ZAGREB, March 12, 2019 – Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Tuesday held a bilateral meeting with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the fringes of the UN Conference “Women in Power,” the Office of the Croatian President said in a press release.
The two officials talked about the situation in Southeast Europe, with a special emphasis on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the position of Croats in that country, as well as about current global challenges, the press release said.
Grabar-Kitarović said Croatia supported the continuation of the EU enlargement process to include all six Southeast European countries.
She expressed satisfaction with the policy of human resources, which for the first time in history resulted in gender equality in the IN group of senior staff and commended progress made in revival of the work of the UN General Assembly, according to the press release.
Earlier, Grabar-Kitarović participated in the United Nations Conference “Women in Power”. She said that just as most other women in politics and all walks of life, she had to persist and fight for her place – in life and in politics.
She pointed out that in the public, often inappropriate questions are posed to female politicians and women in power, and in many situations, they face threats and insults. Although women have accomplished much, they still don’t have an equal value to men and this applies not only to female politicians, but to all women, no matter where they come from, how old they are or what position they hold, Grabar-Kitarović underlined.
The Croatian president reasserted the fact that countries with a higher share of women in executive and non-executive positions are more prosperous, adding that there is a huge positive impact on the GDP and increased productivity. In view of this, the president highlighted that in Croatia efforts by the Ombudswoman for Gender Equality have resulted in the creation of a unique Data Base of Business Women who can lead successful companies and be in managerial positions based on their professional qualifications and achievements.
Furthermore, Grabar-Kitarović said that women are needed in the maintenance of peace and security, in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and politics in general, because when given full and equal access to resources and opportunities, and when included in decision-making, women drive the world forward. She emphasised that education has to be among the priorities of all development programs.
“Just outside this building stands Croatia’s gift to the United Nations and one of the symbols of the Organization – the “Peace Monument” by the famous Croatian sculptor Antun Augustinčić. It is a horsewoman carrying a globe in her hand and leading the world to peace. She is the one to aspire to. Let’s make her symbolism our reality and every girl empowered enough to know that she too can have the world on the palm of her hand,” Grabar-Kitarović said in her address at the UN.
The goal of the conference is to show how important it is for women to stand up for themselves and never give up, and the responsibility of women who are policymakers is to show other women and girls worldwide, through their own deeds, to believe in themselves and to be determined in overcoming all obstacles standing in their way.
The conference is being attended, among others, by the presidents of Lithuania and Estonia, Dalia Grybauskaite and Kersti Kaljulaid respectively, prime minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdottir, and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.
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