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Minister of Gender Equality Signs UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women Campaign on behalf of the Republic of Korea

Date: 11 August 2008

Seoul — Minister of Gender Equality Byun Do-yoon signed UNIFEM’s Say NO to Violence against Women campaign on behalf of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on 5 August 2008.

She said in her statement: “Violence against women constitutes a severe violation of women’s human rights. The world should unite in the efforts to eliminate such crimes. The Republic of Korea, as a country which attaches great importance to the efforts to tackle violence against women, wholeheartedly welcomes the UNIFEM initiatives in leading the ‘Say NO to Violence against Women Campaign.’

“In this regard, as Minister of Gender Equality, I have the honour to join in the ‘Say NO to Violence against Women Campaign.’ I hope that this global campaign will foster the ROK’s national campaign to raise public awareness on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. Moreover, I firmly believe that the campaign will generate significant momentum to concentrate and galvanize our efforts to eliminate violence against women.

“To prevent violence against women and to ensure the further protection of their human rights, the Government of the Republic of Korea has developed and implemented various measures such as legislation and support for victims. For instance, the Act on the Punishment of Procuring Prostitution and Associated Acts, the Act on the Prevention of Prostitution and Protection of Victims Thereof, and the Comprehensive Action Plan to Prevent Prostitution have been legal and institutional frameworks for eliminating violence against women.”

UNIFEM Executive Director Inés Alberdi expressed her gratitude to Minister Do-yoon: “Your commitment to ending violence against women will be a significant contribution to our efforts in that direction. ... It gives me great pleasure to know that the Republic of Korea is making the connection of this global campaign to the impact it can have at the national level.”

In New York, H.E. Park In-kook, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, also signed on to the campaign, along with 34 members of the Permanent Mission.

The Say NO to Violence against Women campaign will run until 25 November 2008, when the signatures will be handed over to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. To date, more than 230,000 have signed on to UNIFEM’s Say NO website.