Nordic and Baltic States stress negative impact of pandemic on women's and girls' rights
On 30 April 2020, at the informal discussion with Ms. Anita Ramasastry, Chair of the Coordination Committee of UN Special Procedures, and Prof. Dainius Pūras, Member of the Committee and the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Lithuania together with other Nordic and Baltic states reaffirmed their commitments on gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights and stressed the importance of access to information in addressing COVID-19.
Women‘s and girls‘ rights, including right to health, are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The Nordic and Baltic countries emphasised the importance of ensuring that all response actions are gender-responsive and expressed their strong support the Secretary-General’s call to make gender equality and the prevention and redress of violence against women and girls a key part of national response plans to COVID-19.
States must ensure that measures are proportionate, time bound, prescribed by law, and are guided by the principles of non-discrimination, democracy, gender equality, and the rule of law. Access to information, including through free, independent, and pluralistic media is crucial to alleviate the impacts of the crisis.
