STORY: UN chief calls for equal land rights for women
DATELINE: June 17, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:27
LOCATION: UN headquarters
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of United Nations headquarters
2. SOUNDBITE (English): ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General

STORYLINE:

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for equal land rights for women on the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

The UN chief made the remarks in a pre-recorded message for a high-level event in observance of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which falls on June 17.

SOUNDBITE (English): ANTONIO GUTERRES, UN Secretary-General
"We depend on land for our survival. Yet, we treat it like dirt. Unsustainable farming is eroding soil 100 times faster than natural process can restore them. And up to 40 percent of our planet's land is now degraded, imperiling food production, threatening biodiversity and compounding the climate crisis.
This hits women and girls the hardest. They suffer disproportionately from the lack of food, water scarcity, and forced migration that results from mistreatment of land. Yet they have the least control. In many countries, laws and practices block women and girls from owning land. But where they do, they restore and protect it by increasing productivity, building resilience to drought, and investing in health, education and nutrition.
Equal land rights both protect land and advance gender equality. That is why this year's World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought puts the focus on 'Her Land, Her Rights'.
I urge all governments to eliminate legal barriers to women owning land and to involve them in policymaking, support women and girls to play their part in protecting our most precious resource, and together, let's stop land degradation by 2030."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from UN headquarters.
(XHTV)