TRENDS…

>“The Revolution introduced me to art, and in turn, art introduced me to the Revolution!”
― Albert Einstein
> Good morning.

Honourable Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly Ms. Joyce Laboso (congratulations on this new
important role) and Mr. Louis Michel,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I thank you for inviting me to address you at this ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on a matter that concerns all of us,
all 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific nations and 27 European Union Member States represented in this forum, and ALL
nations of the world.

It is one of the most pervasive violations of human rights in the world, one of the least prosecuted crimes, and one of the
greatest threats to lasting peace and development.

I am talking about violence against women and children. I am honoured to be here, at your request, to address this urgent
matter as you join together to advance human rights, democracy and the common values of humanity.

We all know that we have to do much more to respond to the cries for justice of women and children who have suffered
violence. We have to do much more to end these horrible abuses and the impunity that allows these human rights violations
to continue.

When we started UN Women two-and-a-half years ago, we made ending violence against women and girls one of our top
priorities.

I think we can all agree that the time for complacency is long gone, has passed and belongs to another era. The silence on
violence against women and children has been broken and now. Now is the time for stronger action.

It is time for action when up to 70 per cent of women in some countries face physical and/or sexual violence in their
lifetime.

When one in three girls in developing countries is likely to be married as a child bride; when some 140 million girls and women
have suffered female genital mutilation; when millions of women and girls are trafficked in modern-day slavery; and when
women’s bodies are a battleground and rape is used as a tactic of war – it is time for action.

This violence against women and children has tremendous costs to communities, nations and societies—for public well-being,
health and safety, and for school achievement, productivity, law enforcement, and public programmes and budgets.

If left unaddressed, these human rights violations pose serious consequences for current and future generations and for
efforts to ensure peace and security, to reduce poverty and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and the next
generation of development goals we are discussing .

The effects of violence can remain with women and children for a lifetime, and can pass from one generation to another.
Studies show that children who have witnessed, or been subjected to, violence are more likely to become victims or abusers
themselves.

Violence against women and girls is an extreme manifestation of gender inequality and systemic gender-based discrimination.
The right of women and children to live free of violence depends on the protection of their human rights and a strong chain
of justice.

Countries that enact and enforce laws on violence against women have less gender-based violence. Today 160 countries have
laws to address violence against women. However, in too many cases enforcement is lacking.

For an effective response to this violence, different sectors in society must work together.
A rape survivor must have rapid access to a health clinic that can administer emergency medical care, including treatment to
prevent HIV and unintended pregnancies and counseling.

A woman who is beaten by her husband must have someplace to go with her children to enjoy safety, sanity and shelter.

A victim of violence must have confidence that when she files a police report, she will receive justice and the perpetrator
will be punished.

And an adolescent boy in school who learns about health and sexuality must be taught that coercion, violence and
discrimination against girls are unacceptable.

As the Acting Head of UN Women, I have the opportunity to meet with representatives from around the world, with
government officials, civil society groups and members of the business community.

I can tell you that momentum is gathering, awareness is rising and I truly believe that long-standing indifference to violence
against women and children is declining.

A recent study published in the American Sociological Review finds that transformation in attitudes are happening around
the world.

The study looked at women’s attitudes about intimate partner violence in 26 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and
the Caribbean. It found that during the first decade of the 2000s, in almost every one of these countries, women became
more likely to reject intimate partner violence.

The surveys found growing female rejection of domestic violence in 23 of the 26 countries. It found that “women with
greater access to global cultural scripts through urban living, education, or access to media were more likely to reject
intimate partner violence.”

The study’s author concludes that domestic violence is increasingly viewed as unacceptable due to changes in global
attitudes. Yet even with this rising rejection, in nearly half of the countries, 12 of the 26 – more than half of women
surveyed – still believe that domestic violence is justified. So even though attitudes are changing, we still have a long way to
go to achieve the changes in attitudes that are necessary to end violence against women and children.

