Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the international community to rededicate itself to eliminating the discrimination and disadvantage to which women are still subjected. He cited such areas as access to health care services, in the provision of social services and social safety nets, in peace-building and reconstruction, in the home, or in the workplace. As it closes he says, the participation of women at senior levels of leadership is no longer questioned. As we stand on the threshold of the new millennium, we are confronted with challenges both new and old. At the forefront of the new is the way women are affected by the negative side of globalization.
Women are usually the first to lose their jobs as governments restructure and companies retrench.
Also addressing the meeting was First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham-Clinton. She says women have been on the frontlines in the battle for human rights and individual dignity for a very long time. And finally, she adds, their voices are being heard. And as we stand here together, we have to do all we can to make sure that these voices are amplified. Their stories are heard and told.