Statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of the Argentine Republic, Ambassador María del Carmen Squeff
October 6th
Mrs. President,
First of all, I would like to point out that my delegation wishes to align itself with the intervention made by Guyana on behalf of the G77 and China, by Chile on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Elderly and by Nepal on behalf of the Group of LGBTI Friends of the United Nations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused not only a global health, social and economic crisis but also a human rights crisis that affects everyone, exacerbating pre-existing structural inequalities.
Economic policies alone are not enough to generate deep and long-term changes if they do not have inclusion as an essential component. That is why it is essential to conceive of social development as a transformation process that guarantees the full realization of human rights. For Argentina, the most disadvantaged sectors constitute a priority axis for the approach of social policies.
As noted by the President of the Nation Alberto Fernández, “the fight against all forms of discrimination and the consequent commitment to the rights of vulnerable and historically discriminated individuals and groups, is the policy of the Argentine State that is projected in the numerous initiatives that Argentina supports and leads”.
It is not an expression of wishes: Argentina was recognized in the Global Tracker launched by UN Women and the United Nations Development Program as one of the countries that has taken the most measures with a gender perspective in response to COVID-19.
Mrs. President,
The path traveled by the Argentine State since the advent of the democratic regime in 1983 has placed Argentina in a leadership position at the global level in the construction of a fairer international order through the promotion and protection of all human rights. As a current member of the Human Rights Council, we firmly believe in the need to continue to strengthen the universal system in those chapters.
Within the framework of our firm policy to support the development of the system, my country reaffirms its strong commitment to respect, promote and fully protect the human rights of older adults. In this regard, it expresses its deep concern about the serious impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has on the lives of the elderly and highlights the need to strengthen international and intergenerational solidarity to promote and implement measures that protect the rights of all women. elderly.
We would like to underline the need for older people to be recognized and empowered as active and specific subjects of rights. Unfortunately, the current international legal framework on human rights is not coherent enough to guarantee them. Only a universal, specific and binding instrument will be able to grant enough of ours to ensure the full enjoyment of rights during old age.
On the other hand, Argentina reiterates its firm commitment to respecting, promoting and protecting the rights of all children, in accordance with the obligations established in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Additional Protocols in order to achieve its full potential in the full realization of the 2030 agenda.
On the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, it is a priority for my country to guarantee gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in their diversity. In this sense, I am pleased to highlight that for the first time in history, President Alberto Fernández has created the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, as well as a National Cabinet to make Gender Policies transversal. On the international stage, Argentina actively participates in the Initiative Generation Equality and we co-lead the Coalition that works on the health and sexual and reproductive rights of women.
We also highlight the leadership role that Argentina has regarding the defense and protection of the human rights of LGTBI persons. The rights of LGTBI people are human rights.
Mrs. President,
Finally, I would like to highlight that my country is firmly committed to advancing towards the universalization of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, a crucial instrument for the fight against impunity and the search for memory, truth and justice.
Thanks a lot.