Malta appoints ambassador for women and launches gender equality plan

Malta has appointed a long-standing diplomat to serve as its "ambassador for women" as it prepares to implement a United Nations gender equality pledge. 
Ambassador Celia Pirotta, whose diplomatic career stretches almost four decades, will steer oversight of a national action plan concerning UN resolution 1325, which was first launched 20 years ago. 
The resolution seeks to promote gender equality, prevent all forms of violence and increase the representation of women.
Foreign Affairs minister Evarist Bartolo stressed Malta’s commitment to achieving the aims set by the UN resolution, explaining that the action plan comes with a five-year target to implement changes.
Ambassador Pirotta emphasised how “any crisis impacts boys and men, girls and women differently, and that the gender lens is key to fully understanding any given situation.”
Both the ambassador and the minister emphasised how the COVID-19 crisis has added further stress to structural gender inequalities, and how this national action plan is needed now more than ever.
The national action plan is based on four key pillars:

Promoting the WPS (women, peace and security) agenda domestically and abroad. This is to be...