UN General Assembly
2013

$1.2 billion yearly to the United Nations system. That makes us the second biggest contributor per capita to the United Nations in the world — that is something we are very proud of. In addition to the existing Millennium Development Goals, we must also work to establish a strong post- 2015 development agenda, with the objective of eradicating extreme poverty, raising standards of living for everyone and offering equal opportunities to everyone. In that regard, I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the three areas that I believe are central to human and economic development: gender equality, democracy and free trade. Those areas have the capacity to influence developments in many other areas at the same time. When I addressed the General Assembly two years ago (see A/66/PV.19), I spoke about the most important human rights failure of all — the one that affects the largest number of human beings, namely gender inequality. I want to raise that issue once again, because that challenge is as present and as urgent today as before.