Minister Joly to co-host women foreign ministers’ meeting in Toronto
News release
September 19, 2024 - Toronto, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will co-host a women foreign ministers’ meeting (WFMM) in Toronto on September 19 and 20, 2024, with Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica.
The WFMM will bring together women foreign ministers from around the world to discuss women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in governance and public life. The meeting will draw on participants’ lived experiences and formal positions to broaden the global dialogue on the importance of women in public spaces and highlight the challenges they face. It will also address critical issues such as combatting disinformation and online violence targeting women leaders.
Minister Joly, Minister Johnson Smith and their counterparts will also engage with civil society representatives and academics to exchange ideas and explore solutions.
The WFMM will build on global efforts to promote gender equality and reinforce it as a core principle in both national and international agendas in the context of an ongoing backlash against women’s rights, gender equality and LGBTQ2+ rights.
Quotes
“I am delighted to co-host this meeting with Minister Johnson Smith and to welcome my colleagues to Canada. We will discuss pressing global issues and the critical role women play in addressing them. Going forward, we will continue to build bridges and work with other countries and with civil society to expand the global commitment to gender equality, inclusive societies and a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous future.”
- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Quick facts
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The Toronto event builds on a series of meetings of the informal network of women foreign ministers, including on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York and the Munich Security Conference in Munich, as well as the 2018 meeting co-hosted by Canada and the European Union in Montréal.
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The year 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 25th anniversary of a global, women-led movement that convinced members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), including Canada and Jamaica, to pass the landmark UNSC Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
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