DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES VITAL WORK OF UN POPULATION FUND AT OPENING OF ‘FAMILY OF WOMAN’ EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK

DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL PRAISES VITAL WORK OF UN POPULATION FUND

AT OPENING OF ‘FAMILY OF WOMAN’ EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK

Following are the remarks of Deputy-Secretary-General Louise Fréchette at the opening of the exhibition “Family of Woman” in New York on 10 October:

Good evening, everyone.  I am delighted to welcome you all to the United Nations for the opening of this exhibition on the “Family of Woman”.

The purpose of this exhibition -- so well-conceived and produced by the United States Committee for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- is to illustrate the mission of the UNFPA

What is that mission?

It is to save women’s lives and protect their health.  It is to ensure that every child is a wanted child, whether a boy or girl; that every pregnancy and birth is healthy; that every woman and young person can remain HIV-free; that the rights and freedoms of every girl and woman are respected; and that every family has the hope of a strong and stable future -- with real choices and opportunities.

Promoting reproductive health and equal rights is not only essential in itself.  It also lies at the heart of the United Nations overriding mission to reach the Millennium Development Goals -- a blueprint for improving the lives of people everywhere in the twenty-first century.

The way forward in reaching those Goals lies in partnerships -- like the one between the United Nations and the United States Committee for the UNFPA, which has brought us here tonight.  That is why the Secretary-General himself, as well as Mrs. Annan, are serving as patrons of this exhibition.

The photos in “Family of Woman” speak more eloquently than I ever could about the -- literally -- vital work of the UNFPA around the world.

It is our fervent hope that, as this exhibition makes its way around the United States, that message will resound loud and clear among all those who come to see it.

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