Your Highness, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you in Egypt; in Sharm El-Sheikh, the City of Peace, for the First Ladies Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

I would like to begin by thanking you for accepting my invitation to participate in this landmark event, which marks a significant milestone in the history of our Movement.

Your presence on this occasion gives us an invaluable opportunity to continue to enhance our unity and cooperation- a mission that I have been personally dedicated to advancing through the organization of regular dialogues and the formulation of joint-action strategies.

Many of my sisters from Africa will recall the events we held in line with the NEPAD Heads of State and the African Union Summit here in Sharm El-Sheikh. Similarly, the First Ladies of the Arab countries have come together on numerous occasions, especially under the banner of the Arab Women's Organization that we established in the year 2000.

These exchanges have been of tremendous value. They have helped us to find areas in which we can collaborate to achieve positive change and identify effective ways to advance common developmental goals.

I am, therefore, delighted that through the NAM, we will be able to extend our partnership further, and join hands with First Ladies from 118 nations across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

All of us here realize the value of the Non-Aligned Movement, and the significance of its existence in the international arena.

Although the global conditions that inspired its creation have considerably changed, and despite the fact that our priorities have evolved, the collective mission of this great movement continues to be as relevant as ever.

The NAM has always strived to foster balance and stability- to address inequities, and advance social justice. It has continuously advocated respect for the sovereignty of states and their territorial integrity as a means of furthering multilateralism and cooperation.

Today, our Heads of State and Government are meeting with the firm intent of strengthening "International Solidarity for Peace and Development". They have chosen to draw upon the longstanding principles and timely objectives that define this Movement in promoting the needs and interests of our people, and empowering them while facing the complex challenges that stand before us- for as we all know there are many.

From North to South, East to West, we have been hit hard by crises, from the ravages of poverty to the destruction caused by armed conflicts, from the crushing waves of social and economic insecurity to the silent devastation emanating from health pandemics and environmental degradation. While many are already feeling the devastating effect of these combined crises, their full impact is yet to be determined.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) is estimating that 51 million more people, of whom 22 million are women, could lose their jobs by the end of 2009. At the same time, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the number of people suffering from hunger has reached one billion.

This is a very dangerous situation, a situation that we are all experiencing in different scales and dimensions.

Women are the most negatively and disproportionately impacted by these interconnected challenges, especially in developing countries. While some are veering dangerously close towards the poverty line, others are fighting daily battles to survive. Young girls are dropping out of schools to help their families make ends meet. These girls, in turn, will become more vulnerable to forced labor, abuse, human trafficking and diseases.

Another critical issue to consider is the strain caused by the financial meltdown on the provision of healthcare services, because it not only affects women's health, increasing maternal mortality rates amongst other things, but also exacerbates their care-giving duties.

Such threats severely jeopardize the wellbeing of women and their families, whilst considerably undermining the human development of their whole society.
As we have been told, they can throw children and entire generations of families into the poverty trap.

With all these challenges to consider, and with all that we still don't know about the long-term effects of these crises, how are we ever going to achieve the Millennium Development Goals?

What is certain, ladies and gentlemen, is that we cannot afford to back-track on our progress and our promises to end extreme poverty, and watch it continue to violate human dignity and burn out the hope of our people. Nor can we allow more mothers, sisters and daughters to be victimized by the harsh symptoms of insecurity. We need to act now to minimize loss of development gains from crisis by reducing the vulnerability of our people.

What will be the humanitarian consequences, if we can no longer provide the medicine that saves human lives?

My African Sisters, who have been at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS and Malaria, will be the first to recognize the devastating impact that this would have on our continent.

We can never, for one moment, lose track of the fact that thousands of individuals are infected with HIV every day- that there are millions of children who are likely to die from a single mosquito bite.

It has been estimated that 10 million children, mostly in developing nations, die each year from treatable ailments because they lack basic healthcare… that women die of pregnancy related causes at the rate of 1 a minute… This is definitely unacceptable.

In our increasingly globalized world, we can see much more clearly how interdependent our nations really are, how a threat to one is a threat to all. From this standpoint, our individual security will be ensured only by a collective investment in the human security of all.

In order to prevent what some are referring to as the "Collapse of Human Development", an imminent global response is required to protect vulnerable groups, to help them break free from the triple threat- from the vicious circle- of poverty, food insecurity and ill health.

This requires an unprecedented level of cooperation and the adoption of a holistic approach that places human rights and human wellbeing at the forefront of all concerns.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our partners from the United Nations who are with us here today- representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Information and Telecommunications Union (ITU). I am certain that we will greatly benefit from their experience in the coming discussions.

They will be the first to concur that, in order to reduce the negative impact of mounting crises, the international community has to manage its resources more effectively and identify new tools to guide our demarches. That we should base our policies and strategies on reliable research and information- for as we all know, there are thousands and thousands of people all over the world who are unaccounted for in our statistics. Women and children of all ages, whom are marginalized and neglected, vulnerable and excluded.

In line with all these efforts, we must pay greater attention to enhancing the central role that women can and must play in the development of our response strategies- from their design and implementation to their monitoring and evaluation. For, while women are unequivocally the primary victims of these crises, they are also playing a key part in protecting us against them. In turn, we must redouble efforts to enable them to address these challenges more effectively- building their skills, expanding their access to vital resources, and enhancing their participation in peace and security processes.


Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In every continent, in every community, there are thousands of women who, despite difficult obstacles, continue to demonstrate extraordinary courage on a daily basis, profound knowledge and a solid commitment in enhancing the wellbeing of their people. They are the community leaders, the doctors, nurses, teachers and social workers. 

