Flemish Minister for Welfare and Equal Opportunities, Caroline Gennez (Vooruit), will travel to New York on Sunday for a three-day working visit.
She will represent Belgium at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Gennez plans to advocate for women’s rights and access to legal abortion.
Today is International Women’s Day. Each year, around this time, the UN Commission on the Status of Women gathers in New York. Member states discuss the state of women’s rights and key challenges. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration. This UN resolution was the first to make concrete commitments to promote gender equality.
Gennez, who will leave for New York on Sunday, notes that significant progress has been made in the last thirty years regarding women’s and girls’ rights. However, she warns these rights are currently under threat. “Ongoing success is not guaranteed,” she says. “A global coalition of extremist, ultraconservative, and authoritarian forces wants to turn back the clock.”
She highlights that sexual and reproductive health rights, particularly for women and girls, are under pressure. Gennez points to stricter abortion laws in the US as an example.
In New York, Gennez will argue for the protection of women’s rights and the importance of access to sexual education and reproductive healthcare, including contraception and legal abortion. She will also engage with various advocacy groups, including those supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
