Delegation from the State of Eritrea

Position Paper for the United Nations General Assembly

The topics before the General Assembly (UNGA) are 1.) Utilizing Genetic Engineering in Crops to
Ensure Sustainable Agriculture and Farming and 2.) Achieving Dignified Menstruation through Universal
Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products. The State of Eritrea expresses its desire towards addressing the
issues brought to the UNGA to provide a foreseeable future that all can benefit from.

I. Utilizing Genetic Engineering in Crops to Ensure Sustainable Agriculture and Farming

Undergoing recoveries from pandemic losses, nations around the world now seek more innovative and
highly sought after methods to cut down on costs and environmental losses. Likewise, agriculture, which
is one of the most important pillars of a nation, is currently one of many sectors looking for ways to
innovate itself while preserving its integrity to the public. Moving forward to a world that will rely more
on technology, we must look for ways that this technology can be utilized to achieve the food security of
billions of people around the world. According to the International Fund of Agricultural Development, the
State of Eritrea heavily relies on the agriculture industry for survival, the industry alone stands up for 24%
of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The state also possesses 26% of arable land with only 4% of it
being utilized for cultivation. As a developing country, the nation seeks interest to find possible ways to
utilize such technology that will be for the greater good.

Actions have been taken by the United Nations (UN) in order to address this topic. The United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which was created in 1945 aligns itself towards supporting
developing countries towards boosting their agricultural sector by using innovative and organic methods.
Recent reports in the website of the FAO include supporting the seed sector of Syria, learning on using the
youth as a driving force to improve the agricultural landscape of Rwanda and supporting the sustainability
effort of the aquatic fishery industry of Nicaragua. In relation to this, the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) also pertains towards the effort of the UN towards supporting research and development of the
said sector. SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), and etc. are examples
of supporting this innovation. Even as a developing nation, Eritrea has also participated in the practice of
sustainable agriculture. The Borgen Project reports that the Eritrean Ministry of Agriculture has released a
booklet towards supporting the cause, citing that the document contained plans to develop water
reservoirs and related infrastructure, planting in accordance to the nation’s weather patterns, promoting
crop rotation towards helping soil quality, and many more plans that will benefit the nation’s progressing
economy.

With this context provided, the State of Eritrea encourages fellow member states and NGOs to adopt a
resolution with the plan of integrating agricultural agencies, local government units (LGUs), local farmers
and interested and appropriate NGOs of all nations to create a new foundation to ensure that no nation is
left behind towards this agricultural plan. With the help of this foundation, agricultural agencies and
NGOs can open talks with LGUs and local farmers to properly understand the agricultural situation of
each nation. From there, research that is existent now can be further developed according to each nation’s
needs. With these measures, Eritrea hopes it can vision a transparent and productive global environment.
 II. Achieving Dignified Menstruation through Universal Access to Menstrual Hygiene Products

It is important to recognize not only to be aware of the happenings around us, but also the happenings
within ourselves. When talking about women, menstruation is a topic that is seen as somehow
embarrassing or humiliating to talk about. This prevents the person who is in discussion about this to fully
air out their opinion or experiences with it. Menstruation is said to be an embarrassment to talk about,
which leads to many misconceptions and mismanagement not only on a personal scale but also on a local,
national and global scale. According to Sanitation Learning Hub, a woman by the name of Yirgalem
Solomon conducted a study in the State of Eritrea on the experiences of women in middle school having
their period and the challenges that come along with it. Solomon says that menstruation is unspoken since
it falls under sexual topics, which makes women and men feel shameful to talk about it. As part of an
effort towards justified gender equality, the State of Eritrea is open towards finding ways to break the
stigma about menstruation and open safe and responsible conversations regarding such.

With that, the United Nation (UN) has started to ensure that its faculties will start taking action towards
securing a dignified and safe menstruation to all women across the globe. The United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) have been vocal towards this matter,
pushing for proper recognition of the topic towards legislative bodies, they are also on the ground
providing support to women in need. For young girls, the United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has also been a driving force to change as it promotes proper sanitation and
period management via its WASH facilities. The State of Eritrea has been a benefactor of these WASH
facilities, where public schools are starting to adjust appropriately to properly respond to a situation in
which a girl gets her period. Many nations have also started to adapt towards giving a dignified
menstruation for women. Countries like Bangladesh, Ireland, Malaysia, Tanzania and more have decided
to pursue tax reforms that benefit women and their financial access to sanitary products.

In light of the situation, the State of Eritrea wishes a collaboration between fellow member states, NGOs,
local/national health and education departments, and interested and appropriate companies to create a
resolution which entails that 1.) ensuring that tax on menstruation and hygiene products be either lowered
by more than or at least 50% of its current tax, or be completely tax-free; 2.) ensure that all member
nations will coordinate with local/national health and education departments to create a required program
about menstruation and healthy sexual practices to be taught by all students, no matter what gender or
age, and if such program is already implemented before this resolution, it is to be reviewed and revised if
any pre existing matter mentioned here is not discussed and; 3.) provide a benefit for women in the
workforce that will give a certain amount of days of paid leave every month to allow them to be able to
properly rest and handle their period in order to ensure themselves that they will be at their best capacity
during work. It is with these suggestions and remarks the State of Eritrea believes that even such simple
steps can lead towards securing gender equality and closing the gap on gender disparity.
SOURCES

Eritrea. (n.d.). IFAD. https://www.ifad.org/en/web/operations/w/country/eritrea

About FAO. (n.d.). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

https://www.fao.org/about/en

FAO supporting the seed sector in the Syrian Arab Republic. (n.d.). Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations.

https://www.fao.org/news/countries-good-practices/article/en/c/1460761/

Tapping into young people’s agribusiness potential in Rwanda. (n.d.). Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

https://www.fao.org/news/countries-good-practices/article/en/c/1430180/

Knowledge and techniques for sustainable lobster fisheries on the Caribbean coast of

Nicaragua. (n.d.). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

https://www.fao.org/news/countries-good-practices/article/en/c/1398182/

Project, B. (2019). Sustainable Agriculture in Eritrea. The Borgen Project.

https://borgenproject.org/sustainable-agriculture-in-eritrea/

Sanitation Learning Hub. (2020, October 20). Breaking the Silence on Menstruation in

Eritrea - Sanitation Learning Hub.

https://sanitationlearninghub.org/resource/breaking-the-silence-on-menstruation-in-eritrea