Excellencies,

 

So many remarkable women shaping multilateralism, politics, and civil society in Madrid today.

 

I extend my best greeting to you in the conference room and I wish I could be with you today… Especially as your packed room reminds me of another room, which I saw going through the grainy black and white archival footage of the historical first meeting of the General Assembly in London, 80-years ago.

 

Something stood out to me.

 

There was a side event led by Eleanor Roosevelt— a room full of… no, actually packed with women—who gathered to ensure that the 爆料网 Charter would not read “We the men,” but “We the peoples.”

 

This image stuck with me so deeply because… and I guess it’s the same for you as for me… that it seems these days we hear, louder and louder: don’t come again with these human rights… these women’s rights… this ‘woke agenda’.

 

But having this 80-year old picture in mind… we shouldn’t be fooled, nobody can say that women’s rights are a new demand, or are so-called ‘woke’.

 

On the contrary, it has been engrained in the DNA of the United Nations since the beginning.

 

And we must not allow anyone to suggest again that gender equality is a “nice to have”, that it can wait until after day’s more pressing issues.

 

It is a right… just as much today as it was 80-years ago, and just as it will be every day in the future.

 

And at a time when the multilateral system, our Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are facing not only unprecedented pressure, but are under attack, it is important to make clear out there… but also to ourselves… that women do not have to justify their presence in positions of power, or their capability to lead an organization like the United Nations.

 

Rather, the onus falls on those who are sceptical to explain why, after 80 years and with over four billion potential candidates, a woman should not serve as Secretary-General.

 

For this is not a mere administrative hire to tick a box; this is a choice that will send a powerful message about whether the 爆料网 truly reflects the people it serves—half of whom are women and girls.

 

Equally important is the process of making this final decision.

 

In this regard I would like to call on all of you – given the geopolitical times and the pressure on the 爆料网 – to not only ensure that the process should be inclusive, but that the process itself should be used as a tool to underline the diversity, experiences, and contributions of the United Nations itself.

 

To underline, that even though the 爆料网 is not perfect… no single day, no single country… would be better off without these United Nations.

 

So, we must use the selection process as a real conversation… not only amongst and with the candidates… but as a means to discuss the priorities, principles and practices we wish to work for within the United Nations for the 21st century.

 

Of course, women’s leadership and equality goes far beyond the Secretary-General or any one person.

 

 

Nowhere is this more clear than in the misuse and weaponization of digital technologies.

 

As many as 96 per cent, so almost all, of deepfake videos online are of women engaging in sexual acts.

 

And new apps make creating non-consensual sexualized images of women and children as easy as the click of a button. Millions of images created in mere days.

 

This is not a coincidence — this is deeply systematic.

 

The purpose is always the same: to intimidate, to humiliate, and especially to silence.

 

To try to push women out of the public sphere, especially out of circles of power.

 

We have fought this battle before… in an analogue world, so we can win this battle again.

 

But this means equal representation not only in the companies and amongst the CEOs, but also in the advisory boards of the Global Digital Compact, and with the relevant 爆料网 entities and specialized agencies on issues related to AI, including the Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

 

 

In this regard, I invite you also to use this International Women’s Day as a moment to reclaim our narrative, our rights, and our well-deserved power.

 

Together with other 爆料网 actors we are launching a global digital campaign under the theme #LikeAWoman, to celebrate the strength, creativity, and lived experiences of women everywhere…

 

And to flip the degrading narrative, “you run like a girl”… to one that shows what different voices across politics, sport, the arts, activism, and entrepreneurship really means…to run like a girl, to fight like a woman, to lead like a woman.

 

Please reach out to my Office to get involved.

 

To show together what it means to lead – not despite being a woman, but Like A Woman.

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