UN General Assembly
2015

This year, we marked the twentieth anniversary of the historic Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, and its Platform for Action for women’s empowerment and gender equality. We are also marking the fifteenth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000), on women’s participation in peace processes. And while improvements have been made in the status of women, much more remains to be done. We must therefore all step up and take further measures, going beyond moralizing gender equality to tangible actions. In 70 years only three women have served as President of the General Assembly — one of them, many years ago, being our compatriot, Mrs. Angie Brooks Randolph. Only a few women have served or are serving as special representative of the Secretary-General, and not a single woman has ever served as Secretary-General.