Finland's National Statement at UN Women Executive Board, 2nd Regular Session, Item 2 – Strategic Plan of UN Women 2026-2029

Finland's National Statement at UN Women Executive Board, 2nd Regular Session, Item 2 – Strategic Plan of UN Women 2026-2029, delivered by H.E. Mr. Lauri Voionmaa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations on September 9th, 2025.

Madam Chair, Madam Executive Director,

Finland stands ready to endorse UN Women’s new Strategic Plan for 2026–2029. We thank the Executive Director for a bold and ambitious plan that speaks to the urgency of this moment.

With the SDGs off track, gender equality under attack, and the pushback movement organized and well-financed, our response must be stronger and more united.

The Strategic Plan gives us the roadmap for the way ahead. Women’s leadership. Economic empowerment. Freedom from violence. Women, peace and security. These are lifelines for societies everywhere.

Finland strongly supports the Strategic Plan’s comprehensive approach: stronger institutions, real accountability, financing, and data. Closing the gender digital divides, tackling tech-facilitated violence, and ensuring women lead in climate solutions must be at the heart of our collective work. We encourage a multistakeholder way of working and building on the results of the Generation Equality campaign.

There cannot be sustainable peace without women’s full, equal and meaningful participation at every stage of peace processes and humanitarian response. We welcome that the Strategic Plan keeps the Women, Peace and Security agenda at its core and call for it to be backed by necessary resources and political will.

Let us be clear: progress will not be real unless it is inclusive. The rights and voices of women and girls with disabilities must be fully integrated across all areas of the Strategic Plan.

Partnerships are key — with civil society and with the private sector and new financial actors. As recently agreed in Sevilla, we must promote gender-responsive solutions across the financing for development agenda. Simultaneously, flexible core funding is the backbone of UN Women’s ability to deliver. Finland is proud to be a provider of unearmarked contributions to UN Women, and we call on all Member States to step up.

Finland values highly UN Women's coordination mandate to ensure that gender equality is integrated across all United Nations agencies. As the UN80 reform progresses, gender equality must be central in the reform agenda’s outcomes.

Finland is proud to be a committed partner. Together, let us meet this moment with courage and conviction and deliver on the promise of equality for every woman and every girl.

I thank you.