FORUM : “HER LAND. HER RIGHTS.” International Day to combat Desertification and Drought 2023. The global focus is on women’s land rights— essential for achieving the interconnected global goals on gender equality and land degradation neutrality by 2030 and contributing to the advancement of several other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Women hold a vital stake in the health of the land, yet they often don’t have control over it. In all parts of the world, women face significant barriers in securing land rights, limiting their ability to thrive and prosper. And when land becomes degraded and water is scarce, women are often the worst affected. Investing in women’s equal access to land and associated assets is a direct investment in their future and the future of humanity. It’s time for women and girls to be at the forefront of global land restoration and drought resilience efforts. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #Herland, #United4land, #17june, #DesertificationDay.
EVENTS : The High-level event entitled “Her Land. Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals.” to mark the International Day to combat Desertification and Drought Day 2023 will be held at UNHQ in New York on June 16th from 10:00 – 19:00 EDT; The high-level event will focus on policies and actions needed to advance women’s land rights and promote stronger female leadership and decision-making power in sustainable land management. The event will be opened by Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 78th General Assembly, and will include participation by leaders representing governments, international organizations, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women and youth. It will include interactive dialogues and statements from the floor moderated by UNCCD Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw and also feature musical performances by UNCCD Goodwill Ambassadors. The event is organized jointly by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Women, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Offce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the high-level event will bring together leaders and gender equality champions to discuss policies and actions needed to advance women’s land rights and promote stronger female leadership and decision-making power in sustainable land management.
Excellencies, friends.
We depend on land for our survival. Yet we treat it like dirt.
Unsustainable farming is eroding soil 100 times faster than natural process can restore them.
And up to 40% of our planet’s land is now degraded:
Imperiling food production;
Threatening biodiversity;
And compounding the climate crisis.
This hits women and girls the hardest.
They suffer disproportionately from the lack of food, water scarcity, and forced migration that result from our mistreatment of land.
Yet they have the least control.
In many countries laws and practices block women and girls from owning land.
But where they do, they restore and protect it: increasing productivity; building resilience to drought and investing in health, education and nutrition.
Equal land rights both protect land and advance gender equality.
That is why this Desertification and Drought Day puts the focus on “her land, her rights”.
I urge all governments to eliminate legal barriers to women owning land, and to involve them in policymaking.
Support women and girls to play their part in protecting our most precious resource.
And together, let’s stop land degradation by 2030.
Thank you.
U.N. Secretary-General.
Madam Secretary-General,
Mr. Executive Secretary,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to participate in today’s High-Level Event.
We derive much of our identity, culture, and traditions from our connections to land.
From my mother’s side, my ancestors have been farmers for centuries. That means they knew the values land offered, they respected and used the forces of nature. I learned a lot from them.
Land degradation is a threat not only to our food security, livelihoods, ecosystems, and biodiversity – but to our existence as a whole.
Land degradation wipes out the wisdom that has lived beneath us for millennia, and with it – our hope for the future.
Indeed, as aptly called by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer, the desert is “a place without expectation”.
Twenty-nine years ago, this body proclaimed 17 Juneas the Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
Ever since, the GA has been tackling these challenges through the deeply intertwined issues of resilience and land restoration.
It has been a long struggle.
And we have all understood that, to quote James Lovelock, “Sadly, it’s much easier to create a desert than a forest”.
Today we cast our focus on two topics that matter to us all: land, and women’s equal rights to own, manage or inherit it.
Throughout my Presidency, I have strongly advocated for better integration of science and policy.
This is especially important for planning how to tackle the climate shocks that erode our global landscape.
So, what does science say about the intersection of land rights, gender empowerment and justice?
The data could not be clearer.
When women farmers have access to own land, they grow more and so do their children and nations.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization finds that with women’s equal access to resources, including land, agricultural yields could rise by almost a third, resulting in potentially 150 million fewer hungry people in the world.
Empirical research proves that strengthening women’s land and property rights increases food security and reduces malnourishment.
In addition, when we include women equally in land management – and tap their traditional knowledge to promote sustainable land use – we not only reverse desertification, but also promote land restoration practices.
Together, these positive shifts in women’s empowerment have a ripple effect on income, and children’s welfare.
So, we have the evidence to support why it is advantageous to increase women’s land tenure.
What we are lacking are the policy decisions and investments that should not only target women’s individual rights, but also recognize their role in collectively managing land.
In this field, too, we should do our best to remove the barriers to women’s participation in decision-making.
The 2030 Agenda recognizes that gender-equal access to land rights is integral to the achievement of all our global goals of sustainable development.
All 17 goals – from achieving gender equality, to ending poverty and hunger, and to sustaining life on land.
This understanding of the integrated nature of both crises and solutions must have pride of place at the SDG Summit in September.
As we mark this Desertification and Drought Day, I urge you to recognize women’s contributions to the sustainable management of land and the broader achievement of our 2030 Agenda.
And I call upon you to promote laws and policies that give us a fighting chance at leaving no one behind.
We cannot let this foundational promise dry out.
Thank you.
KEY MESSAGES
- Desertification, land degradation and drought disproportionately impact women and girls, as they often do not have access to and control of land resources. They are most affected by reduced agricultural yields and increased water scarcity.
- In the vast majority of countries, women have unequal and limited access and control to land. In many regions, they remain subject to discriminatory laws and practices that impede their right to inherit, as well as their access to services and resources.
- When women are empowered, entire families and communities benefit. In addition to being on the frontlines of land degradation and climate change impacts, women can also be at the forefront of global efforts to restore land back to health and boost drought resilience. Gender-responsive land restoration is a pathway to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.
- Investing in women’s equal access to land and associated assets is a direct investment in their future and the future of humanity. Securing women's land rights can help advance global gender equality and land restoration goals, and contribute to the achievement of broader Sustainable Development Goals.
Desertification and Drought Day 2023 global observance
When: Friday, 16 June 2023
Where: New York
The Desertification and Drought Day 2023 global observance event, titled “Her Land. Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals” will take place at the United Nations Headquarters’ General Assembly Hall on Friday, 16 June 2023. Organized jointly by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Women, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Offce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Development Programme, the high-level event will bring together leaders and gender equality champions to discuss policies and actions needed to advance women’s land rights and promote stronger female leadership and decision-making power in sustainable land management. Where and when General Assembly Hall, United Nations Headquarters, New York
19 JUNE 2023 - YOUTH Painting a beautiful world: a children's art story
When: Monday, 19 June 2023
The UNCCD/CDIO, through this project, "Painting a beautiful World: A children's art story", provides an opportunity for children around the world to paint the reality of the landscapes they presently occupy, or the one they would like to occupy.
09 OCTOBER 2023 - SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
UNCCD Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention CRIC21
When: 09 - 13 October 2023
The twenty-first session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC21) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), will be held from 9 to 13 October 2023 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
02-13 DECEMBER 2024 - UNCCD Conference of Parties 16th session | COP16
When: 02 - 13 December 2024
Where: Riyadh
More details of the event to follow in due course.
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