ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has hailed Ethiopia's leadership in women's advancement, with particular emphasis on women's growing engagement in the East African country's socioeconomic and political landscape.
The deputy UN chief made the remarks as she opened a joint solidarity mission to the Horn of Africa together with the African Union (AU)'s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, on combating the scourge of human trafficking with Ethiopian women leaders on late Monday.
"Ethiopia has shown its leadership in the fight against human trafficking, as the first Sub-Saharan country to join 30 other countries supporting the United Nations Blue Heart Campaign," Mohammed said.
"The country has also been a leader in advancing the participation of women in public life, including through a political cabinet that is half female. In fact, the Nobel Peace Prize just awarded to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed highlighted his role in significantly increasing the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life," she added.
The deputy UN chief also hailed the Ethiopian premier for his efforts "to increase women in decision making in political and other offices."
Noting Ahmed's achievement in terms of 50 percent gender parity in his cabinet, Mohammed stressed that "this is leadership."
Mohammed also argued that harnessing the energies, skills and resources of all parts of societies to address global challenges and achieve the SDGs means enabling women to have a voice and an active role.
"This applies too to our efforts to prevent and counter human trafficking as multiple targets under the SDGs call for addressing human trafficking to prevent abuse and exploitation, eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls, eradicate forced labor and child labor and stop transnational organized crime," she added.
The deputy UN chief made the remarks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa during a forum that was held under the theme "The Transformational Role of Women in Addressing Human Trafficking: Looking at Gender Dimensions."
The forum was organized by the Norwegian Embassy to Ethiopia in collaboration with the UN office on Drugs and Crime, as part of ongoing efforts to launch national Blue Heart campaigns to combat human trafficking around the world, it was noted.
