Chair, he knows very well who "the man of the tree" is. [Laughter.]
South Africa has welcomed the establishment of UN Women by the UN General Assembly, which must serve as the penultimate body on women's empowerment and gender equality. We believe that given the necessary support and co- operation by member states this new agency of the UN will help raise the profile of gender and women's issues on a global scale.
UN member states, including South Africa, have a duty to ensure that this UN entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women works effectively and takes to greater heights the global agenda of gender equity. This way, in the long run, through focused, strong leadership, we can and must turn the creation of decent work for women into a reality and thus improve the lives of millions of women and girls throughout the world. This way, we can transform the unpaid care economy and the informal and hidden economy that is affecting women.
The creation of UN Women, which began its work in January this year, shows the global commitment to a central focus on the goal of gender equality and emancipation of women in five areas of focus: expanding women's voice, leadership and participation - that is why I am calling on all women from different parties, saying that we need to be united on this one; ending violence against women; strengthening women's full participation in conflict resolution; enhancing women's economic empowerment; and ensuring that gender priorities are reflected in the different instruments and are being adhered to.
Finally, what we really need is gender mainstreaming in every single aspect of human society, coupled with accountability and the proven commitment we only see in a people-centred and nonsexist organisation such as the ANC, which has undertaken, as a starting point, to work tirelessly for 50/50 gender parity. I will be quite keen to hear from other parties what their stance is so that we can know what their targets are and where they are going from zero, because they are still at zero. [Laughter.] We would like to know what their plans are, because we have a plan for 50/50 parity.