Address by Minister Bibeau to UN Women Technical Consultation on Gender Equality at the Women Deliver Conference

Speech

May 16, 2016 - Copenhagen, Denmark

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with the Government of Canada’s communications policy.

It is my pleasure to speak to you today about issues that are important to me and my government.

As minister for international development and La Francophonie, I am working to refocus Canada’s international assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable people and supporting fragile states.

One thing is certain: the empowerment of women and girls will be at the heart of Canadian development policy. That means that women and girls will be central to policy and program design in every sector, from humanitarian assistance to economic growth to governance, peace and security, as well as health and rights.

In the coming months, you will see our government recognize the many roles that women play in society.

We want to see women actively participate in the development of their communities and countries in whatever capacity they choose, whether it is as entrepreneurs, political leaders, scientists, educators or mothers.

We all recognize that women and girls can be powerful agents for change when they are provided with the right opportunities and tools to succeed.

We see this in so many policy areas: health, education, nutrition and political participation.

Women and girls must be at the table as equal participants if we are to achieve peace, prosperity and sustainable development. Their voices must be heard.

And without good nutrition, good education and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, women and girls will never be able to reach their full potential.

Sexual and reproductive health is not just a health issue, it is a human rights issue and a gender equality issue. This is why Canada supports the leadership and meaningful participation of women and girls in decision making at all levels.

And that includes decisions related to their health and rights. They must be able to decide if and when to have children, and they must feel free to make those decisions themselves.

Services that ensure sexual and reproductive health, including knowledge and the availability of contraceptives and the freedom to access them, are critical.

Canada is committed to supporting access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services for women and adolescents, which will make it possible for them to realize and enjoy their full human rights.

And we will need to engage men and boys, because they must be important allies and equal partners. In fact, they are critical to any lasting change.

In December, I visited an inner-city HIV clinic in Vietnam that is supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria—one of our key health partners. There I saw for myself the devastating impacts of HIV infection on adolescent girls.

Talking about the Global Fund, let me take this opportunity to invite you to the Fifth Replenishment Conference, which will be held in Montréal on September 16 this year, and to inform you that Canada has committed to increase its Global Fund contribution to $785 million for 2017–2019.

I am really proud that we will help to save an additional 8 million lives and stop 300 million infections.

We must eliminate these diseases. And to do so, we need strong evidence about the causal factors so that we can make more informed and efficient decisions.

And the work of UN Women will also ensure an evidence-based approach that will improve the health and rights outcomes for women and girls, and I look forward to our collaboration.

Above all, the solution lies in women’s and girls’ empowerment and breaking down the unacceptable inequalities that lead to this vulnerability.

As a woman, and as a minister, I want to make sure that we really do our best to support women and adolescent girls to live their lives with dignity, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. Our efforts must be empowering.

And this is particularly true for adolescent girls who live in conflict and fragile zones situations where at best their health is being neglected, and at worst they are subject to violence.

As a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child, I look forward to working with our partners to make sure the 2030 Agenda benefits women and girls.

To reach these ambitious, but essential, objectives, we need to work together. The work you are doing here today will make a strong contribution to making that happen.

Thank you.

Contacts

Bernard Boutin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
343-203-5977
bernard.boutin@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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