Ambassador Walton Webson at United Nations HQ
NEW YORK, 13th February, 2025…Antigua and Barbuda continues to play a prominent role in advocating for the introduction of policies, programmes and initiatives necessary in achieving empowerment opportunities for women and girls.
During the first regular session of the UN-Women Executive Board at the United Nations headquarters this week, Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Walton Webson said a concerted effort is required in developing these policies and the required legislation that align not only with the needs of women and girls, but persons living with disabilities, the elderly and men and boys.
Ambassador Webson proudly shared that Antigua and Barbuda’s strong partnership with the UN has yielded tangible results, with significant progress made in addressing the challenges facing women and girls in reaching their fullest potential.
“The UN footprint in Antigua and Barbuda has expanded with the opening of UN project offices by eight development agencies. UN Women opened its first project office in 2024 and hired a UN Volunteer Specialist to be fully based in Antigua & Barbuda,” Ambassador Webson advised the meeting.
But he feels strongly that more can be achieved by pursuing the reforms of the Resident Coordinator programme, which coordinates the support and initiatives by the United Nations in respective member countries. He expressed full support for the reformed RC initiative and called for reliable core funding to finance the project.
UN-Women Executive Board in session at UN HQ
According to Ambassador Webson, Antigua and Barbuda’s track record in advancing its agenda for a just and equitable society stands as a worthy example of the steadfast advocacy for the mission and work of UN Women and demonstrates the country’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“We commit our unwavering support for the work of UN women and call upon UN-Women to continue its support to enhance its alignment with internationally agreed agendas such as the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS),” he stressed.
In making his case, he highlighted the strides Antigua and Barbuda has been making in advancing gender equality, through initiatives and programmes that continue to empower women and girls.
“Our national gender machinery, The Directorate of Gender Affairs leads the charge, as they mainstream Gender equality across sectors, executing awareness raising and programmatic activities around pressing issues such as gender-based violence,” he stated.
Antigua and Barbuda was the first country in the Caribbean to establish a one-stop mechanism to coordinate the national response to gender-based violence. It offers services to survivors, through the Support and Referral Centre (SARC).
Other examples he pointed out were collaborating with UN Women in updating the National Policy and Action plan to end Gender Based Violence and playing host to UN Women in hosting the Gender Equality Forum as part of the SIDS4 Conference last year.
I am not going to say that my country’s government is not doing the things mentioned in this article regarding gender based violence and taking care of the elderly, women empowerment and so on. It’s just that I am not seeing it on the scale it’s being promoted here.. More needs to be done to really address this situation especially regarding the elderly..