“The voice of women victims of the shelling must be heard in the international arena as well.” Zaruhi Batoyan 

According to UN General Assembly Resolution 73/40, a special high-level meeting will be held in New York on September 23th as part of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration Action Plan adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women. The main topic of the meeting is “Accelerating the expansion of gender equality, women’s and girls’ rights and opportunities”.

A preparatory online meeting was held on July 21 at the initiative of the Office of the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UN-Women) with the aim of organizing a wide-ranging discussion of all stakeholders ahead of a special session in September on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration Action Plan with the participation of RA Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan, who also took part in the event, speaking in the “Dialogue between Gender Equality Leaders” section of the agenda.

“As you know, Armenia is chairing the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and on July 1, Armenia was elected the leader of the” Technology-Innovation “coalition formed within the framework of the” Generation of Equality “forum. “This once again confirms Armenia’s readiness to support global efforts to ensure gender equality and eliminate violence against women,” said Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan in her speech.

The Minister noted that the precondition for making policies accessible to women and girls who are repeatedly discriminated against is their participation in all stages.

Zaruhi Batoyan referred to the hostilities on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border last week, drew the attention of the international community to the problems of the citizens, especially women.

“In this context, I would like to note that these days Armenia, like other countries in the world, is fighting against the pandemic. The participation of women medical workers, the suggestions based on their experience are invaluable in the context of the general struggle. Unfortunately, the issue of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is on the agenda of the citizens of Armenia in recent days. One of the border factories of Armenia, which produces three hundred thousand masks a day, was shelled a few days ago. In this difficult situation, women who produce masks, women medical workers, for whom the presence of masks is vital, the voice must be heard not only inside Armenia, but also in the international arena. “After all, when decision-makers hear the voices of women affected by hostilities, they cannot deviate from the agenda of peace,” said the minister.

She referred to the issues of gender equality, noting that dialogue is key to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.

“The Armenian government is resolute in achieving gender equality. That determination is based on political dialogue. “If mutual trust between the parties is strong, the government and civil society will not back down,” she said.

The Minister spoke about the National Security Strategy approved a few days ago, which, by the way, was developed with the direct participation of female actors. According to the Minister, the strategy stipulates that the concept of a society free from violence is a possible precondition for public solidarity.

“That provision was the achievement of cooperation and political dialogue, which was fixed as a rule of intra-Armenian coexistence. This is our idea of ​​cooperation between different parties to achieve gender equality. “I hope that our experience of cooperation in this issue will become exemplary for many societies, will strengthen global cooperation for the sake of all women and girls,” the minister concluded.

Full text in Armenian