Mister Chair,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of 65 countries, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Uruguay, my own country Mexico, and all those partners actively engaged in the 2021 Generation equality Forum.

The Generation Equality Forum was a major global inflection point and probably the most important multi-stakeholder initiative of recent years for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. This landmark effort brought together governments, civil society, corporations and change makers from around the world to define an ambitious feminist road map to accelerate equality, leadership and opportunity for all women and girls worldwide.

The Generation Equality Forum also fueled a powerful and lasting global coalition for gender equality and it presented a vital moment for activists, feminists, youth and allies to achieve transformative change for generations to come by ensuring crucial financial investments of nearly 40 billion dollars.

The Forum took place at a critical moment, when COVID-19 has exacerbated existing gender inequities and women in all their diversity are bearing the brunt of the economic and social fallout of the pandemic, with reports of rising sexual and gender-based violence, as well as growing adverse economic impacts caused both by increased unpaid care and domestic work and women’s precarious economic security, as they are overrepresented in low-paid and informal jobs as well as in many of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19. As Secretary General has said “This is a crisis with a woman face” and the outcomes of the Generation Equality Forum offer a critical opportunity to confront it.

The Forum’s 5-year action journey is built around a Global Acceleration Plan -a global road map for gender equality that aims to fulfil the promise of the Beijing Platform for Action and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It involves every sector of society to drive urgent action and accountability.

We warmly welcome the recognition of these achievements in the resolution we are adopting today. We commend the efforts of the Chair and vice-chair Trinidad and Tobago in this regard. We will remain engaged and call on all member States to join this collective effort to finally reach Generation Equality and leave no woman or girl behind.