Statement by: Yunei Kim, First Secretary, Australian Mission to the UN 
As delivered

Chair

Australia thanks Mongolia for presenting this important resolution to improve the situation of women and girls in rural areas. We are pleased to see its adoption by consensus. However, we express our deep regret that Australia was unable to co-sponsor it.

Regarding challenges women and girls in rural areas can face, my delegation has first-hand experience. Australia is the sixth largest country in the world with over 7.7 million square kilometres of land.

Australian women and girls living in rural and remote areas experience poorer sexual and reproductive health outcomes than people living elsewhere in our nation. This includes higher rates of teenage pregnancy and maternal, neo-natal and foetal deaths. These outcomes often arise because of lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services and education on these issues.

We know that many member states across this Committee experience similar challenges, and that is why we have here today, this important resolution, so that women and girls in rural areas are not disadvantaged because of where they live.

This is why Australia advocated strongly for the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health in this resolution. Unfortunately, this was consistently rejected by a number of member states.

We would like to make it clear – sexual and reproductive health is agreed language. It is contained in countless resolutions adopted by this Committee and the General Assembly, and referenced on more than a dozen times in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which provides the global blueprint for women and girls rights.

Globally, progress has been made on gender equality and women and girls rights. However, Australia is gravely concerned that the rejection of agreed language, particularly as it pertains to a lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls, signifies a disturbing regression of women and girls' rights, and ultimately invigorates structural and systemic barriers, which we have worked so hard to eliminate.

In future, Australia hopes we will be able to again co-sponsor this important resolution and that it would contain language that promotes the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls in rural areas. 

I thank you.