Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the annual meeting of the International Gender Champions, in Vienna today:
It is a pleasure to send my greetings to the annual meeting of the International Gender Champions. I am proud to be a Gender Champion since the early days of this initiative in Geneva. As Secretary-General, I have asked every senior leader of the United Nations to join me in this campaign for equality.
Through individual pledges and collective action across the United Nations, Member States, civil society, the private sector and beyond, Gender Champions have helped shift mindsets and drive meaningful institutional change. But, we still have a long way to go. Achieving gender equality remains the greatest human rights challenge in our world.
I welcome the new, network-wide pledge to stand for zero tolerance of gender-based violence, sexist attitudes and behaviour. By focusing on equal representation, economic rights and opportunities, and violence prevention, I am confident that we can push ahead and deliver.
Let us keep up the momentum, strengthen partnerships, and build a world of opportunity and equality for all.
