Mr. President，

　　I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of a like-minded group of 24 countries (the list of which is annexed to this statement).

　　The year 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA). We therefore particularly welcome this year’s annual full-day discussion on women’s rights including on the issue of violence against women. We thank the panellists for their presentations.

　　Violence against women and girls remains one of the most pervasive human rights abuses around the world, occurring across all social strata and cultural groups, in the situation of armed conflict and during peace time. Elimination of violence against women should remain a top priority of all States. Despite efforts undertaken by the international community to eliminate all forms of violence against women including domestic violence, which have resulted in the strengthening of legislation and the criminal justice system, challenges and gaps are still remaining.

　　We believe that in order to comprehensively address the root causes of gender inequality and violence against women, a transformative agenda is needed, including through the promotion of empowerment of women and girls in all spheres, especially social and economic spheres, and eradication of gender stereotypes.

　　States should consider implementing legislation which enables the active involvement of women in the formal sector and in decision-making processes and actively promote the gender equality and increase the role of women in development, socialization and policy development. Strategies should be formulated and implemented to strengthen the prevention of violence against women including combating domestic violence and providing protection and services for woman and child victims of violence. Women’s empowerment and full participation in the development of effective policies and programmes relating to the prevention of violence against women is essential in this regard and should be further promoted.

　　Mr. President,

　　Violence against women is one of the factors impeding progress towards meeting the development goals and we cannot achieve any meaningful development without empowering women. We fully recognize that women have a central role to play in sustainable development. We fully support the integration of gender perspective into the post-2015 development agenda. States need to take all measures to empower women and strengthen their economic independence as well as participation in decision making.

　　We would also like to stress the importance of strengthened and effective international cooperation, including through awareness raising and by sharing lessons learned and best practices, to build national capacities. In particular, relevant and tailored technical assistance to developing countries should be enhanced upon request of countries concerned.

　　Mr. President,

　　The year 2015 is a critical juncture for future efforts to end violence against women and girls. Discussions about the post-2015 development agenda, including the sustainable development goals, and debates surrounding Beijing plus 20, provides a pivotal opportunity to review the issue of violence against women and girls. We would like to reiterate our commitment to take intensified and concrete actions to eliminate and prevent violence against women and girls.

　　Thank you, Mr. President.

　　Annex

　　LIST OF COUNTRIES CO-SPONSERING THIS STATEMENT:

　　Algeria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Thailand, UAE, Venezuela, Viet Nam