Statement in Round Table D by Caroline Usikpedo-Omoniye (Niger Delta Women’s Movement for Peace and Development) on behalf of the CSO FfD Group and WWG on FfD

I am Caroline Usikpedo-Omoniye of the Niger Delta Women’s Movement for Peace and Development speaking on behalf of the Women Working Group and the CSO on Financing for Development.

While we welcome the references made to gender equality in AAAA and efforts of some. Governments in addressing gender equality in their countries through policy change, the women Working group on FFD call for relevant structural changes in the global economic and development architecture.

While the AAAA importantly notes in the first paragraph a commitment to respect all human rights, including the right to development, and that member states will ensure gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, it lacks an integrated, consistent and explicit human rights based approach.

We realized that the global partnership between developed and developing countries established in  the Monterrey Consensus has been weakened by the developed countries through their promotion  of multi-stakeholder partnerships and lack of commitment to address systemic issues in the United Nations .

We call for structural changes in the global economic governance and development architecture in order to move from ignoring systemic imbalances to creating a rights-based pro-development multilateral economic and financial architecture and  from making the business case on women’s empowerment, to respecting, protecting and fulfilling women’s human rights and establishing the structural conditions to realize these rights.

And from taxing women in the informal economy, to progressive taxation and international tax cooperation. From using Official Development Assistance (ODA) and development cooperation, to leveraging private finance and follow donor priorities, towards untied, additional and predictable ODA and development cooperation that contributes to the respect, protection and fulfillment of gender equality, human rights and sustainable development.

The outcome of the forum should be stronger in gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights, and should be consistent and explicit human rights based approach. Furthermore, it should address as urgently required the structural and systemic issues that perpetuate inequalities, impoverishment, rights violations and environmental destruction.

All of these links should ensure accountability of transnational corporations in line with human rights. Furthermore, mandate the UN Tax body, needs to include gender expertise, to review national, regional and global tax policy according to gender equality and human rights obligations.

On systemic issues, macroeconomic stability is imperative for achieving gender equality and promoting women’s rights. The multiple crises caused by fluctuating food and fuel prices and the ebb and flow of finance, and exacerbated by climate change, disasters, conflict, and war significantly impact women and girls of all ages. Conversely, economic instability has negative consequences on lives of women and girls in particular.