GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT PRAISES UN POPULATION FUND"S LEADERSHIP AT ASSEMBLY OBSERVANCE OF FUND"S THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

Press Release
GA/SM/116
POP/744

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT PRAISES UN POPULATION FUND’S LEADERSHIP AT ASSEMBLY OBSERVANCE OF FUND’S THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

Following is the statement of the President of the General Assembly, Theo Ben-Gurirab (Namibia), to the Assembly’s commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the operations of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in New York on 27 October:

We are here today to register the many successes achieved in the field of population and development policies of States, and the contributions made by the UNFPA, since its establishment in 1969.

In the 30 years of UNFPA’s work, countries have made appreciable progress in understanding population issues and in undertaking measures to find solutions. This has resulted from the unstinting labour of thousands of men and women all over the world, especially in the developing countries. These people have worked tirelessly to improve health care, raise educational standards, especially of rural women and girls, and introduce population and development policies. Their efforts have reduced the toll of poor health and improved the quality of life for the people.

Better health and education mean more and wider choices. Everyone has the right to reproductive health and today more and more people are able to exercise this right. This, in turn, would result in smaller families and slower population growth. Health, education and population policies are now effectively included in public policy discussions and development plans.

The historic 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development was a watershed and pathfinder for a new approach. The gathering itself was unprecedented, while the decisions and the final Programme of Action opened up new opportunities for integrated development strategies for governments and citizens of the world. This commitment to the Cairo Programme of Action was further illustrated at the General Assembly’s Special Session in June when, after five years of action, 185 countries reaffirmed their support for the Cairo decisions, and added new benchmarks for its continued implementation.

The focus of population challenges has shifted from controversy to consensus in the span of UNFPA’s 30 years. The Fund’s practical contribution is visible in many parts of the world. It is helping to build integrated reproductive health programmes, enlarge partnerships and promote full recognition of women’s rights and contribution to development. Women have asserted themselves into the mainstream of development and their voices are being heard as never before in the corridors of government and business, in professions and other key areas of human activity.

These are all important achievements, thanks to UNFPA’s leadership and initiatives. The UNFPA has worked hard to ensure that its programmes and projects become locally owned and managed by the beneficiaries themselves. Working closely with governments, parliaments and non-governmental organizations, UNFPA has developed a workable relationship of trust and mutual cooperation. In the fullness of time, population management has become widely accepted as an element in development planning. The sharing of experiences and mutual support have further enhanced UNFPA’s activities.

Recent national and international events marking the Day of Six Billion illustrated that the international community is today concerned not merely with numbers, but with individual human lives, in trying to balance population growth with economic growth. This is in line with the message of the 1994 Cairo Conference that population issues and development strategies affect equally individual, national and global interest.

Today, it is possible to acknowledge population growth as a factor influencing development. Moreover, countries can deal with population increase together with emerging demographic issues, such as migration and ageing, as part of an integrated population policy. Countries can now give due priority to reproductive health care, including family planning, as part of an integrated health care system; to education for women and girls as part of an integrated education service; and to gender issues in all aspects of development policy.

Today, countries can allocate the needed resources to these and other aspects of social development, without risking public criticism for misappropriating funds and resources. At the same time, international institutions are now beginning to understand better the role of health, education and gender factors in national development and are prepared to support them.

Today, we have a clear idea of what our social development goals are, and what it will take in the form of national and international resources to achieve them. On the question of resources, it is important to recognize those private foundations, which have given so generously to promote international population and development goals. In this context, of late, major corporations have made significant contributions or have pledged to do so. We commend them for this and urge others to emulate their wonderful example.

Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA, has earned a global reputation as an untiring crusader for international understanding and support for population, particularly as regards gender equality. She is known for her strong views and her forthright way of expressing them. At the same time, she has earned respect and admiration as a diplomat and a consensus-builder. This is the kind of leadership that the international community must demonstrate in tackling the social issues on UNFPA’s agenda. In doing so, it must ensure that such efforts do not ignore respect for human rights of all the world’s six billion people, as well as the national interests of States.

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