Mr Chairman, Excellencies, Dear colleagues, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen 1995 signalled a strong political recognition of the importance of social development.
Social inclusion is a key development challenge of our time and the basis for social cohesion. Unemployment, lack of resources, discrimination and social exclusion are realities for citizens all over the world. Falling birth rates, increasing life expectancy in combination with early retirements and growing numbers of people excluded from the labour market, threatens the very foundations of prosperity.
As described in the report of the Secretary-General there has been progress in some fields, but - unfortunately - fallbacks in even more areas. Much remains to be done.
To begin with, social development must be firmly based on a rights perspective that is based on human rights conventions.
The broad definition of social development from Copenhagen is not an outdated concept. On the contrary, it should remain the political vision and guiding policy at the global, regional, national and local level.
Social development calls for action at all levels. Creating a society for all means, among other things, the need for improving social and health systems, policies that promote full employment, education for all, access to quality social services, equal opportunities for women and men and the possibility to combine work and family life.
Putting people at the centre of development is an approach that considers economic growth as a means, indeed a necessary means, and not an end in itself.
Mr Chairman,
In the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, the concept "a society for all" was widened to "a society for all ages".
I fully agree with the Secretary-General's basic idea behind a society for all ages, which means that all age groups are equally worthy.
Development in ageing policies in many countries all over the world is one of the best examples of progress made since the Copenhagen Summit.
I would like to share my view on this with you.
In most countries, more and more people live longer, and the proportion of elderly persons is increasing. Undoubtedly, we are facing huge demands. An ageing population is often perceived to be something negative and a major threat to society. As the Secretary-General stated in his report, older people continue to be regarded as a marginalized group - vulnerable, resource-dependent and non-productive. In my opinion this is not true. On the contrary, I believe that they are a great asset to society.
Allow me to elaborate further on this perspective.
One of the major challenges we have to handle in the years to come is how to increase labour participation and life long learning among elderly. Actually, it is a matter of survival for our society that we make the most out of the knowledge and experience of the elderly generation. Investments in healthy ageing and efforts to prevent early retirements are productive contributions to economic growth.
The rapid demographic change does not necessarily imply that we are moving towards a wall of obstacles. Though, it is important that we are very well prepared for the positive demands in the future society!
In all regions of the world, there is a need for cooperation and exchange of views in matters linked to population ageing. The implementation and follow-up to the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing gives us a unique platform for this kind of international cooperation.
Therefore, my Government sincerely appreciate the possibility for us to take active part in this process.
Giving children a good life by supporting and protecting their rights, are essential tasks for the whole society.
In his statement at the Copenhagen Summit, the former Swedish Prime Minister, Ingvar Carlsson, specifically approached children by saying "we will be on your side, we will put the children first!" Placing children at the fore-front illustrates our high ambitions to pursue a rights based approach in all social policies. Any form of family today must have the possibility to reconcile work and family life.
Paid parental leave and extended childcare are some preconditions for enlarged female participation in working life and an important factor to meet the demands for increased labour supply and economic growth.
Finally, health issues have taken on an even more prominent role throughout the world. People's health is deeply affected by social disparities. Good health was recognized by the Summit as fundamental to people's possibilities to earn their living and to avoid poverty and exclusion. Perhaps the most important work in this field is to prevent and limit the spread of HIV/AIDS, being one of the major threats to health in the world.
Ten years after Copenhagen, social development is still central to the responsibilities of governments and all sectors of civil society. However, social policy must be shaped and developed more and more through international cooperation. The Copenhagen process has shown us that such international cooperation is not only possible, but indeed necessary.
Thank you for your attention.