I witnessed this myself at the 57th Commission on the Status of Women at United Nations Headquarters in New York this
past March. The agreement reached at the Commission on preventing and ending violence against women and girls was hard-
won and tensions ran high throughout the final week of the session.

There were many times when it was unclear whether the Commission would end in deadlock, as it did 10 years before on the
same theme, or if Member States were going to decide on a groundbreaking agreement.

In the end, thanks to the tireless work of civil society advocates and negotiations into the wee hours of Government
delegates and UN Women colleagues, agreement was reached on a historic document that embraces the call of women around
the world to break the cycle of violence and to protect the rights of women and girls.

The landmark agreement provides an action plan for Governments. It breaks this down into the four P’s: Protection of human
rights, Prosecution of offenders, Prevention of violence, and Provision of Services to survivors.

Protecting human rights

When it comes to protecting rights, Governments are called on to review national legislation, practices and customs and
abolish those that discriminate against women. Laws, policies and programmes that explicitly prohibit and punish violence
must be put into place, in line with international agreements, and you as Members of Parliament can play a key role.

Based on findings from UN Women’s 2011-2012 Progress of the World’s Women report «In Pursuit of Justice », out of all
the ACP countries, 37 have legislation against domestic violence, 34 have legislation against sexual harassment, and just nine
have legislation against marital rape.
Providing services

When it comes to providing services, the agreement calls for strong action to improve the quality and accessibility of
services so that women have prompt access to services regardless of their location, race, age or income.

These include: health-care services including post-rape care, emergency contraception and abortion where legal; immediate
and effective police responses, psychological support and counselling; legal advice and protection orders; shelter, telephone
hotlines, and social assistance.

Responses must be timely and efficient to end a culture of hopelessness and impunity and foster a culture of justice and
support. In almost all of the ACP countries comprehensive multisectoral services need to be put in place and made accessible
to all.

Prosecuting offenders

When it comes to the prosecution of offenders, we know that ending impunity means that laws must be enforced.

Women must have access to the police to file a criminal report and receive legal advice and protection orders. The response
to violence must be immediate, coordinated and effective so that crimes are punished and justice is secured. This is true for
times of peace and conflict. There can be no lasting peace when women suffer sexual violence.

Courts and the justice system must be accessible and responsive to criminal and civil matters relating to violence against
women. Women must be informed of their legal rights and supported to navigate the legal system.

And for this, we need more women police officers, prosecutors and judges, because we know that women serving on the
frontlines of justice strengthen justice for women and children.

Preventing violence against women

When it comes to preventing violence, we must address the root causes of gender inequality and discrimination.

Evidence shows that where the “gender gap” is greater—in the status of women’s health, participation in the economy,
education levels, and representation in politics— women are more likely to be subjected to violence. Especially important is
economic empowerment as a prevention strategy

This means that we need to take a long-term, systemic and comprehensive approach that recognizes and protects women’s
and children’s full and equal human rights.

We must promote a culture of equality between men and women through institutional and legal reform, education, awareness-
raising and the full engagement of men and boys.

Honourable MPs,

Ending violence against women is one of UN Women’s key priorities and a critical part of UN Women’s mission to achieve
gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Having said that, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about UN Women’s role in ending violence against women
and some of our achievements.

A top priority right now is working with countries to implement the recent agreement from the Commission on the Status of
Women.

I am very pleased that UN Women and the EU have agreed to work on this together. We hope, with your support, to
collaborate with more regional and cross-regional bodies and groupings such as the African Union, the Latin American and
Caribbean States and the Pacific Forum to follow up on the agreement from the Commission on the Status of Women to end
violence against women and girls.
Today UN Women is working in 85 countries, including in many ACP countries, to prevent violence in the first place, to end
impunity for these crimes, to increase access to justice and to expand essential services to survivors.

Through our global, regional and national programmes, we support the development of laws, national action plans and policies,
and training programmes. We provide funding to NGOs and civil society, contribute to advocacy and awareness-raising
efforts, and support local initiatives.

We work together with UNICEF and UN Habitat on the Safe Cities programme to promote the safety of women and girls in
public spaces. We now work in over 20 cities around the world, and this number continues to rise. Let me share with you a
few exciting examples.

