Statement at the 68th Commission on the Status of Women

New York, 18 March 2024

Priority Theme: Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. 

Mister Chair,

The Holy See welcomes the focus of this Sixty-Eighth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women on addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing to achieve women’s equality and meet the needs of women and girls.

As Pope Francis has noted, “Despite the commitments undertaken by all states to respect human rights and the fundamental freedoms of each person, even today, in many countries, women are considered second-class citizens. They are subjected to violence and abuse, and are denied the opportunity to study, work, employ their talents, and have access to healthcare and even to food.”[1] In this context, my delegation must note its profound concern that one in every ten women lives in extreme poverty[2] and that we are not on track to achieve SDG 1.[3]

Poverty can both cause and exacerbate a number of social problems affecting women and girls. In the most extreme cases, those living a hand-to-mouth existence are constantly preoccupied with simply trying to survive, unable to develop their gifts or reach their potential. For women and girls, inadequate housing and poor nutrition due to poverty pose unique risks. Some lack safe and clean sanitation facilities or spend long hours fetching water, putting them at peril of harm. Malnutrition can have long-term effects on women’s and girls’ health, including in future childbearing, as well as a negative impact on learning. 

Poverty also affects access to quality education, including due to too few schools and teachers, inaccessibility of schools, and school fees that poor families simply cannot afford. Without an education, girls and women remain trapped in ignorance and poverty. Out-of-school girls are also at higher risk of sexual abuse and child marriage. In this regard, it is essential to promote the importance of education for both girls and boys alike, and to engage and educate families and communities about the harms of child labor and child marriage. These practices will endure as long as deprivation leads to desperate choices.

Women and girls living in poverty need affordable access to quality healthcare throughout their lives. For far too many, healthcare is unavailable or unaffordable. One area of deep concern for my delegation is the lack of progress in reducing maternal mortality since 2015, with eight hundred women still dying every day from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. It is our hope that States will fulfill their commitments to ensure that every woman receives prenatal care and gives birth with the assistance of a skilled birth attendant in an adequately equipped healthcare facility.   

The Holy See cannot help but observe that the stagnation in reducing maternal mortality coincides with increasing pressure in international fora to promote so-called sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. Additionally, many women seek abortion because they feel they have no other choice due to a lack of financial and social support. This is not true freedom and equality for women. In fact, trivializing abortion and neglecting the possibility of alternatives that respect the gift of life, while obscuring the complexity of real situations and needs, often reveals a lack of will and commitment to truly protect and preserve women from the most tragic situations of adversity, where they find themselves plagued by sexual violence and exploitation, as well as poverty, loneliness and anxiety. 

Mr. Chair,

As the Holy See noted in 1995, the “living heart” of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action lies in its sections “on the needs of women in poverty, on strategies for development, on literacy and education, on ending violence against women, on a culture of peace, and on access to employment, land, capital and technology.”[4] As we approach the thirtieth anniversary of its adoption, the Holy See renews its support for these issues, which remain central to achieving equality for women and girls.

[1] Pope Francis, Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 9 January 2023. 

[2] UN-Women, Press release, 8 March 2024, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/03/1-in-every-10-women-in-the-world-lives-in-extreme-poverty.

[3] United Nations, The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023, pp. 8, 12, https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023_0.pdf.

[4] Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women (A/CONF.177/20/Rev.1), Chapter V, section 12, statement of the Holy See at the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.