The United States of America has been an Observer at the SAARC for nearly a decade now. The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan once said, "On the very first page of the UN Charter is inscribed the equal rights of men and women. But whatever the very real benefits of investing in women, the most important fact remains: Women themselves have the right to live in dignity, in freedom from want and from fear." The SAARC has always been proactive in affairs related to the establishment and furthering of women’s rights. Concerned over the trafficking of women and children within and between countries in the region, the SAARC adopted a Regional Convention on Combating the Crime of Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution in January 2002, during the Eleventh Summit in Kathmandu. At the aforementioned summit, the Leaders of the SAARC agreed to mobilize necessary resources and to intensify broad­based action to achieve a set of priority goals in improving the social status of women and children. They also directed that necessary measures be taken to ensure the development and empowerment of women to their inherent potential. The Thirteen Summit (Dhaka, 12­13 November 2005) reiterated its pledge to continue to work in the next decade and beyond to address the formidable challenges faced by women and children, especially the girl child. That Summit noted that sustained efforts were needed on the part of the Member States not only to free them from all types of deprivation but also to make them full partners and beneficiaries of South Asian progress and development, a stance with which the United States agrees with completely. The delegate from the United States believes that a very serious and largely unaddressed worldwide challenge is the deprivation and abuse of women and girls, largely caused by a false interpretation of carefully selected religious texts and a growing tolerance of violence and warfare against them. Women comprise of more than half the world’s population and the losses to the world economy because of the injustices meted out to them are massive. Even if she earns enough to live, a woman who lives in the shadow of daily violence and has no say in how her country is run, is not truly free. Larger freedom implies that men and women everywhere have the right to be governed by their own consent, under law, in a society where all individuals can, without discrimination or retribution, speak, worship and associate freely. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Declaration of Human Rights represents the first time that universal human rights were spelled out for all people in a civil and individual context. Our faiths all assert the equality and freedom of people; we are all born into freedom and other people can only make us slaves if we accept and succumb. The United States would like to reiterate the fact that all faiths declare the unity of human beings and the freedom of all. The Preamble of the Charter of the UN states that the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. Adhering to it strictly will greatly improve the situation plaguing the world at large. The delegate of the United States of America also believes that the very notion of gender is a social construct, and a person cannot and should not be discriminated against in any form because of their gender. The men and women of every nation must be treated as equals. The countries represented in this forum are ranked relatively low in the Global Gender Gap Report. The skewed understanding of religion, and outdated unjustified cultural norms are partly to blame. The delegate from the US believes that the concept of a Gender Gap should be non­existent, so much so that there should be no ranking system. The United States also believes that affirmative action is a possible solution to this problem. Reservation for women will result in an upliftment in their socio­economic status, and will directly impact their families in more ways than one. Globally, the number of girls out of primary school is about 38 million. The figure in 2005 was about 41 million, and there has been some progress but 38 million is still a phenomenally large number. The world’s governments and the SAARC, in particular, as a leader and model of the developing world, must take measures to combat this huge figure. In 2013, 45.3 of every 1000 infants had an adolescent mother. These girls need to be in schools, but are exploited. This exploitation is unjust for both the mother and the child, with huge repercussions. Women are also victims of bonded labour in many regions, including but not limited to, South Asia. The delegate from the United States believes this issue should be addressed by this committee as well. Lastly, South Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, and with cooperation, it can create wonders.