- They are the mothers, who in many developing countries queue for hours in clinics to get treatment for their children against malnutrition and diseases, who sometimes walk for miles to find pure water that will not endanger the lives of their families. 

- They are the environmentalists, who play decisive roles in managing and preserving biodiversity, water, land and other natural resources.

- They are social entrepreneurs who realize that genuine democracy needs to be nurtured through economic development, quality education and social inclusion.

- They are the peace builders, who have saved millions of lives through conflict resolution and conflict prevention strategies. Women from all walks of life who have helped to turn fractured communities around, re-building infrastructure and healing divides.

I would like to pay homage to the incredibly brave and selfless women, who have helped to break-down barriers to reconciliation and understanding, to restore quality education, access to health and social care in their war-torn nations.

Women, who amidst violence and injustice, have sought to teach young people about the power of peace, and to equip young girls with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to be the leaders of a better future.

The hope that they are giving, my dear sisters, is immeasurable. It is indestructible.

It is in this context that our meeting today focuses on the topic of women in crisis management- to give us the chance to join forces in supporting these heroic and inspiring women by protecting their rights, empowering and enabling them to stimulate positive change in our societies.

In this respect, I would like to start by mentioning some of what we are doing here in Egypt to achieve these important goals.

As part of our strategy for social and economic reform, our country has worked hard over the years to foster an enabling environment for women – one that ensures and expands their rights, capabilities and participation, while providing at the same time the necessary social protection to sustain this empowerment.

For us, this entailed enacting measure to ensure that basic needs are met - access to food, shelter, safe water, sanitation and healthcare. It has been about helping them to achieve a feeling of safety in their own homes and communities – a sense of personal security that allows them to fulfill their potential and realize their aspirations.

Towards this goal, we have placed education. Especially of girls, at the center, at the heart, of our policies – for it is undeniably the most valuable social investment you can make in terms of human security. More than ever, our efforts have focused on providing them with knowledge and skills that will enable them to tap into the great promise of globalization – to keep up with the continuous flow of innovation and changing patterns of communication – to take advantage of new opportunities for empowerment, connectivity and prosperity.

Through the important contributions of our National Council of Women (NCW), we have also strived to dismantle "access" barriers that women face in different sectors of our society. In this respect, much progress has been achieved through the adoption of legal reforms in conjunction with an enhancement of social and institutional conditions conducive to gender equality.

Whether we are talking about our hard won gains in family law, or our most recent successes in increasing the active participation of women in the judiciary and the decision- making levels, it is evident that we have managed to create sustainable pathways for women's empowerment.

We have also managed to gain significant ground in closing the gap between women's capabilities and their economic opportunities.

For us, addressing the economic participation of women is not only a means to raise standards of living but is also a cultural tools to bring women out of their homes and into the public sphere. Given that unpaid housework and household management are placed on their shoulders, encourages economic self-sufficiency carries with it the added advantage of exposure to society and the necessity to develop and hone income generation skills.

In view of the challenges presented by the global financial crisis, we have also redoubled our efforts to maintain the flow of micro-credit and financing for women-led export businesses. We have awarded great focus to strengthening women's entrepreneurial abilities, as well as increasing their share of paid employment. Moreover, we have exerted significant efforts in helping to support women- led businesses in the Agriculture sector, where 70-80 percent of women are actively working.

I believe that the core strength of the NCW lies in its close interaction with grassroots organizations and the civil society.

Through these partnerships, we have been able to reach so many more women, to respond to their needs and channel their unique understanding of the realities that they experience on a daily basis.

We have helped to create new spaces – spaces for reflection and dialogue- for women to articulate their needs and connect their experiences, to carry out research and collective problem solving.

We have taken these important steps, because we firmly believe that women's perspectives can help us to respond more effectively to the challenges that they face, whether they are related to food, energy, health, violence or conflicts.

In the same vein their involvement in dialogues pertaining to these topics is critical when it comes to enhancing their active participation in the management of these same crises.
In this respect, I look forward to hearing what many of you have done in your respective countries to expand the involvement of women in all steps of the process of crisis management- from providing relief and protection, to offering sustainable solutions and developing prevention mechanisms.

For -while our approaches may differ, it is certain that we share the same aspirations for
a future where women and men are given the same opportunities to shape their lives and influence their societies.

Dear Friends,
In this time of crisis, nothing is more important than our unity -unity in diversity, unity in progress and unity of purpose, based on our values, realities, and common aspirations.
Together, we must forge consensus amongst NAM states, and encourage them to adopt new and innovative strategies that fully demonstrate their determination to enhance the well-being of its people, especially women and children.

Over the next two days, our mission will be to put forward ways and means of achieving these objectives -of refining our method of work and building on the progress that we have already achieved through our Movement.

Let us consider how we can accelerate the implementation of the Putrajaya Declaration, as well as supporting the NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) based m Kuala Lumpur. I strongly welcome the proposal made by the Malaysian leadership to establish regional representations of NIEW.

I ,am gratified that NAM Member States have endorsed the offers of the governments of Guatemala .and Egypt to host regional representations of the Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean and for Africa and the Middle East, respectively.

In this regard, I am calling upon NAM countries to extend their valuable support to both regional representations of this Institute and to benefit from their expertise.

Together, we also need to think positively about how we can help transform the complex challenges of our times into opportunities, to drive new ways of thinking on economic
and social policies.

I believe, that in doing so, we must involve more women -listen to them -make their voices heard at the forefront of public opinion and the heart of decion making levels. We equally need to accommodate plural visions and alternative ideas.

Only then can we turn promises into action and transform our visions into reality!

Thank you,