Welcome to the United Nations
Inclusion is a powerful concept, rooted in equality and safeguarded through effective and accountable institutions. In a truly inclusive society, no one is left behind. A dedication to inclusiveness denotes a commitment to addressing the challenges of the most vulnerable and marginalized in society and to pursuing policies that speak to the root causes of poverty.
The 2030 Agenda addresses the issue of inclusion in a number of different contexts. By incorporating the concept of promoting peaceful societies in the SDGs, the international community declared that peace and justice are critical for the eradication of poverty and the achievement of sustainable development. Violence and insecurity undermine people’s well-being in all nations, not just conflict-affected ones, and progress toward sustainable development can only be made when individuals can access an effective justice system when needed. In addition, no effort towards inclusiveness will be effective if it does not entail equal opportunities for women and girls and end to all forms of gender discrimination. Participation of women and girls in the economic, social, educational and public dimensions of life in their communities and their countries is vital. The international community clearly recognizes that only by advancing the health, safety, and equality of women, and enhancing their opportunities for leadership and economic empowerment, will the 2030 Agenda be achieved.
This session will address the issue of inclusion and inclusiveness, in the context of peaceful societies and in the context of empowering women and girls. Practical experiences will be shared and discussed with the aim to replicate and/or scale up impactful efforts, and ultimately, to begin to identify lasting solutions.
Possible questions for discussion:
- How do we ensure that indeed no one is left behind when creating peaceful societies with effective and accountable institutions?
- How can we achieve empowerment of women and girls in all aspects of life?
- How can data help to assess impact in both of these areas? Is there need to advance more disaggregated gender data to address the challenges of vulnerable populations, in particular women and girls?
Chair:
- H.E. Mr. Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN and Vice President of ECOSOC
Moderator:
- Ms. Irene Khan, Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO)
Panellists:
- Ms. Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Diretor of UN Women
- Ms. Beatrice Ayuru, Founder of Lira Integrated School
- Mr. Robert J. Berg, Chair of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and Trustee at the World Academy of Arts and Science
Lead discussants:
- Ms. Anca-Ruxandra Gliga, Advocate at the United Network of Young Peacebuilders and UN Major Group for Children and Youth
- Ms. Gaia Gozzo, Head of Governance at CARE International