In Kigali, Rwanda, a Safe City Campaign was launched by the mayor’s office and other partners. The city is advocating for
reforms to an existing law on gender-based violence to include measures on sexual harassment and violence in public spaces.

In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, bylaws on local markets now include articles which address women’s safety. Women
vendors are returning to the markets following the first phase of physical and social infrastructure improvements, and a
focused awareness campaign is underway on sexual harassment and sexual violence.

UN Women also administers the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. This is a leading global fund exclusively
dedicated to addressing violence against women and girls. To date, the UN Trust Fund has delivered more than USD 86
million to 351 initiatives in 128 countries and territories, often directly to women’s organizations. The results have
demonstrated many good practices that can, and should be, expanded.

Another global programme administered by UN Women is the Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign to End Violence against
Women. Through strong advocacy, the campaign is mobilizing communities across the globe.

In Africa, the UNiTE Campaign organized the Kilimanjaro Climb hosted by Tanzania under the auspices of the President. This
raised awareness of violence against women to the highest levels resulting in strengthened national commitments throughout
Africa.

In the Pacific Region, the campaign succeeded in securing the “Pacific Members of Parliament UNiTE statement” – the first
of its kind in the region, tabled at the Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting in the Cook Islands.

In the Caribbean, 15 high-profile local artists produced a series of creative materials as part of the “Caribbean Artists,
united to end violence against women” initiative, developed in the framework of the UNiTE Campaign. These materials were
officially presented by the Secretary-General of CARICOM, Irwin LaRocque, last year during the gathering of CARICOM
Heads of Government. This has contributed to give high visibility and strategically position the issue of violence against
women in the region.

And UN Women’s COMMIT initiative has garnered new commitments by 58 Governments to prevent and end violence against
women and girls. I applaud the ACP and EU member countries, and the European Union itself, for making commitments and
encourage other countries to join them.

We must work together to seize the moment and move quickly so that the momentum is not lost. UN Women stands ready to
assist Member States with other UN partners. We have already identified the key priorities and strategies we will be
focusing:

First, Getting the Evidence: Data on Violence against Women

Despite some progress in this area, there is still an urgent need to strengthen the evidence base as many countries still lack
reliable and meaningful data. Actually, earlier this morning the European Women’s Lobby Centre on Violence against Women
presented the findings from the 2013 Barometer focusing on rape in the EU.

In cooperation with our UN partners, we plan to build capacity in regions and countries to increase skills in data collection,
analysis, dissemination and use, using the UN Statistical Commission Guidelines for obtaining data for the nine core
indicators for violence against women.

Second, Strengthening Multi-sectoral Services for Survivors

To this end, UN Women is working to devise globally agreed standards and guidelines on the essential services and responses
that are required to meet the immediate and mid-term safety, health, and other needs of women and girls subjected to
violence. I am very pleased that we are now working in partnership with UNFPA and other UN agencies to deliver this
initiative.

Third, Preventing Violence against Women and Girls

To this end, we will advocate for and work towards a shared understanding at the global level about what works, and provide
guidance to States and other stakeholders on how to develop an holistic framework to prevent violence against women and
girls; including by working systematically and consistently with male leaders and men and boys at all levels and by further
strengthening women’s economic and political participation.

Fourth, Strengthening Partnerships

We will continue to engage civil society and the private sector in ending violence against women and girls, working with
survivors to empower them, making sure their experiences are taken into consideration in the development of responses; and
working with those women and girls who suffer multiple and intersecting forms of violence who are particularly vulnerable.

Fifth and finally, we will continue to improve the knowledge base for ending violence against women by developing additional
modules and updating our virtual knowledge centre.

Honourable Members of Parliament,

I would now like to take a brief moment to discuss the post-2015 development agenda, especially its role in addressing the
issue of violence against women. I also had the occasion to deliver a video statement on this in your Women’s Forum which
took place past Saturday and which concentrated on the post-2015 framework. I applaud the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary
Assembly for regularly organizing such a Women’s Forum and strengthening this network.

