Madam Chair,

My Delegation wishes to associate ourselves with the statement delivered by Fiji, on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

I would like to begin by thanking the Secretary-General for his reports on this agenda item. These reports clearly examine the progress and challenges to poverty eradication and discuss policy priorities. We welcome the reports focused on unemployment, inequality and climate change.

Eradication of poverty remains the overarching goal for development, as it is a precondition to all other development goals. Despite the initial success towards achieving MDG 1, on reducing extreme poverty rates by half, which was met five years ahead of the 2015 deadline, more than1.2 billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Madam Chair,

The Maldives has accomplished five out of eight MDGs with eradication of poverty being one of the five. Using the international poverty line of $1.25 per day, poverty rates plunged from above 25% to 8% between 2000 and 2010. Per capita income has increased dramatically from USD 271 in 1980 to USD 6,405 in 2011. The robust growth thus experienced has gone a long way in addressing the poverty situation in the country.

However, the Maldives continues to suffer from disadvantages that are associated with small island economies.  A narrow economic base, geographical remoteness, a lack of scale economy, vulnerability to exogenous shocks and environmental fragility are still relevant features of the Maldivian economy. The unique geographical nature of the Maldives is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges that stand in the way of accomplishing its MDGs, particularly as the Maldives is a resource poor nation. Furthermore the rising cost of living has resulted in a decrease of real income. The main source of income to the country comes from tourism and fisheries, both industries highly subjected to external factors. Fisheries and agriculture sector in the Maldives is on the decline, and unless urgent and immediate action is taken, there is imminent danger that the development strides the country achieved in the past may be lost.

Madam Chair,

The Secretary-General’s report outlines the serious threats climate change poses to poverty reduction. The Maldives has always been a strong advocate with regards to climate change and the ever-growing threat it poses. The Maldives’ unique geographical nature and economic dependence on coral reefs and seas make it acutely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Increased frequency of extreme weather events and erratic weather patterns can eliminate the development progress in a matter of seconds.  The need to divert resources from productive investments to efforts to protect valuable coastal property from erosion significantly hinders the development aspirations of the Maldives. These ecosystem losses are increasingly constraining the livelihoods for poor people. Therefore, we cannot achieve poverty eradication without tackling climate change.

Madam Chair,

The over dependence on one economic sector like tourism which accounts for 30% of our GDP and over reliance on imports, for both goods and services, continues to be major challenges for sustainable development. Shares of the country’s imports for essential goods such as food, fuel and basic consumables account for over 50% of the GDP, contributing towards persistent balance of payments issues, particularly in the last few years following the global financial crisis in 2008-2009.  Access to both donor and private finance is a concern that has impeded development opportunities and the national ability to harness our potential for realizing long term sustainable development.  Being a small-scale economy, opportunities are limited for the Maldives to integrate its economy into global value chains and to enjoy long lasting and meaningful benefits from the multi-lateral trading environment.  In this regard, support is required to diversify our economic base, improve industry competitiveness, ensure inclusive growth and make economic activities both green and resilient.

High unemployment and creating jobs for the youth population have emerged as major challenges for sustainable and inclusive growth. Employment and decent work are key drivers of poverty reduction. As part of government’s overall economic reform program to address growing unemployment issues and a lack of diversity in economic activities, the government has also initiated a nationwide Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Development Program targeted mainly towards the outer islands. The program facilitates concessional loans to MSMEs, women and youth, and is expected to boost and nurture entrepreneurial abilities and the productivity of the Maldivian labor force.

To achieve sustainable development, the participation of women in all aspects of development, and society is of paramount importance. Without women’s equal and full participation, poverty eradication will be impossible. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey of the Maldives 2009-2010 found that the unemployment rate for women is nearly double that of men. This is especially alarming considering that a large number of households in Maldives are headed by women, owing to high divorce rates. To counter the negative impacts of single parent families and to reduce the poverty rates for women in Maldives, the government has introduced a financial assistance package for single mothers and gives special consideration for women applying for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Program.

Madam Chair,

As outlined before, Maldives has eradicated extreme poverty, in terms of the indicators related to the international poverty lines and calorific deficiency in terms of food intake of the whole population. However, significant disparities emerge, when these indicators are analyzed at the sub-national level and in terms of gender, region and age. While absolute poverty is decreasing, relative poverty and income disparities are increasing. The universally accepted poverty line of $ 1.25 per day does not accurately reflect the large concentration of people, who in spite of living on a little more than the $ 1.25 remain extremely poor compared to the accumulation of wealth within a small sector of society. Inequality is the new poor! These new issues have resulted in creating a new class of urban poor, who are not sufficiently represented in the global indicators.  Thus the new global agenda for development must include poverty indicators that measure poverty in relative terms in addition to absolute terms. It must address new challenges such as urban poor and slum dwellers.

