Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on Human Rights Day (10 December)

Human rights exist to protect us, all of us, from harm and to ensure lives of dignity and inclusion. Peace and prosperity depend on fulfilling human rights. 

Three decades ago, people from all over the world convened at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo. They agreed that inclusive and sustainable development depends on women and girls fully realizing their human rights, particularly their reproductive rights. 

Since then, significant strides have been made towards the achievement of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. Today, we celebrate the fact that many more countries have passed laws and invested in services to safeguard bodily autonomy and enable women and girls to enjoy equal opportunities to thrive. More measures are in place than ever before to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, one of the most pervasive violations of human rights.

Yet, there is still much work to do. Today, millions of women and girls in all their diversities continue to be denied their fundamental human rights. Only 56 per cent of women are able to make their own decisions over their sexual and reproductive health and rights. One in three women and girls globally experiences gender-based violence during her lifetime. In some places, misogyny and discrimination have worsened, leading to rollbacks in legislation, policies and financing. 

Crises spurred by conflict, natural disasters or climate change are compounding human rights violations as record numbers of women and girls are forced to flee their homes, dramatically increasing their vulnerability to a range of grievous harms, including sex trafficking, child marriage and other forms of gender-based violence. 

In humanitarian settings, UNFPA is the global leader on sexual and reproductive health and the largest provider of gender-based violence services. We do this because human rights do not end when disaster strikes. They do not stop at a border. The needs of women and girls do not cease when they seek safety. Rights are for everyone, everywhere, and realizing them is possible. Countries across the globe have made commitments under international treaties and instruments to uphold human rights. Now, it’s time to take action.

Each day, around the world, UNFPA works hand-in-hand with government, civil society, academic, and private sector partners to accelerate progress towards the universal realization of human rights. UNFPA’s new online interactive tool, for example, helps countries assess their sexual and reproductive health policies and programmes through a human rights lens – providing insights into how to strengthen them. Such tools are critical in our efforts to end human rights violations and impunity and address their root causes. 

The theme of this International Human Rights Day – “Our rights, our future, right now” – highlights the relevance of human rights in our everyday lives and as the pathway to a better future.

Today and every day, let us stand up for human rights. On this final day in the global campaign of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, let us stand with those most vulnerable to harm. Let us protect the dignity, safety and wellbeing of every woman and girl in all their diversities. This is the most effective way to build more just and equal societies for everyone.