THE Secretary-General

6 Mar 2009

THE Secretary-General

Message on INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 8 March 2009

One year ago, I launched a campaign calling on people and governments the world over to unite to end violence against women and girls. The campaign will run through 2015, the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The link with the Goals is clear. We must stop the habitual and socially ingrained violence that mars lives, destroys health, perpetuates poverty and prevents us from achieving women's equality and empowerment.

Violence against women is also linked to the spread of HIV/AIDS. In some countries, as many as one in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. Women and girls are also systematically and deliberately subject to rape and sexual violence in war.

Violence against women stands in direct contradiction to the promise of the United Nations Charter to "promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom." The consequences go beyond the visible and immediate. Death, injury, medical costs and lost employment are but the tip of an iceberg. The impact on women and girls, their families, their communities and their societies in terms of shattered lives and livelihoods is beyond calculation. Far too often, crimes go unpunished, and perpetrators walk free. No country, no culture, no woman, young or old, is immune.

Increasingly, men, too, are speaking out against this stain on our society. Global examples include the White Ribbon Campaign and the V-Day Campaign's "V-Men" counterpart. And at community workshops, men are teaching other men that there is another way and that "real men don't hit women".

Changing mindsets and the habits of generations is not easy. It must involve all of us – individuals, organizations and governments. We must work together to state loud and clear, at the highest level, that violence against women will not be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance.

We need economic and social policies that support women's empowerment. We need programmes and budgets that promote non-violence. We need a positive image of women in the media. We need laws that say violence is a crime, that hold perpetrators accountable and are enforced.

The "Unite to End Violence against Women" campaign encourages men and women to join hands to oppose violence against women. Only by acting together can we create more equal and peaceful societies. Let us all, on this International Women's Day, resolve to make a difference.

SEKRETÁRIU-JERÁL

MeNSAJEN KONA-BA LORON INTERNASION FETO NIAN
Loron 8, fulan-Marsu, tinan 2009

Tinan ida liubá, ha'u lanxa ona kampaña ida husu ema no governu sira atu mundu hamutuk hakotu violénsia kontra feto no feto-oan sira. Kampaña ne'e sei hala'o to'o 2015, tinan objetivu atu alkansa Objetivu Dezenvolvimentu Miléniu nian. Relasaun ho Objetivu ne'e klaru. Ita tenke hapara violénsia ne'ebé baibain no sosialmente nia abut metin ona ne'ebé halo aat moris, destrui saúde, lori kiak no prevene ita hosi alkansa igualdade no habiit feto.

Violénsia kontra feto mós iha relasaun ba habelar HIV/SIDA. Iha nasaun balun, entre feto na'in tolu, na'in ida maka sei hetan baku, forsadu ba seksu ka se lae hetan abuzu iha nia moris tomak. Feto no feto-oan sira mós hetan asaltu seksuál no violénsia seksuál sistematikamente no ho konxiente iha funu laran.

Violénsia kontra feto hamriik iha kontradisaun diretu ba promesa Karta Nasoins Unidas nian atu "promove progresu sosiál no nivel moris ne'ebé di'ak liu iha liberdade ne'ebé boot." Konsekuénsia sira liu buat ne'ebé ita bele haree no imediatu. Mate, kanek, kustu ba saúde nian no lakon servisu hanesan parte ki'ik ida hosi problema ne'ebé boot liu. Ninia impaktu ba feto no feto-oan sira, sira-nia família, sira-nia komunidade no sira-nia sosiedade no iha relasaun ba sobu moris no dalan hodi moris ne'ebé liu ita-nia kálkulu. Dala barak liu, krime sira la hetan kastigu, no autór krime nian la'o livre. La iha nasaun, kultura, feto, joven ka katuas-ferik sira ne'ebé livre hosi problema hirak-ne'e.

Iha mane barak mós ko'alia kontra noda ida-ne'e kona-ba ita-nia sosiedade. Ezemplu globál inklui White Ribbon Campaign/ Kampaña tau fita mutin no kontraparte V-Day Campaign's "V-Men". No iha workshop komunidade nian, no dalan ida seluk mane hanorin nia maluk mane seluk no katak "mane loloos la bele baku feto".

Muda hanoin no kostume jerasaun sira la'ós fasil. Ita hotu tenke envolve – indivíduu, organizasaun no governu sira. Ita tenke servisu hamutuk atu ko'alia sai maka'as no klaru, iha nivel ne'ebé aas liu, katak violénsia kontra feto sei la tolera, iha naran forma, kontestu no sirkunstánsia ruma.

Ita presiza polítiku ekonómiku no sosiál ne'ebé apoia habiit feto sira. Ita presiza programa no orasamentu ne'ebé promove naun-violénsia. Ita presiza imajen ne'ebé pozitivu kona-ba feto iha mídia. Ita presiza lei ne'ebé hateten violénsia hanesan krime ida, ne'ebé kaer autór krime sira hodi responsabiliza no tenke implementa.

Kampaña "Hamutuk atu hakotu Violénsia kontra Feto" enkoraja mane no feto sira atu fó liman ba malu hasoru violénsia kontra feto. Servisu hamutuk de'it maka bele kria sosiedade ida ne'ebé iguál no dame. Mai ita hotu, iha Loron Internasionál Feto nian ida-ne'e, rezolve atu halo diferensa ida.