Ayşe Yorgancıoğlu, academician and member of the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, wrote about her impressions of the ‘United Nations 2022 High Level Political Forum’, which she attended on behalf of the Association, representing women’s rights organizations from Turkey.
Ayşe Yorgancıoğlu
A wide array of stakeholders were present at the United Nation’s 2022 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in UN headquarters this month. The attendees included prime ministers, ambassadors, scientists, academicians, big corporations, activists and various civil society organizations.
A global audience
It was indispensable that Turkish civil society, especially Turkish women’s rights groups -through the women’s rights association SES- got to be represented at such an important global forum where the future of the world gets to be planned collectively. Thanks to the support received within the framework of the ‘Strengthening Civil Society Capacities and Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships to Advance Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Türkiye’ project, implemented by UN Women with the financial support of the European Union, Turkish women’s rights movement get to sit at the same table with its global peers at the UN ecosystem. As there are immense learnings from global to local and from local to global levels, bringing the Turkish civil society together with such an important global network of policy makers and activists has been extremely valuable. Enabling the access of Turkish civil society members to such a plethora of ideas and views will surely have a cascading effect for the Turkish civil society in general.
During the sessions, it was repeated by numerous delegates that global solidarity, international cooperation and multilateralism are the most important approaches we have in tackling today’s grave challenges. Main subjects that were discussed were how to build better after COVID pandemic, reaching the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, access to education (SDG 4) and gender equality (SDG 5). Below is an outline of the topics discussed and the messages conveyed to the audience by the esteemed delegates of the HLPF.
Global challenges
It was brought up to the attention of attendees that for the past 2 years we are not going forward with the SDGs due to the setbacks of COVID 19 pandemic and decades of improvements are at the risk of being lost. While COVID 19 increased the vulnerabilities of underprivileged people, vaccine equity became a global concern for millions of people. As we focus on recovery from the pandemic, millions of girls may not go back to school again since they have been out of the education system due to COVID 19. Despite this grim outlook, post pandemic era actually provides us with a new chance to rebuild – build back better. This time with equity and empowerment.
2030 Agenda – Reaching the SDGs
Our goal is a fairer, greener and a more resilient world while we are working towards the 2030 agenda of reaching all the 17 SDGs. However, climate change and peace & security are the two overarching crises that we have to solve immediately while the interlinkages between the goals should not be overlooked.
Russian aggression against Ukraine posits a big challenge for everyone. Peace & security challenges can dry up the resources we have. “There is no prospect for prosperity and sustainable development without peace” as one speaker said. Safeguarding food security and resolving liquidity problems of low-income countries are also imminent risks we are facing globally.
Planet and people: we cannot have one at the expense of the other. We need increased global financing for green transformation of our economies and societies. Scalable local solutions and regional cooperation will play a key role going forward. Although there is an absolute need for investment and innovation for net zero, we need the buy in and local knowledge of local communities for such a transformation. So just providing private sector investment is not enough, we also need the cooperation of the local communities. STI – science, technology and innovation- is the most essential instrument we have in order to rise above these challenges. Enabling regulations will also play an important role in diffusing new technologies.
The important question we have to ask is how can we hold our countries, our companies and ourselves accountable. Development is a human right. Thus, it is a duty -a moral obligation- for the countries to cooperate towards this goal. This is actually a multi-sectoral, multi-cultural process. Civil society’s role of monitoring and ensuring accountability during this process has to be recaptured. We have to let the voices in. People -as stakeholders- has to be a part of this transformation process. There also has to be a sharper focus on leaving no one behind and prioritization of marginalized groups.
Although there is a heavy emphasis on environmental sustainability measures of the portfolios of companies, they still lack various other social measurements. We do know that corporations have profound economical, societal and political effects. Thus, new metrics for SDG commitments of major companies are needed. Driving the implementation of SDGs, just like countries, private sector is an important stakeholder. Thus, all the stakeholders, including countries, governments, civil society organizations, companies and individuals should hold themselves accountable.
Moving forward: Access to education (SDG 4)
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of education. Education is linked to economic prosperity, a path to escape from poverty, helps eliminate inequality, reduces violence. Education is a human right and a public good, not a privilege. Education is not an expenditure but an investment for a better future. A paradigm shift that propels us to this direction is necessary.
There has to be an emphasis of on vocational education as well as primary and secondary education globally. There are millions of girls who cannot reach to education. We have to ensure equity in education. It must not be forgotten that there are important interlinkages between the SDGs, and reaching the other SDGs without implementing the SDG 4 and SDG 5 is impossible.
Moving forward: Gender equality (SDG 5)
We are at a time women’s rights are under an immense threat. There are threats against fundamental freedoms, watering down of legal protections, erosion of democratic institutions and repression of rights. Civil society defending gender equality is also under the threat of such populist governments. Thus, there has to be a strong partnership between the state and the civil society organizations, and states must protect the civil society through laws.
Rights such as assembling, walking on the streets or controlling your own body are being restricted or abolished in many states. Rising populism and regressive policies are hindering our rights, setting us back decades regarding gender equality. Sexual and reproductive rights are essential to SDGs. Women has to be able to control their reproductive rights so that girls can stay in school and escape poverty. Family planning, access to contraceptives and safe abortion are prerequisites of reproductive rights. Fighting against gender-based violence at national and international level is another crucial necessity that needs our attention.
Economic justice of women requires us to change how we see the care work. Currently, all the care burden is on women. Thus, formalization of care economy in formal economy and a strong care infrastructure are needed. Protection systems are failing women. Women are out of the financial system. Women must be seen as creators of wealth, participators and leaders. Not only as care givers. There must be decent work opportunities for women as well as equal pay for equal work.
In order to reach these goals, having aggregate data on gender equality is crucial. What gets measured gets done. COVID 19, climate crises and peace & security crises threatens women’s livelihoods more than men. Gender responsive approaches are necessary to achieve the SDGs.
Although feminist diplomacy is adapted and feminist actors are supported by certain countries, there is no country that has reached gender equality in the world yet. So, all the states need to deconstruct and reconstruct their approach to support SDG 5. For this to happen, political will is needed. Legislations must be put in place. This will consolidate the society and build peace. Liberty of women, men and children depends on gender equality. Gender equality doesn’t only concern women. Achieving women’s full potential is imperative to reach sustainable development. All the SDGs are mutually reinforcing so without SDG 5, the others cannot be reached.
There has to be equitable representation of women in decision making processes. More space for woman voices are needed both in public and political arenas. Better representation of women in politics is necessary. In order to reach this goal, political and economic barriers should be overcome and socio-cultural norms has to change.
Strengthening the state’s support system for marginalized groups such as women, LGBTQ, elderly, migrant populations and people with disability is also vital. Intersectionalities must be addressed and no women should be left behind.
Gender equality in not just a goal in itself, but a prerequisite to achieve 2030 agenda. As one speaker at the forum said: “Women and girls all around the world are counting on us”. So, thank you UN Women Turkey for supporting women’s rights organizations in Turkey and especially SES in their gender equality endeavor.