OFFICIAL CEREMONY FOR THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE GENEVA PLEDGE FOR GENDER-RESPONSIVE CLIMATE ACTION

07 November 2024

I would like to thank Germany, Costa Rica, IFRC and International Gender Champions for organizing this event.

The promotion of gender equality is a top priority for Albania. As a member of the Human Rights Council, Albania has pledged to advocate for the right attention and engagement of multilateral forums at the nexus between climate change and human rights.

Albania will advocate for the full, equal, meaningful, effective and safe participation of women, girls, and underrepresented communities in climate negotiations.

In terms of legislation, Albania has ratified and adopted gender equality legislations, namely UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); Council of Europe’s Convention on Prevention and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention); Law on Gender Equality in Society; anti-discrimination law as well as National Strategy for Gender Equality (2021 – 2030).

Furthermore, in Albania, gender equality has been integrated in the Budgetary System Principles since 2016 with the amendments of Law on the Management of the Budgetary System in the Republic of Albania as well as the Law on Local Finances in 2017, thus making Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) as mandatory requirement.

With this change, all budgetary programs of line ministries, other budgetary institutions and municipalities have been considering and clearly stating their policies pertaining to gender equality, without any exceptions.

Albania’s gender budgeting initiative is driven in large measure by its candidacy for EU membership and with the support from UN Women.

In this regard, I am pleased to announce today that Albania will support and join the GENEVA PLEDGE FOR GENDER-RESPONSIVE CLIMATE ACTION.

This pledge is strongly aligned with the National Strategy for Development and Integration, the revised National Adaptation Plan (NAP) of Albania, the Nationally Determined Contribution 2021-2030, which emphasize gender responsiveness, inclusive participation, and targeted actions to ensure equitable resilience climate for all communities.

The Geneva pledge reflects common goals that Albania strives to implement.

Through this pledge, Albania reaffirms its commitment to climate action that reflects the diverse voices and needs of our population, and we are ready to support the advancement of these principles in partnership with the international community, encouraging cooperation and shared responsibility in the face of our climate challenges.

Albania is committed to advance the common Principles for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Climate Action.