Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message, delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, to the exhibition honouring women delegates to the 1945 San Francisco Conference, in New York today:

My thanks to the Permanent Missions of Brazil, China and the Dominican Republic — along with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) — for helping to shine a spotlight on the women who helped shape the very foundation of the United Nations.

Eighty years ago, as the world emerged from the ashes of war, a small group of women delegates stood their ground in San Francisco.  They were a handful among hundreds, but they were powerful in their determination.

Thanks to their efforts, the Charter became the first international agreement to recognize the equality of women and men as a human right.

Over the years, we have transformed those values into practical instruments for change — including the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security.

At the UN itself, for the first time in our history, we have achieved gender parity among senior leadership, resident coordinators and in the international professional categories.

Despite advances around the world, women and girls face persistent and systemic barriers to equality across the board.  And yet, like those delegates in 1945, women everywhere continue to lead — demanding their rights and reimagining a more just and equitable world for everyone.

As we mark this milestone, let us move forward together with the conviction that when women and girls rise, everyone thrives.