UN calls for gender equality ahead of International Women's Day

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Thursday appealed to women worldwide "to participate in all discussions of strategic responses to violence, discrimination, and deprivation of all kinds".

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Programme of Action. States can seize this opportunity to go beyond lip-service and towards gender equality, genuinely challenging and dismantling the power structures and dynamics which perpetuate discrimination against women," Xinhua quoted Hussein as saying.

"In every part of the world, more can be done to safeguard and support women's rights, access to employment, health, and their ability to take control of decisions that affect any aspect of their lives," the human rights commissioner added.

"Real change does not happen unless women and men fight for these rights, and at the forefront of this fight are women human rights defenders," he said.

"All of us, together, men, women, boys, girls, we all have to do this to eradicate gender discrimination. Let us make it happen," he said.

The Beijing Declaration, approved in September 1995 at the fourth world conference on women in Beijing, is a global pledge to attaining equality, development, and peace for women worldwide.