Kuwait expresses GCC states\' commitment to environmental

On behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Kuwait stressed the member states' interest in the environmental, social and economic dimensions on sustainable development and their eagerness to sign and implement all relevant conventions. The statement came in a speech delivered by Kuwaiti Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi at the eighth session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, in which he stated the GCC states' keenness on the issues of oceans, seas, forests and biodiversity as they signed several regional and international environmental conventions. The GCC countries adopted the regional convention on the preservation of wildlife and natural habitats in the GCC region in order to find long-term solutions to a number of environmental problems, said the Ambassador. With regard to the subject of promoting gender equality, including social justice and women's empowerment, Al-Otaibi said that although a progress has been made over the past two decades in order to achieve gender equality, it was "not enough" in some respects, particularly among the poor, stressing the need to ensure the advancement of women at all levels addressed in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. He added that the GCC states are looking forward to benefit, through this session, from the lessons of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to call for further development through international partnerships, taking into account the special needs, circumstances, religions and cultures of other countries. Al-Otaibi also stressed taking concrete actions to strengthen the position of women enlisted in the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the International Conference on Population and Development - ICPD - Program of Action, and the principles of the Final Act of the Rio+20 Conference, as well as the resolutions of the UN bodies. The Ambassador pointed out that human rights, gender equality and social justice cannot be achieved with the presence of groups who are still facing marginalization, discrimination and violence, hoping that Beijing+20, to be held in 2015, would achieve the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment. The GCC states help develop women's position through integrating women within the plans, policies and national development strategies, because the responsibilities borne by women constitute "a genuine expression of development partnership and willingness to move forward," he added. On conflict prevention and peace-building operations after conflicts, and the promotion of durable peace and governance, Ambassador Al-Otaibi said that the GCC stressed the importance of exerting international efforts aimed at achieving and sustaining peace among peoples and nations of the world, as well as enhancing dialogue and alliances of civilizations and cultures.