UN Women is calling for a stand-alone goal on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment and separately and
concurrently gender equality mainstreamed across all goals. This is needed to address the structural foundations of gender-
based inequality. To this effect, we are calling for the new framework to tackle three core areas: safety, access and voice,
so women can live free of violence, enjoy equal access of opportunities and resources; and exercise their voice in leadership
and participation.

In developing the post-2015 agenda and the 11th European Development Fund, we seek your support to ensure a strong focus
on gender equality, women’s rights and empowerment and ending violence.

I thank you. All of us at UN Women look forward to strengthened collaboration with you and your countries through this
forum to end violence against women and children.

> The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is causing everyone to revisit the global norms that have been the backdrop for
business for the last century. Coupled with emerging technologies, socio-demographic shifts, and political and economic
uncertainty, COVID-19 will change entire economic and geopolitical systems. In addition, the nature of trade is undergoing a
profound shift in an increasingly digital, interconnected cyber world. Resilience and connectivity will be the new watchwords
as organisations seek to adjust to this unpredictable future.

> -Artificial intelligence (A.I.)

A.I. describes advanced, smart computing techniques used to analyse complex problems and data. It helps define patterns in
data and provide predictive analytics.

A.I. enables the automation/Smart Everything trend, powering new applications for autonomous robotics, creating new ways
of engaging with today’s empowered consumers, and solving ever new challenges in real-time.
- Autonomous logistics
In the same way that self-driving cars are disrupting personal transportation, there is a surge of applications that are taking
advantage of autonomous systems for logistics.

Robotics and A.I. are other technologies that are contributing to the advancement of autonomous logistics, which is a key
enabler for business trends such as on-demand logistics, and automation/ Smart Everything.
- Blockchain and distributed data
The interest in blockchain has expanded across industry as a way to share data and information across a large number of
participants, while offering the possibility of greater data and transactional security.

Blockchain offers new capabilities and is helping to re-ignite interest in other approaches to managing distributed data, such
as edge computing and distributed data warehouses.

This technology is being rapidly evaluated today as a potential enabler for traceability, especially in food safety applications.

- Computer vision
While early advances in computer vision focused exclusively on image recognition, the field has expanded. Vision systems can
now observe environments and make decisions and conclusions to support a variety of applications, especially to aid in product
quality control in the warehouse.

This technology is enabling many business trends, most notably automation/Smart Everything—and is creating efficiency and
speed in support of on-demand logistics and services.

-Voice recognition
Voice recognition and natural language processing have advanced—and are driving the adoption of personal assistant devices.

This new “conversational commerce” is emerging as a hot new trend that is impacting brands, companies, and marketplaces.
These players are increasingly connecting with consumers through apps and voice to improve product research, answer
questions and simplify purchases.

This technology enabler will have the biggest impact on the trends: empowered consumer and automation/Smart Everything.

- Robotics
Robotic systems take on many forms, whether carrying out actions autonomously or semi-autonomously or acting in concert
with other robots or people for more complex tasks.

A new trend in robotics is “collaborative robots” (also referred to as cobots or co-robots) in which robots are interacting
with people in warehouses and manufacturing settings.

Robotics is a key enabler in the automation/Smart Everything trend. It is also assisting in the scaling of mass customisation.

>1. Creates a More Engaged Environment, Incorporates Different Learning Styles, Improves Collaboration, Prepares Children
for the Future, Connects You With Your Students
2. reduced operating costs.
improved product quality and consistency.
improvements in the quality of work for employees.
increased production output rates.
product manufacturing flexibility.
reducing material waste leading to increased product yield.
3. Speed and time. Through internet communication, time and money are saved. ...
Job creation. One major advantage of internet communication is the creation of new and exciting jobs. ...
Globalization. ...
Cost effective. ...
Improve education sector. ...
More business opportunities. ...
Eliminates the cultural gap.
4. Artificial intelligence impact on business
increase productivity and operational efficiencies. make faster business decisions based on outputs from cognitive
technologies. avoid mistakes and 'human error', provided that AI systems are set up properly.
5. Assistive technology enables people to live healthy, productive, independent, and dignified lives, and to participate in
education, the labour market and civic life. Assistive technology reduces the need for formal health and support services,
long-term care and the work of caregivers.
7. Importance of Agricultural Technology
Higher crop productivity. Decreased use of water, fertilizer, and pesticides, which in turn keeps food prices down. Reduced
impact on natural ecosystems. Less runoff of chemicals into rivers and groundwater.

