KATHMANDU, Oct 14: Nepal´s permanent representative to the UN, Gyan Chandra Acharya, has said that sustainable peace and development is impossible without ensuring equal rights to women.
Addressing the Third Committee meeting of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Acharya said, "Nepal attaches great importance to the advancement of women and we cannot achieve peace and development without ensuring equal rights to women."[break]
He welcomed the new Under Secretary General for UN-Women and also extended appreciation in particular for her priorities for bridging the gap between the normative and operational aspects of UN.
In his statement Acharya mentioned that Nepal has adopted a rights-based approach to social, economic and political empowerment of women and Nepal´s Constituent Assembly is one of the most inclusive assemblies in the world.
"About one-third of its members are women in Nepal´s CA," he said. He also elaborated on policy measures, programs and activities undertaken in Nepal to promote equality and empowerment of women in recent years.
Acharya reiterated Nepal´s commitment to implementing the Beijing Platform of Action and the National Action Plan on Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Acharya stressed that trafficking is a serious global problem and thousands of girls and women are trafficked internally and internationally because of pull and push factors such as poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and limited employment opportunities.
"Efforts should be made at local, national, regional and international levels to prevent trafficking and their rehabilitation," he said.
Acharya highlighted Nepal government´s efforts to combat trafficking at different levels saying that under the institutional arrangements to deal with trafficking, task forces have been formed against trafficking of women and children at the national, district and municipal levels.
Acharya also pointed out that despite many development challenges Nepal has been able to reduce maternal mortality rate drastically with dedicated national programs, collaboration of all stakeholders and support from the international community. He also touched upon the challenges of rural women, feminization of poverty and food insecurity affecting women and the need to address their problems on a priority basis.