UN Officials Debate the Role of Culture in Women's Empowerment

UNITED NATIONS — The role of culture in promoting the empowerment of women and upholding human rights was hotly debated today by senior United Nations officials, activists and academics as the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meets in New York to push for women and girls to be at the forefront of efforts to achieve development targets.

"Laws are important, but they"re not sufficient because often traditions are stronger than the implementation of laws," Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA told a televised debate conducted at UN Headquarters in New York.

She underscored the importance of working with communities to "access the positive values of human rights that any community would have."