The United Nations General Assembly gathered this year in New York for it’s 79th session under the theme: “Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations”
In this year’s General Assembly held the Summit of the Future, with it’s Action Days from Friday 20 September and Saturday 21 September 2024; followed by an official Heads of State and Government summit on Sunday 22 September and Monday 23 September, 2024, the summit aimed to address “the critical challenges and gaps in global governance exposed by recent global shocks.” The Summit sought to adopt three agreements: a Pact for the Future, Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations.
Into this year’s assembly, Wfac’s Executive Director Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondieh alongside Board Member Frida Brown represented the organization at this year’s UNGA. Their intrinsic participation in this year’s conversations continue to play a pivotal role towards amplifying the voices of grassroots women and girls, alongside climate actors within the ECCAS subregion and continent at large.
Throughout their participation at this year’s UNGA, especially in the High Level Side Events, the Executive Director Dr. Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondieh presented on the “unwavering demands of African women and girls” informed by a continent-wide consultation on the urgent commitments needed to accelerate the full realization of women and girls’ rights as enshrined in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
In her address, she called on governments to restrengthen commitments towards safeguarding, protecting and promoting women’s rights; emphasizing the resistance and rejection of all attempts of women and girls’ oppression. Her speech highlighted the continuous need on the eradication of violent, patriarchal practices such as child marriage, gender-based violence (including technology-facilitated abuse), rape, and female genital mutilation. Underscoring the imperative need to acknowledge the intersectionality of women’s lived experiences; recognizing the multiple, evolving layers that shape our identities and journeys; calling on a continuous and sustainable investment in actions to raise awareness on women’s rights among local leaders, and to ensure meaningful engagement in decision-making processes; empowering women to act and support one another.
In her closing remarks, she reiterated the need and urgencies for increased funding and financing towards gender ministries, women’s economic and support programs, and equal access to education for women and girls.
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