fbpx
Saturday, December 21, 2024
33.3 C
Abuja

Global leaders call to action on women’s land rights

United Nations General Assembly event to mark Desertification and Drought Day brings together leaders to advance gender equality and land restoration goals

NEW YORK, United States of America, June 17, 2023/ — Women leaders from around the world took centre stage at the United Nations General Assembly calling for women’s land rights at a music-filled event to mark Desertification and Drought Day.

Speakers from countries as diverse as Canada to Chad, Iceland to Lesotho, shared their experiences and explained how droughts, land degradation and desertification are disproportionately impacting the women and girls in their communities.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said: “We depend on land for our survival. Yet, we treat it like dirt.” He blamed unsustainable farming for eroding soil 100 times faster than natural processes can restore them and said 40% of land is now degraded.

Speaking passionately about the generations of farmers in his family, Csaba KÅ‘rösi, President of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, said: “The data could not be clearer. When women farmers have access to own land, they grow more and so do their children and nations. Together, these positive shifts in women’s empowerment have a ripple effect on income, and children’s welfare.”

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed said: “On this Desertification and Drought Day, our message is simple: we must finally recognize and value women as owners, managers of our lands and of our resources, and we must invest in the fight against climate change. Women make up the majority of rural farmers, but less than 15% of agricultural landholders are women, and their right to inherit property continues to be denied under customary and traditional laws in over 100 countries.”

UNCCD Goodwill Ambassador, Malian artist and singer Inna Modja, was joined onstage by her daughter Valentina Conti, aged three, to read out a powerful call to action, urging world leaders to remove the legal barriers that prevent women owning and inheriting land. Together with fellow UNCCD Goodwill Ambassadors, Senegalese musician and singer Baaba Maal and Indian producer and singer Ricky Kej, Ms Modja performed a new song ‘Her Land’.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, an Indigenous leader from Chad, delivered a stark warning: “Despite our innovation, despite the determination of the women of my community to preserve ecosystems to block the desert, despite our collective efforts to save and share water, our land is dying.” She said women are calling on CEOs, ministers, presidents, and philanthropists to “stop pledging and start putting cash on the table to help us win the most important battle of our life”.

Less than a third of all UN Member States have ever had a female Head of State or Government. Several of them participated in the high-level event in New York in person or virtually.

Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland and UNCCD Land Ambassador, said: “Achieving land degradation neutrality requires everyone’s efforts. And women and girls are half of the world’s population. Empowering women and girls is one of the most impactful things that we can do to achieve environmental sustainability and the health of the land.”

The first-ever female Prime Minister of Namibia, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, spoke about what Namibia is doing to go above and beyond on women’s land rights. And there were also video messages from the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir and Vice-President of Spain Teresa Ribero Rodríguez.

Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s first-ever Minister of Indigenous Peoples, delivered an impassioned plea in support of Indigenous women leaders in her country. Jennifer Littlejohn, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, represented the United States, highlighting its government’s commitment to gender equity and equality.

The event was jointly organized by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN-Women, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Human Rights and the UN Development Programme to mark the annual Desertification and Drought Day, which falls on June 17th.

UN-Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous said: “For many people around the world, land represents power and identity. Women’s control over land is therefore fundamental to the achievement of gender equality and also the economic independence of women… We must break down barriers to women’s rights to land.”

UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said: “Investing in women’s equal access to land is not just an act of justice. It is an investment in our future, a commitment to the prosperity of our planet. It is an affirmation that we value not only the land beneath our feet, but the hands that work on it.”

Other speakers advocating for women’s land rights were: Alain-Richard Donwahi, President of UNCCD’s 15th Conference of the Parties, Côte d’Ivoire, Kehkashan Basu, a climate activist and UN Human Rights Champion based in Canada; Rex Molapo, Co-Founder of Conservation Music Lesotho; and Solange Bandiaky-Badji, Coordinator of the Rights and Resources Initiative.

Hot this week

Port Harcourt Refinery Fully Operational, NNPC Clarifies

ABUJA — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC...

Tinubu Pads Lawmakers’ Allowances to Avert Tax Bill Protest

ABUJA, Nigeria — In a dramatic move to quash...

United States Charges Dual Russian and Israeli National as Developer of LockBit Ransomware Group

A dual Russian-Israeli national accused of aiding one of...

Reps Launch Probe Into Alleged Forced Retrenchment of CBN Staff

Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has urged...

Most Germans favour giving Syrian refugees time before returning home

A clear majority of German residents believe Syrian refugees...

Latest

Port Harcourt Refinery Fully Operational, NNPC Clarifies

ABUJA — The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC...

Tinubu Pads Lawmakers’ Allowances to Avert Tax Bill Protest

ABUJA, Nigeria — In a dramatic move to quash...

Reps Launch Probe Into Alleged Forced Retrenchment of CBN Staff

Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has urged...

Most Germans favour giving Syrian refugees time before returning home

A clear majority of German residents believe Syrian refugees...

Land Revocation: Wike Grants 762 Affected Owners Two-Week Grace Period

Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike has...

German parliament agrees to new support for film industry

New German films and screenplays can continue to receive...

Badenock’s Criticism of Nigerian Police Unfair, Says PCRC

The Police Community Relations Committee, PCRC, has described the...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Section

spot_imgspot_img

MORE FROM CHATNEWSTV

FG Spends $480m On Importation of 3m Tonnes of Rice Annually — NEPC

The Nigeria Export Promotion Council, NEPC, on Thursday described as unacceptable continuous spending of 480 million dollars on importation of three tonnes of rice...

Norway Commits Additional $4.5 Million to Ukraine’s Grain Initiative

OSLO, Norway (CHATNEWSTV) — Norway has pledged an additional NOK 50 million (USD 4.5 million) to the "Grain from Ukraine" initiative, a move aimed...

Brazilian Meatpacker JBS Agrees to Invest $2.5 Billion in Nigeria, Build Six Factories

Agency Report Brazilian meatpacker JBS said on Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria's government for a $2.5 billion investment plan in...

EU Council Adopts Revised Plant Health Law to Strengthen Protection Against Pests

BRUSSELS (ChatnewsTV) — The Council of the European Union has today adopted a targeted revision of the EU plant health law, enhancing efforts to...

U.K. Health Security Agency Confirms Bird Flu at Cornwall Poultry Farm

Rosudgeon, St. Ives, Cornwall (ChatnewsTV) — Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 has been confirmed in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, St....

FG Releases 2 New Chicken Breeds, 14 New High-Yield Crops Varieties

The Federal Government has released two new chicken breeds and 14 new high-yield crop varieties towards increasing agricultural production and improving the nutritional status...

Multi-Donor Initiative Aims to Mobilize $200 Million to Support Agri-SMEs Across Africa

Norway and the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have announced that the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea...

Food Prices Increased In September 2024 — NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reports that prices of essential food items, including beans, eggs, bread, rice, and tomatoes, experienced significant increases in...

Governor Mbah Flags off Tractor Assembly Plant in Enugu

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, Tuesday, flagged off the construction of Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant and Service Centre, an investment by ODK...