent adolescent pregnancies;
• The International Organisation for Migration is supporting the identification of vulnerable migrants and victims of trafficking, in an effort to reinforce protection services.

I would like to take this occasion to re-affirm our commitment to eliminating gender-based violence. Gender equality is at the core of the Sustainable Development Goals, and these goals – and our collective aspiration for a just society – will be in serious jeopardy if we let violence against women and girls continue.

We all can do play a role to eradicate this scourge through our actions in our professional and personal lives. In the words of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, let us all ‘stand up and speak out’ to build a world that refuses to tolerate violence against women.

Khob chai!