> Technology is important because it makes you feel more secure with every area in life for both personal and business
reasons. With technology advancing more people are able to have access to supplies such as fresh water and food because
technology can help deliver those items to people that otherwise couldn't get it. Technology affects the way individuals
communicate, learn, and think. It helps society and determines how people interact with each other on a daily basis.
> "Apart from the 'human factor,' this chain comprises technical, physical, or similar synthetic links." If we humans are the
weakest link, that means the other links in the chain--hardware and software, for example--are more robust and more
secure. To put it simply, computers don't make mistakes, people do.

*CESC
> “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
- “Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.”
― Honore de Balzac
>1. Zolekha’s story offers us a perfect illustration of individual, social, and collective empowerment..
3. The advocacy of human rights by having a training to those person with disabilities and it give advantage to them changed
other life as individual.
5. 1) complying with legal issues transparently around diversity 2) publicize your diversity initiatives and progress 3) consult
regularly with diverse groups within your organization and external consultants.

*PPG
1. 1. Meet the needs of the organization within which the leader operates.
2. Meet the needs of the people with whom the leader interacts.
3. Have some form of authority over the people that they lead.
4. Accept and discharge the responsibilities of the position to the best of their ability.

2. Political party leaders are among the most influential actors in parliamentary democracies, and a change in party
leadership is an important event for a party organization. Yet, we do not know how these leadership changes affect voter
perceptions about party policy positions. On the one hand, we may expect party leadership changes to renew attention to the
party, educate voters about its policy positions, and hence reduce disagreement among voters about party positions. On the
other hand, rival parties may use a leadership change as an opportunity to defame the party, its leadership, and policies, and
hence, increase voter confusion about the party’s policies. Using data from seven Western European democracies, I show
that leadership changes help parties reduce voter disagreement about party policy positions. This effect is stronger if the
new leader shifts the party’s policy positions.

3. One should keep in mind that the different kinds of electoral systems result in different relationships between
candidates and their supporters.

In general, systems which make use of single-member electoral districts, such as most plurality/majority systems, especially
the FPTP system, are seen as encouraging individual candidates to consider themselves as the delegates of particular
geographical areas and beholden to the interests of their local electorate.

The FPTP System tends to encourage voters to make their choice rather among the individual candidates than between the
different political parties and programmes. A popular independent candidate has therefore much better chances to gain
support than in PR systems. This may be particularly important in developing party systems, where politics still revolve more
around extended ties of family, clan, or kinship and is not based on strong political party organisation. Additionally,
plurality/majority systems are said to maximize the ability of the electorate to throw out unsatisfactory individual
representatives.

By contrast, systems which use large multi-member districts, such as most PR systems, are more likely to deliver
representatives whose primary loyalty lies with their party on national issues. Both approaches have their merits, which is
one of the reasons for the rise in popularity of mixed systems that combine both local and national-level representatives.
Holding individual representatives accountable The question of accountability is often raised in discussions of political
parties and electoral systems, especially in relation to individual elected members. Accountability at the individual level is
the ability of the electorate to effectively check on those who, once elected, betray the promises they made during the
campaign or demonstrate incompetence or idleness in office and to ‘throw the rascals out’.

The relationships between electors, elected members, and political parties are affected not only by the electoral system but
also by other provisions of the political legislative framework such as term limits, provisions regulating the relationship
between parties and their members who are also elected representatives, or provisions barring elected members from
changing parties without resigning from the legislature. The freedom for voters to choose between candidates as opposed to
parties is another aspect of accountability.