Statement of the UN Resident Coordinator Antje Grawe at the National Forum: Women’s Leadership: Breakthrough into a New Era. A Dialogue to accelerate the development in the Kyrgyz Republic

Distinguished Ministers and Members of Parliament, 

Excellencies, 

Dear Women Leaders, 

Greetings from sunny and beautiful Naryn. I wish I could be with you today at this important National Dialogue Forum, the first of its kind in Kyrgyzstan, bringing together women leaders with a diverse background with the Cabinet of Ministers and Members of the Jogorku Kenesh. This unique format of an open and inclusive dialogue demonstrates the commitment of the Government and Parliament to advancing the rights of women and girls in Kyrgyzstan. It also stands exemplary for the recognition of the critical role women and women leaders play in advancing Kyrgyzstan’s sustainable development. 

I would like to express my appreciation to all women present here today who have worked tirelessly to develop proposals for collaboration with the Cabinet of Ministers and the Jogorku Kenesh. Your efforts are crucial in realizing the rights of hundreds of thousands of women who are often excluded from or marginalized in decision making processes. Meaningful participation of women and girls in political, public, economic, social and cultural spheres, in particular in all decision-making that affects their lives – and the future of Kyrgyzstan - is a fundamental principle without which no society can build a peaceful, sustainable, pluralistic and democratic society. 

Gender equality and women’s empowerment is the guiding principle for attaining the Agenda 2030. This was also recognized by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which underlined, in its Concluding Observations of 2021 the importance of the realization of gender equality and non-discrimination for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, urging States to recognize women as the driving force of sustainable development and to adopt relevant policies and strategies to that effect. This has become even more important as progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals has been severely impacted, globally and in Kyrgyzstan, by various global crisis over the last three years, exacerbated by climate change.  

I cannot stress enough the importance of increased attention to the need to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of women and girls from all social, age, geographic, ethnic and religious backgrounds, as also highlighted in the Recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review from 2020. 

In this regard, another important partner of decision makers in protecting the rights of women and girls and enabling their contribution to development are independent, effective and impartial National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), in the Kyrgyz Republic the Ombudsperson’s Institute (Akyikatchy) and the National Center for the Prevention of Torture.  The existence of strong national human rights institutions, who carry out objective and independent assessments of human rights developments in the country and reactions to systemic issues as well as individual cases of violations of rights of women and girls, is considered a critical prerequisite for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including gender equality. 

In conclusion, I would like to express my hope that today’s dialogue is just the beginning of a regular interaction and fruitful collaboration among members of the Jogorku Kenesh, the Cabinet of Ministers, and women leaders. Such dialogue, hopefully resulting in concrete actions, is invaluable in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the country.

The UN family in Kyrgyzstan is committed to continue supporting such initiatives and work with women and women leaders, the Cabinet of Ministers, Parliament and other actors such as the existing National Human Rights Institutes to ensure the enjoyment of rights by all women and girls without any form of discrimination and enable them to make their contributions to Kyrgyzstan’s development. 

I wish you all constructive discussions and I look forward to engaging with you in the future.

Chon Rahmat! Thank you.