UN commission calls for closing the gender digital divide

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.’s prime worldwide physique fighting for gender equality referred to as for broad efforts Saturday to close the gap in between males and females in today’s technologies-driven globe and referred to as for zero tolerance for gender-primarily based violence and harassment on line.

In a document authorized by consensus right after all-evening negotiations at the finish of a two-week meeting, the Commission on the Status of Females expressed significant concern about the interrelationship in between offline and on line violence, harassment and discrimination against females and girls — and condemned the enhance in these acts.

It calls for a substantial enhance in public and private sector investment to bridge the digital gender gap. He also referred to as for the removal of barriers to equal access to digital technologies for all females and girls, as effectively as new policies and applications to reach gender parity in new scientific and technological fields.

Sima Bachous, executive director of UN Females, a United Nations entity that focuses on gender equality and empowerment, referred to as the document “a game changer” in advertising a strategy for a much more equal and connected globe for females and girls. The challenge now, she mentioned, is for governments, the private sector, civil society and young people today to make the blueprint “a reality for all females and girls.”

At the start out of the commission’s two-week meeting, UN Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres mentioned its concentrate was extremely timely, as females and girls are getting left behind as technologies races forward.

“3 billion people today are nevertheless not connected to the Web, most of them are females and girls in building nations, (and) in least created nations only 19 % of females are on line,” Guterres mentioned. “Globally, girls and females make up only one particular-third of students in science, technologies, engineering and mathematics,” and males outnumber females two to one particular in the tech business.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Bachous mentioned “the digital divide has grow to be the new face of gender inequality”, with 259 million much more males than females on line final year. She also cited a survey of female journalists from 125 nations that identified 3-quarters had knowledgeable on line harassment in the course of their perform, and a third had engaged in self-censorship in response.

The “concurring conclusions” document adopted by the 45-member commission on Saturday calls for equal high-quality education for females and girls in science, technologies, engineering, mathematics, info and communication technologies and digital literacy so they can thrive in a quickly altering globe. modifications.

Through lengthy negotiations on the 93-paragraph document, UN diplomats mentioned that Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Holy See contested the women’s rights language, and that these nations, as effectively as Cuba and China, contested the human rights language. There have also been intense debates about technologies-facilitated gender-primarily based violence language, they mentioned, speaking on situation of anonymity mainly because the talks had been closed.

The final document reaffirms the 1995 Beijing Platform, adopted by 189 nations, which mentioned for the 1st time in a UN document that women’s human rights include things like the proper to handle and determine “on matters relating to their sexuality, such as their sexual and reproductive well being, freedom from discrimination, coercion and violence”.

The final challenge blocking consensus was Pakistan’s insistence that a reference to “foreign occupation” be added to the document and Israel’s sturdy opposition, diplomats mentioned. The reference was not integrated, and prior to the adoption of the document, the representative of Pakistan expressed regret that the requirements and priorities of females belonging to building nations and facing a humanitarian crisis, such as foreign occupation, had been not integrated.

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