Madam Chair,

It is our global responsibility to leave a world that is better off than the one that we inherited. We have a global responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our societies and ensure that each individual has a basic standard of living. Now is the time to accelerate our efforts, and move forward at a faster pace.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr Chairperson,

Today, women constitute half the global population, yet only 21% feature in national parliaments. Girls are as educated as boys at the primary level, yet all around the world, women only hold 40% of wage earning jobs in the non-agricultural sector. Around the globe, women, both young and old are proving themselves as capable, hardworking and determined citizens, yet they continue to be denied opportunities and suppressed in many spheres, whether deliberate or resulting from long-standing discriminatory practices and cultural norms. And as a result, gender equality has remained a persistent and an enduring social ill contributing to a loss in human development.

Gender equality is an issue that is close to our hearts. It was and is one of the key priority areas for the Maldives throughout our term on the United Nations Human Rights Council, and it will continue to be one of our flagship issues when, with your help, we get elected to a new term this November.

Women’s rights are central to human rights. That is why we supported at the Human Rights Council, the setting up of the “Working Group on the Discrimination of women in law and practice”. That is why we became a member of the Executive Board of UN-Women last year. That is why we ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention in 2006.

The Maldives has done remarkably well on several indicators related to gender parity. The Maldives ranked 64^th out of 147 countries on the gender inequality index of the 2013 Human Development Report. We are on track for Millennium Development Goal 3 on promoting gender equality. The Maldives has achieved gender parity in both primary and secondary education. Maternal mortality rates are at 60 per 100,000 live births, 99% receive prenatal care and skilled health staff attends 98% of births. Maldives has never had gender discrimination in wages either in the public or private sector. Women face no de-jure discrimination in access to employment, education and other public services.

The Maldives Constitution of 2008, guarantees every person the same rights and freedoms, and upholds the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Half a dozen additional laws have provided more avenues for the equal participation of women in political, economic and socio-economic services.

However, Maldives cannot afford to be complacent as there is much that needs to be improved. Among the bills yet to be passed are the Sexual Harassment Bill, the Human Trafficking and People Smuggling Bill, and the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code; all key pieces of legislature that will provide victims of abuse with more legal powers to face their abusers.

Mr Chairperson,

Unfortunately, women still face de-facto discrimination. This comes in the form of obstacles to gaining access to tertiary education opportunities, participation in the employment market, and surpassing traditional family roles that would restrict personal and professional advancement.  Conservative religious interpretations that have recently manifested in Maldivian society have introduced new practices such as under-aged marriages, non-vaccination of infants and decreased school enrolment rates of children, with specific detrimental implications for the girl child. These same interpretations have placed new obstacles to women’s participation in the public sphere, through defining women’s roles as solely domestic.

As the democratic reform process gained momentum, the government in 2006 sought to analyse the situation of violence against women in Maldives. A nation-wide survey produced results that shocked the national consciousness. The results showed that one in three women between the age of 15 and 49 had suffered from physical, sexual or emotional violence, over the course of their lives. One in nine reported suffering from severe violence. One in six women in the national capital Male’, and one in eight countrywide, reported experiencing childhood sexual abuse under 15 years old. The majority of the perpetrators were identified as immediate family members challenging the notion that the home is a safe place for women.

Violence against women destabilizes society. It distorts traditional norms and entrenches archaic values that feed into a tide of cultural beliefs and attitudes that condone such behaviour. A clear indicator of this trend is that 30% of women in a survey conducted by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives in 2012 thought that it was justifiable for husbands to beat them if they lapsed in their household chores.

For these trends to reverse, more efforts need to be put in to change perceptions about violence against women. The Government, in partnership with international agencies, has developed programs to raise awareness on gender-based violence, develop social support and counselling, provide women with legal options, and advise them on economic opportunities that would empower them to leave abusive relationships.

Mr Chairperson,

Women need to take control of their own destiny, their own lives, to make things better for themselves. This unequivocally means women having more say in the decision making process of their countries. In the Maldives, regardless of the gains women have made in terms of education and employment, women remain significantly under-represented in the political sphere and governance. The proportion of women in parliament is 6.4%, compared to 21.4% globally. Only 7.8% out of the total 2754 candidates who ran in the first-ever local council’s election in the Maldives were women. And out of 942 seats, only 5.3% went to women. No woman has ever run for President in the Maldives.

Democracy cannot be fully realized without the equal participation of women at all levels of government. Thus, gender equality remains a key priority for the democratic consolidation process in the Maldives. We, as a nation, are committed to moving forward, to creating both public and private space for the development, advancement, and empowerment of women in our society.

Mr Chairperson,

On Friday, we marked the international day of the girl child. Yet if we allow things to continue as they are, we will present the girl child of today a bleak future in her maturity tomorrow.

International initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals have given women hope. They have resulted in women achieving the basics. But this is just a beginning. Women need and deserve so much more! The ultimate goal is, and should be equality. This is why Maldives joins UN Women’s call to include a stand-alone goal on achieving gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment in the post 2015 Development Agenda.

Gender equality is not an impossible dream. We can only achieve it though, through partnerships, at the international, regional, national and above all, at personal level. We invite all the men to walk by our side and help us to achieve our shared goal of gender equality, for a more equitable and a just world.

Thank you