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Media
Advisory
Desertification
and Drought Day 2023 - Her Land, Her
Rights
Bonn/New York, 18
May 2023 – This year’s Desertification
and Drought Day, marked on 17 June, will put the
global spotlight on women’s land rights with
events taking place in New York and around the
world.
The 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.
The event will be opened by the
President of the 78th General Assembly,
and will convene high-level policymakers, women
leaders, renowned scientists, land activists, and
youth representatives from around the world 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.
UNCCD Executive
Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said: “Of all the
gender inequalities we experience in the world,
the imbalance in women’s access to fertile land
remains arguably the most shocking. In every
corner of the world, filling this particular
gender gap remains an unfinished business. That’s
why on this year’s Desertification and Drought Day
we are mobilizing the international community in
support of women’s land
rights.”
Tarja Halonen, former
President of Finland and UNCCD Land
Ambassador, who is among women leaders
attending the high-level event, said: “Solving
gender inequalities is not just the right thing to
do. If we ensure that women are fully able to use
their abilities, knowledge, talents, and
leadership potential, our societies are simply
better off.”
Inna Modja, Malian
singer and UNCCD Goodwill Ambassador, who
will be performing at the high-level event, said:
“As a woman, artist, and climate and social
justice activist, I believe it’s vital to empower
women and youth and promote gender equality
in the fight against desertification and land
degradation. Together, we can create a brighter,
sustainable future.”
In addition to the global
observance event in New York, events to mark
Desertification and Drought Day 2023 will be
taking place in all parts of the world, including
Fiji, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco,
Serbia, Vietnam and Uzbekistan.
Ahead of
this year’s Desertification and Drought Day, UNCCD
launched #HerLand,
a public-awareness campaign to promote successful
examples of women and girls’ contributions to
sustainable land management, and mobilize support
to advance land rights for women and girls around
the world.
Women, who comprise nearly half of
the world's agricultural workforce hold a vital
stake in the health of the land and suffer most
when land is degraded. Yet, discriminatory
practices related to land tenure, credit access,
equal pay, and decision-making often impede their
active participation in sustaining land
health.
Today, less than one-in-five
landholders worldwide are women.
This
represents a missed opportunity: when they are
given equal access to land, women and girls can
increase agricultural productivity, restore land
and build resilience to drought. Women invest more
in nutrition, health and education which benefits
their families, and wider
society.
###
Confirmed
details
Event
title
Her Land. Her Rights.
Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration
Goals
High-level event to mark
Desertification and Drought Day
2023
Venue
General
Assembly Hall, United Nations Headquarters, New
York
Webcast Link: UN web
tv
Streaming through Twitter and Facebook:
@unccd
Dates and
time
Friday, 16 June 2023
10:00 hrs
–13:00 hrs (EDT) / 14:00 hrs- 17:00 hrs (GMT/UTC)
/ 15:00 hrs– 18:00 hrs BST/ 16:00 hrs – 19:00 hrs
(CEST)
Speakers
Organized
jointly by the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD), UN Women, Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) and the UN Human Rights Office, the
high-level event will focus on policies and
actions needed to advance women’s land rights and
role sustainable land management.
Notable
speakers are expected to be in attendance,
including:
- Csaba
Kőrösi, President of the General
Assembly
- António
Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations (via
recorded video message)
- Amina
J. Mohammed, Deputy
Secretary-General
- Tarja
Halonen, Former President of Finland and UNCCD
Land Ambassador
- Sima
Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN
Women
- Alain-Richard
Donwahi, UNCCD COP15 President
- Hindou
Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association des
Femmes Peuples Autochtones du Tchad
(AFPAT)
- Rex
Molapo, Co-founder, Conservation Music,
Lesotho
The
programme of the high-level event will feature
musical performances by UNCCD Goodwill
Ambassadors, Malian singer, and artist Inna Modja
who executive-produced the Great Green Wall
documentary, and Senegalese musician Baaba Maal
who composed music for the latest instalment of
Marvel’s film Black Panther, as well as Ricky Kej,
3 times Grammy Award-winner, Indian
Composer.
It will also offer an immersive
experience, including the launch of a metaverse
game demo and a photo exhibition entitled Her
Land.
Notes to
Editors
For preview interviews
and media related inquires please
contact: UNCCD Press Office: pr...@unccd.int
and Portland Communications: un...@portland-communications.com
Journalists
wishing to cover the event who don’t hold valid
press accreditation for the United Nations
Headquarters in New York need to be registered,
and should email: pr...@unccd.int
and un...@portland-communications.com.
A copy of your valid press card and passport will
be required to pick up your access
badge.
Video and multimedia assets
Video and multimedia assets from the
event will be made available immediately
afterwards.
Existing videos and assets from Her
Land Campaign – https://trello.com/b/AuQjCPfN/unccd-herland-campaign.
Credit: UNCCD
Human interest stories showcasing
vital contribution of women to sustainable land
management will be available nearer the
time.
Social
Media
Twitter: @UNCCD
Instagram:
@unccd
Hashtags: #HerLand
#UNited4Land
Download social media assets,
including banners, infographics, cartoons and
postcards: https://trello.com/b/0gIgBV68/desertification-and-drought-day-2022
Learn
more about the campaign: https://www.unccd.int/land-and-life/gender/herland
For
information about Desertification and Drought Day
visit: https://www.unccd.int/events/desertification-drought-day/2023
For
information about Desertification and Drought Day
2023 events in New York and around the world
visit: https://www.unccd.int/events/desertification-drought-day/2023/events-around-world | | |
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About
the UNCCD
The United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the global
vision and voice for land. We unite governments,
scientists, policymakers, private sector and
communities around a shared vision and global
action to restore and manage the world’s land
for the sustainability of humanity and the
planet. Much more than an international treaty
signed by 197 parties, UNCCD is a multilateral
commitment to mitigating today’s impacts of land
degradation and advancing tomorrow’s land
stewardship in order to provide food, water,
shelter and economic opportunity to all people
in an equitable and inclusive
manner.
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Copyright © 2017*
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification*, All rights
reserved.
For
preview interviews and media related inquires
please contact:
UNCCD Press Office: pr...@unccd.int
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2023
5:08 PM
Subject: Media Advisory -
Desertification and Drought Day 2023 - Her Land,
Her Rights
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