Tackling Global Inequalities

Today has been labelled ‘Blog Action Day: Let’s Talk About Inequality.’ To mark this occasion I wanted to share some thoughts on what the UK is doing to promote women’s rights and to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights.

The promotion and protection of women’s rights is more than a moral obligation.  It is enshrined and advanced in international human rights law.  It is essential for stable and prosperous societies where women fully participate in political, economic and social life. Without gender equality, development goals and poverty reduction cannot be fully realised. Without the participation of women in conflict resolution and peace-building there can be no sustainable and equable peace as negative cycles of discrimination return.

This reasoning is at the heart of the UK’s approach to foreign policy and development. All DFID programmes have to consider how the assistance will contribute to reducing gender inequality. DFID’s Strategic Vision for Girls and Women sets out the UK’s commitment to ensuring its development assistance promotes women and girls to have a Voice, a Choice and Control over their lives. We are pushing as the UK for a standalone goal in the post-2015 development framework on gender to ensure it gets the attention it deserves. We hope this will include a commitment to eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls. We have also taken a lead in combating violence against women on the global stage: by hosting in June the first Global Summit on Preventing Sexual Violence In Conflict and in July the Prime Minister hosted the Girl Summit to tackle early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. These have made a real difference to the international momentum behind tackling these challenges and ensuring women and girls are able to realise their potential and access their rights, including to adequate health, education and economic empowerment.

LGBT rights are controversial across the world. Often they are portrayed as being in contradiction to people’s religion or culture. Meanwhile LGBT people across the world face discrimination, persecution and violence for simply being who they are. The fact is that Human Rights are exactly that – universal rights for all humans irrespective of their identity or personal circumstances. As South Africa’s Constitution eloquently states you cannot discriminate against anyone on the grounds or sexual orientation or any other basis. The Human Rights Council Resolution on this, voted on 26 September, was an important moment to reaffirm this. Both the UK and South Africa voted in favour. My video blog for Pretoria’s Gay Pride Festival and Parade shares more of my views on the importance of recognising LGBT rights.

Neither the UK nor South Africa has all the answers in tackling gender equality issues or LGBT rights – at home or abroad. But both governments, supported by vibrant civil society at home, are committed to tackling these challenges, sometimes on our own, sometimes in our regions or the UN, and sometimes in partnership together. Our support, through DFID, for the “Safer South Africa” programme seeks to strengthen South Africa’s response to gender based violence through improved prevention, tackling the inherent inequalities that lead to women in particular being victims of violence. The UK will continue to work with South Africa and others toward a world that respects equal rights for all and development that leaves no one behind.