Twenty years ago, when the world convened a landmark conference on women’s human rights, the devastating conflict in the former Yugoslavia prompted deserved attention to rape and other war crimes there against civilians. Two decades later, with girls as young as seven not only targeted but used as weapons by violent extremists, it would be easy to lose heart about the value of international gatherings. But while we have a long way to go to achieve full equality – with ending gender-based violence a central goal – progress over the past two decades has proven the enduring value of the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women.
二十年前，当世界就妇女人权问题召开具有里程碑意义的会议时，前南斯拉夫境内的毁灭性冲突引发了对于当地针对平民的强奸和其他战争罪行的应有关注。二十年后，当年仅七岁的女童们不仅成为暴力极端主义分子的目标，而且被当作武器时，人们很容易对国际会议的价值失去信心。然而，虽然实现充分平等——消除性别暴力是其核心目标——任重道远，但过去二十年的进展已证明1995年北京妇女问题会议的持久价值。
Since the adoption of its Declaration and Platform for Action, more girls have attained more access to more education than ever before. The number of women dying in childbirth has been almost halved. More women are leading businesses, governments and global organizations. I welcome these advances. At the same time, on this International Women’s Day, we must acknowledge that the gains have been too slow and uneven, and that we must do far more to accelerate progress everywhere.
自通过北京会议《宣言》和《行动纲要》以来，更多的女童前所未有地获得了接受更多教育的更多机会。死于生育的妇女人数几乎减少了一半。在企业、政府和全球组织担任领军人物的妇女人数增多。我欢迎这些进展。与此同时，值此国际妇女节之际，我们必须承认，取得成绩过于缓慢而且不均衡，我们必须加倍努力，加速世界各地的进展。
The world must come together in response to the targeting of women and girls by violent extremists. From Nigeria and Somalia to Syria and Iraq, the bodies of women have been transformed into battlegrounds for warriors carrying out specific and systematic strategies, often on the basis of ethnicity or religion. Women have been attacked for trying to exercise their right to education and basic services; they have been raped and turned into sex slaves; they have been given as prizes to fighters, or traded among extremist groups in trafficking networks. Doctors, nurses and others have been assassinated for trying to operate in their professional capacity. The women human rights defenders brave enough to challenge such atrocities risk – and sometimes lose – their lives for the cause.
世界必须团结起来，共同应对暴力极端主义分子以妇女和女童为攻击目标的行为。从尼日利亚和索马里到叙利亚和伊拉克，妇女的身躯变成了那些执行特定和系统性战略的武士们的战场，而且往往是基于是族裔或宗教。妇女因为试图行使获得教育和基本服务的权利而遭到袭击；她们被强奸并沦为性奴隶；她们被作为奖品发给战斗人员，或被极端主义团体通过贩运网络进行交易。医生、护士和其他人士因为试图发挥专业能力而被暗杀。勇敢的妇女人权维护者冒着生命危险挑战这种暴行，有时为事业献出了生命。
We must take a clear global stance against this total assault on women’s human rights. The international community needs to translate its outrage into meaningful action, including humanitarian aid, psycho-social services, support for livelihoods, and efforts to bring perpetrators to justice. With women and girls often the first targets of attack, their rights must be at the centre of our strategy to address this staggering and growing challenge. Empowered women and girls are the best hope for sustainable development following conflict. They are the best drivers of growth, the best hope for reconciliation, and the best buffer against radicalization of youth and the repetition of cycles of violence.
我们必须采取明确的全球立场，反对对妇女人权的所有侵犯。国际社会需要将愤慨化为人道主义援助、心理社会服务、生计支助等有意义的行动，并努力将犯罪人绳之以法。鉴于妇女和女童往往是袭击的首要目标，其权利必须成为我们应对这一令人震惊和日益严重挑战的战略的核心。权能得到加强的妇女和女童是冲突后实现可持续发展的最佳希望。她们是增长的最佳动力，是和解的最佳希望，是防止青年激进化和暴力循环重演的最佳缓冲。
Even in societies at peace, too many girls and women are still targets of domestic abuse, female genital mutilation and other forms of violence that traumatize individuals and damage whole societies. Discrimination remains a thick barrier that must be shattered. We need to expand opportunities in politics, business and beyond. We need to change mind-sets, especially among men, and engage men in becoming active change-agents themselves. And we must back up our resolve with resources based on the sure understanding that investments in gender equality generate economic progress, social and political inclusion and other benefits that, in turn, foster stability and human dignity.
即使在和平社会，许多女童和妇女仍然遭受家庭暴力、残割女性生殖器和其他形式暴力的残害，此类行径使个人受到创伤，使整个社会受到损害。歧视依然是必须击碎的厚重壁垒。我们需要在政治、商业和其他领域创造更多的机会。我们需要改变思维模式，特别是男子的思维模式，要促使男子本身成为积极的变革动因。我们必须要有决心，要为我们的决心提供资源，务必要看到对性别平等的投资能够带来经济发展、社会和政治包容及其他效益，进而促进稳定和人类尊严。
This is a vital year for advancing the cause of women’s human rights. The international community is hard at work on establishing a new sustainable development agenda that will build on the Millennium Development Goals and shape policies and social investments for the next generation. To be truly transformative, the post-2015 development agenda must prioritize gender equality and women’s empowerment. The world will never realize 100 per cent of its goals if 50 per cent of its people cannot realize their full potential. When we unleash the power of women, we can secure the future for all.
今年是推进妇女人权事业的关键性一年。国际社会正努力制定新的可持续发展议程，其中将借鉴千年发展目标并为下一代确定政策和社会投资。如果要真正具备变革性，2015年后发展议程就必须优先考虑性别平等和增强妇女权能。如果百分之五十的世界人民不能充分发挥潜力，世界就永远无法百分之一百地实现目标。如果我们释放妇女的力量，我们就可保障所有人的未来。