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On the occasion of International Women’s Day,
President of the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Joseph Deiss writes:

Dear Members of OWIT,

I am pleased to have the opportunity to send you a message on the occasion of 8 March 2011.

In 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, more than one million men and women rallied for the first time to mark the International Women’s Day and to demand the rights for women to vote and to hold public office as well as the rights to work, to get vocational training and to end discrimination on the job.

It took 60 years for Swiss women to be granted the right to vote at federal level. This clearly illustrates that the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality is moving slowly forward, but that with persistence and conviction, progress can be achieved for the benefit of society as a whole. This is a cause that you, members of the OWIT, contribute to advancing.

The United Nations has also been consistently playing its part to advance the status of women. When the Organization was founded, in 1945, its Charter was the first international agreement to state the principle of equality between men and women. In the preamble of the Charter, Member States very explicitly “reaffirm … the equal rights of men and women.” Over the years, the United Nations has been committed to empowering women through the adoption and implementation of numerous resolutions, conventions, strategies and programs.

Among important milestones that were set by the General Assembly, let me highlight the proclamation in 1977 of a UN Day for Women’s rights and international peace to be observed in every country in order to mobilize the attention of the international community on the principle of gender equality. The adoption in 1979 of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women that is considered as an international bill of rights for women is another landmark decision.

More recently, the adoption of the resolution to establish UN Women, in July 2010, marks a fine moment in the history of our Organization. Through their unanimous support to the consolidation of various UN programs aiming at promoting women’s rights and the creation of a single entity for greater coherence and impact, governments around the globe have reaffirmed the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and decided that now is the time to strengthen our resolve to give women equal power and rights in any respect.

The creation of UN Women is an expression of the growing realization that we cannot address the world’s most complex problems without the wisdom and full participation of women. Complex challenges like conflicts, global warming, migration, pandemics or financial crises will only be solved through true global partnership where men and women both have a voice.

Civil society organizations have a key role to support governments in their mission of ensuring gender equality. Whereas governments can set the stage, you, representatives of the civil society, enjoy a unique position to convey the aspirations of women for more respect, more equality and more justice. I encourage you to continue – persistently - your endeavor and I warmly thank you for your dedication.