Rita French
International Ambassador for Human Rights, Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations in Geneva
Rita French

Advocating for the voices of women and girls and furthering our common goal of gender equality remains a central feature of my work as the UK’s first Human Rights Ambassador. I am deeply committed to ensuring that we apply a gender lens to multilateral policy-making. I will continue to work with all of our partners at the Human Rights Council and beyond to shed light on the continuation of gendered norms and discriminatory laws, policies and practices which underpin the lack of progress towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls worldwide. I look forward to collaborating with fellow Champions in ensuring we champion and protect women’s and girls’ rights at such a critical time.

I support the IGC Panel Parity Pledge.

I support the IGC gender-based violence pledge.

Personal Commitments

To listen, engage and amplify the voices and needs of women and girls including from conflict settings through regular dialogue with civil society, human rights defenders, peacekeepers and women’s rights groups in Geneva, London and during my overseas visits.
To advocate for and ensure gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights are embedded throughout all aspects of my work including in my oversees visit programmes, speeches, statements, social media posts, events and across UK foreign policy-making in the next year.