The Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN, Ambassador Andreas Hadjichrysanthou, represented, on 17 March 2022, the Republic of Cyprus at the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) taking place at the United Nations Headquarters from 14-25 March. The theme of this year's session is "Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls in the context of policies and programmes on climate change, environment and disaster risk reduction". Hadjichrysanthou expressed the full solidarity of the Republic of Cyprus to all women and girls who are currently in conflict areas and are unable to get justice, making special reference to the current situation in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
Stressing the importance of the CSW66 issue, Hadjichrysanthou pointed out that climate change is an existential issue for Cyprus. In addition, it carries the risk of exacerbating existing threats that may delay progress on gender equality issues.
He added that the status of women cannot be addressed in isolation and in a non-systematic manner. We must opt for structural impact by developing a strategy to remove constitutional, legal, administrative, cultural, social and economic barriers to women's full, equal and meaningful participation in climate change and all other sectors.
To achieve this goal, he added, there is a need for a zero-tolerance policy towards inequality, unequal pay, discrimination, violence against women and bias in public discourse, as well as a decisive response to women's inequality, discrimination, violence against women and bias in public discourse. We need to see women in leadership and public roles as role models, as well as more policymakers, in order to develop transformative and balanced socio-economic policies for women.
The Permanent Representative noted that such a strategy would provide an opportunity to more effectively address specific challenges, such as those caused by climate change. In addition to a solid legal framework that would guarantee full equality before the law, including continued protection of rights in all circumstances, measures should be taken to empower women to cope with natural disasters and further enable them to prevent and mitigate climate risks in their communities.
He underlined the firm commitment of the Republic of Cyprus to the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by all women and girls and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Permanent Representative made particular reference to the progress made by the Government of Cyprus in recent years in the promotion of women and human rights, the advancement of their rights, as well as social protection systems and ways to mitigate the effects of climate change on both society and the environment. It highlighted the preparation of National Action Plans and Strategies that address gender equality issues, including actions that will help women's participation in the development and implementation of climate plans, as well as the integration of a gender perspective in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.
Finally, it pointed to the adoption of specific measures to empower women in rural areas through increased access to services, education and training and through actions to promote self-empowerment.
