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Sima Bahous

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Sima Sami Bahous (Arabic: سيما سامي بحوث ; born 26 June 1956) is a Jordanian diplomat and women’s rights advocate, and has served as Executive Director of UN Women since 2021. She previously served as Jordan's Ambassador to the United Nations from 2016 to 2021. Earlier, she was Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt.

Visit of Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, to the European Commission (2023)

Quotes

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  • Large gender gaps continue to hinder and impede progress in achieving all goals,"
  • The need for sustained efforts to fulfill the promise of gender equality, secure women's and girls' human rights, and ensure the realization of their fundamental freedoms.
  • I hope that this is the beginning of a permanent truce and lasting relief for the people of Gaza and all the hostages held by Hamas.
  • I have been consistent in my briefings to you, in reminding you that women and girls are paying the highest price of conflicts.
  • I am alarmed by disturbing reports of gender-based and sexual violence. I reiterate my call from when I last spoke in these Chambers in October, that every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned, and must be fully investigated with the utmost priority.
  • I am reassured that SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict] Patten has activated the UN Action network that she chairs to proactively share UN-sourced and verified information on incidents, patterns, and trends of conflict-related sexual violence to aid all investigations.
  • I am confident that there will ultimately be a reckoning for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in this conflict. The work of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israelis is crucial.
  • I commend the many female staff and volunteers of the Egyptian Red Crescent for their exceptional service in these challenging circumstances. And I welcome the establishment of a new Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, notably including female medical staff, such as doctors and nurses, for the first time. This is a significant milestone.
  • I encourage all donors to increase their allocations, including to UNRWA who remains the only lifeline for thousands of Palestinians.
  • During my mission I heard unequivocal calls time and time again that we need an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” I also heard calls from partners across the region that forced displacement or transfer of Palestinians from their land is a red line, that we must ensure the protection of civilians and that we must facilitate unhindered access to aid. I heard calls for an end to occupation, and for concerted progress towards a peaceful, two-state solution.
  • I suspect I am not unique in finding this one of the lowest moments for the international community and for peace and security that I can recall. But it is precisely at moments such as this that multilateralism is at its most important. This institution, and others of the United Nations, are where we come together to find peace. Our track record is varied.
  • I welcome last week’s resolution in the Security Council and hope that that will only be the start of greater consensus in the Security Council to find a solution. I call on its immediate implementation. But this resolution, like the more-than 100 resolutions on the so-called Palestinian question since 1948, makes no reference to gender issues. I also welcome the General Assembly resolution passed on October 26th, calling for “an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities”.
  • I urge you to include the voices of Palestinian and Israeli women working for peace, to recognize their leadership and to call for their meaningful participation in any negotiation efforts.
  • I call for this truce to be extended to a ceasefire and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally. I call for an immediate end to the current siege, beginning with ensuring access to water.
  • For the sake of women and girls, I leave you with a call for a return to a genuine and purposeful commitment toward a just peace.
  • Even amid the current crisis, women in Gaza are again showing the power of women’s leadership and their centrality to their communities in the most appalling of circumstances. They are working as first responders and volunteers to try and keep people safe. UN Women pledges our continuing support, including to Palestinian women’s organizations in Gaza, where our long-standing relationships are more important than ever”,
  • With the Sustainable Development Goals, the global community has made a strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, we can see clearly with these new indices that across countries, women’s full potential remains unrealised, and large gender gaps continue to be commonplace, thereby obstructing and slowing progress in the realisation of all the Goals,”
  • “Sustained efforts are, therefore, needed to deliver on the promise of gender equality, secure the human rights of women and girls and ensure that their fundamental freedoms are fully realised,”
  • Women and girls have just as much right to access the digital world and prosper in it as men and boys. Their creativity, knowledge and perspectives can shape a future where technology contributes to transforming social norms, amplifying women’s voices, pushing forward against online harassment, preventing the perpetuation of algorithmic biases, and distributing the benefits of digitalization as the great equalizer to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • I just returned last night from Egypt and Jordan. There I met with Government, civil society partners, humanitarian workers, and volunteers, all working tirelessly to respond to the suffering of the Gazan people and end the crisis. I commend their efforts to ensure humanitarian aid gets to those in need. I welcome the news that 50 hostages, all women and children, will be released in return for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children, and a much-needed humanitarian pause. I thank the Governments of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States for facilitating this agreement.I hope that this is the beginning of a permanent truce and lasting relief for the people of Gaza and all the hostages held by Hamas.”
  • I have been consistent in my briefings to you, in reminding you that women and girls are paying the highest price of conflicts.
  • That is two mothers killed every hour and seven women every two hours. We mourn them all.
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