Check Against Delivery<\/p>\n
Remarks by H.E. Annalena Baerbock<\/strong><\/p>\n President of the 80th<\/sup> Session of the United Nations General Assembly <\/strong><\/p>\n Press Briefing<\/strong><\/p>\n 13 March 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n (As Prepared for Delivery)<\/strong><\/p>\n Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to update you on the current priorities of the General Assembly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This past week the 70th<\/sup> session of the Commission on the Status of Women began and we marked International Women\u2019s Day on strengthening women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n As seen around the world, women\u2019s rights are the benchmark for the strength, freedom and economic development of societies.<\/p>\n Gender equality has never been more supported globally than today, but at the same time we have never seen such organized attempts to roll back these successes.<\/p>\n That makes this session of CSW an incredibly important one.<\/p>\n One message which is already clear due to the strong signal on Monday is that women and girls around the world will never let go of the rights they have achieved.<\/p>\n This is also true for the vast majority of Member States, who defended these rights with their votes, a rebuke to those who would have us turn back the clock on women\u2019s equality – whether it be the protection of women and girls in the digital space, understanding of intersectionality, and the right of every woman, like every man, to decide about their own bodies and their health.<\/p>\n As we have seen in the last weeks, not only are women\u2019s rights under attack, but so is the international order, therefore defending the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ charter remains my central priority for the 80th<\/sup> session.<\/p>\n In just the last few weeks we have marked the 4th<\/sup> anniversary of the war in Ukraine and we have seen an extremely dangerous military escalation between the United States, Israel and Iran that threatens to engulf the entire region in conflict.<\/p>\n The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Charter is clear: the international community, and its Member States all have a responsibility to protect human rights as well to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.<\/p>\n The Charter is only as strong as the will to uphold it, and I would like to remind States that given the recent discussions international law was not only written for the good times, but especially for challenging situations.<\/p>\n And we have seen in history over and over again how difficult it is to uphold these principles when key institutions of the global architecture, such as the Security Council, are being blocked.<\/p>\n So again, I call on all Member States to abide by the values and principles enshrined in this foundational document.<\/p>\n At a time when this institution is under such pressure, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80 reform becomes even more important. So there\u2019s no time to waste.<\/p>\n