PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES STATES TO MEET COMMITMENTS

TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

United Nations, New York, 23 November 2012 – Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Governments to live up to their obligations to end
the global problem of violence against women and girls, one of the most widespread human rights violations.

“On this International Day, I call on all governments to make good on their pledges to end all forms of violence
against women and girls in all parts of the world”, said the UN chief, in a message for the Day. “I urge all people
to support this important goal”, he continued.

The Secretary-General’s appeal comes ahead of the March 2013 session of the 45-member UN Commission on
the Status of Women, which will focus on preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls.
Thousands of government and civil society representatives are expected to converge on UN Headquarters in
New York for the annual meeting.

States have concrete and clear obligations to address violence against women under international law, including
the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Increased political action by
States, backed by adequate resources, is also a major target of the Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence
against Women campaign. Launched in 2008, UNiTE aims to raise public awareness and increase resources for
preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls in all parts of the world. Among the
key aims of the campaign, which will run until 2015, are the adoption and enforcement of national laws and
action plans.

To support the goals of UNiTE, UN Women this week launched COMMIT, a new initiative asking governments to
make national commitments which will be showcased online (http://saynotoviolence.org/commit), with the United
States and Austria among the first countries to commit to specific actions.

The UNiTE campaign also works to engage men as part of the solution to end gender-based violence. Since its
launch in 2009, members of the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders have undertaken specific actions
to end violence against women and girls, from raising public awareness to meeting with young men and boys.

Secretary-General Ban will make remarks at the official observance of the International Day 2012 at UN
Headquarters on 28 November, where he will be joined by Marjon V. Kamara, Permanent Representative of
Liberia to the UN and Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women; UN Women Executive Director Michelle
Bachelet; and civil society leaders. Details of the programme, as well as on-line and social media resources, can
be found below. Dozens of events will also take place around the world, organized by UN offices working with
government and civil society partners.

PRESS CONTACTS

UNiTE campaign: Stéphanie Coutrix, UN Department of Public Information, tel: +1-212-963-0363, email:
coutrix@un.org

UN Women: Oisika Chakrabarti, tel: +1 646.781.4522, email: oisika.chakrabarti@unwomen.org

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Programme for the Official Observance of the International Day

Theme: A Promise is a Promise

Conference Room 6, UN Headquarters, New York

3.15 to 4.15 p.m, Wednesday, 28 November

Moderator: Juju Chang, ABC News Correspondent

Keynote address: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Speakers
ƒ Marjon V. Kamara, Permanent Representative of Liberia to the UN and Chair of the Commission on
the Status of Women
ƒ Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women
ƒ Dhruv Arora, Member of UNiTE Global Youth Network and a winner of the UN Summit Youth Award
2012
ƒ Marai Larasi, Executive Director, Imkaan, London, United Kingdom

The official observance is open to UN grounds pass holders and

will be webcast live at webtv.un.org

endviolence.un.org
twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE facebook.com/SayNO.UNiTE

#16Days #SayUCommit