Secretary-General’s Message on International Women’s Day

联合国秘书长国际妇女节致辞

March 8, 2017

2017年3月8日

Women’s rights are human rights. But in these troubled times, as our world becomes more unpredictable and chaotic, the rights of women and girls are being reduced, restricted and reversed.

妇女权利是人权的一部分。然而,当前世界困难重重,日益变幻莫测、混乱不堪,使妇女和女童的权利遭到削弱、限制、逆转。

Empowering women and girls is the only way to protect their rights and make sure they can realize their full potential.

增强妇女和女童权能是保护其权利、确保其能充分发挥潜力的唯一途径。

Historic imbalances in power relations between men and women, exacerbated by growing inequalities within and between societies and countries, are leading to greater discrimination against women and girls. Around the world, tradition, cultural values and religion are being misused to curtail women’s rights, to entrench sexism and defend misogynistic practices.

男女之间的权力关系历来不平衡,又因各国社会内部和各国之间的不平等状况日益严重而加剧,使妇女和女童所受的歧视愈演愈烈。世界各地都有人将传统、文化价值观、宗教滥用于限制妇女权利、宣扬性别主义、维护仇视女性的行为。

Women’s legal rights, which have never been equal to men’s on any continent, are being eroded further. Women’s rights over their own bodies are questioned and undermined. Women are routinely targeted for intimidation and harassment in cyberspace and in real life. In the worst cases, extremists and terrorists build their ideologies around the subjugation of women and girls and single them out for sexual and gender-based violence, forced marriage and virtual enslavement.

各大洲妇女的法定权利历来未与男子权利同等,目前又进一步削弱。妇女的人身权利受到质疑、损害。妇女在网络空间和现实生活中经常成为恐吓、骚扰的目标。最为恶劣的是,极端主义分子、恐怖主义分子竟把欺压妇女和女童作为其意识形态的基础,专门对她们实施性暴力、性别暴力、强迫婚姻,甚至施加奴隶般待遇。

Despite some improvements, leadership positions across the board are still held by men, and the economic gender gap is widening, thanks to outdated attitudes and entrenched male chauvinism. We must change this, by empowering women at all levels, enabling their voices to be heard and giving them control over their own lives and over the future of our world.

尽管取得了一些进展,但由于人们抱着过时的态度、守着根深蒂固的大男子主义,因此各领域的领导职位仍由男子担任,男女经济差距也日益扩大。我们必须改变这一状况,在各级增强妇女权能,同时助其发声,使她们能掌握自身命运、也能掌握世界的未来。

Denying the rights of women and girls is not only wrong in itself; it has a serious social and economic impact that holds us all back. Gender equality has a transformative effect that is essential to fully functioning communities, societies and economies.

剥夺妇女和女童的权利不仅荒谬,而且造成严重的社会和经济影响,有损于我们所有人。实现两性平等,对于社区、社会、经济的全面正常运转,具有革故鼎新而至关重要的影响。

Women’s access to education and health services has benefits for their families and communities that extend to future generations. An extra year in school can add up to 25 per cent to a girl’s future income.

妇女接受教育、获得医疗服务,能造福于家庭和社区,好处延及子孙后代。女童每多上一年学,未来收入便可能增加多达25%。

When women participate fully in the labour force, it creates opportunities and generates growth. Closing the gender gap in employment could add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025. Increasing the proportion of women in public institutions makes them more representative, increases innovation, improves decision-making and benefits whole societies.

妇女充分进入劳动力市场能创造机会、带动增长。通过缩小男女就业差距,到2025年能使全球GDP多增12万亿美元。提高妇女在公共机构的任职比例,能增强公共机构的代表性,促进创新,改进决策,有利于全社会。

Gender equality is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the global plan agreed by leaders of all countries to meet the challenges we face. Sustainable Development Goal 5 calls specifically for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and this is central to the achievement of all the 17 SDGs.

各国领导人为应对我们面临的挑战,商定了《2030年可持续发展议程》这项全球性计划,而性别平等是它的核心内容之一。可持续发展目标5特别要求实现性别平等、增强所有妇女和女童的权能。这对于实现所有17项可持续发展目标具有关键意义。

I am committed to increasing women’s participation in our peace and security work. Women negotiators increase the chances of sustainable peace, and women peacekeepers decrease the chances of sexual exploitation and abuse.

我致力于使妇女更多参与我们的和平与安全工作。女性谈判代表能增多实现可持续和平的机会,女性维和人员则能减少发生性剥削、性虐待行为的可能性。

Within the UN, I am establishing a clear road map with benchmarks to achieve gender parity across the system, so that our Organization truly represents the people we serve. Previous targets have not been met. Now we must move from ambition to action.

我正在联合国内部制定明确的路线图,规定全系统实现性别均等的标准,使本组织真正代表我们的服务对象。以往设定的目标尚未达到,现在我们必须将雄心化为行动。

On International Women’s Day, let us all pledge to do everything we can to overcome entrenched prejudice, support engagement and activism, and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

值此国际妇女节之际,让我们大家作出承诺,保证全力以赴克服根深蒂固的偏见,支持人们踊跃参与、开展运动,促进性别平等、促进增强妇女权能。