Addressing the UN community in Vienna, Austria, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said women hold the key to sustainable development, and he asked all world leaders to be present at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
16 February 2012: Addressing the UN community in Vienna, Austria, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke on empowering people in a changing world. He said women hold the key to sustainable development and, emphasizing the importance of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), he asked all world leaders to be present.
At a lecture on 16 February 2012, Ban stressed the need to empower women and youth, who have been at the center of recent social protest movements worldwide, and warned countries against ignoring their voices, as they are critical to countries’ development. He noted that protest movements represent an urgent call for countries to listen to their citizens and implement measures to involve them in decision-making processes. He particularly called for greater representation of women in parliaments and for addressing the unemployment rate among youth. [UN Press Release] [Statement of UN Secretary-General]