Mr President,Mr. Secretary General,Ministers,Colleagues,Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the European Union, I am honoured to address the General Assembly on the Commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The Candidate Countries, Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA country Iceland, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.
The International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994 was a groundbreaking event, placing the individual at the core of population and development issues. It helped us to better understand how states and all of us – as women and men – must reach out to each other and work together to promote sustainable development, human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.
We moved away from a focus on the number of people to a focus on human rights.
And we laid the ground for a new global consensus on population and development.
Over the past 15 years, progress has been made in moving the Cairo agenda forward. Universal access to reproductive health has become part of the MDGs.
Infant and child mortality have declined, more girls can attend school and more women and couples have access to means to plan their families, to space pregnancies and limit the number of children if they so wish. And the response to HIV and AIDS has been expanded and strengthened.
Many countries have endorsed national policies, laws and programmes to improve women’s health and their enjoyment of human rights and embraced the recommendations of the ICPD. And governments have recognised the importance of population data and analysis as a basis for development strategies, policies and programmes.
Despite the progress made, we still face many challenges. The effects of the global financial and economic downturn are being felt in many parts of the world, poverty is still one of our most serious concerns and more than one billion people still suffer from hunger, 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water and over 2,5 million people lack access to basic sanitation. Climate change impacts – from rising sea-levels to drought and other weather-related disasters – are affecting our living conditions, including migration movements.
Education is a key factor in sustainable development and universal access to education, as outlined in the ICPD Program of Action, is fundamental to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs.
It is a global concern that the crises aggravate already severe conditions for the poorest, including social infrastructure. There is no doubt that the current situation has reversed recent gains. It is alarming that many families who were moving out of poverty are being plunged back into poverty again despite their best efforts. Among those particularly affected are women, young people and groups who are already in vulnerable situations, marginalised and disadvantaged in terms of power. And girls are the first to be pulled out of school when resources are lacking.
Mr President,
International migration is a vital part of today’s globalised existence. Global communications and transportation have made it possible for people to enjoy more freedom of movement than ever before.
There are clear linkages between migration and development. Remittances are one example of the benefits of migration for the migrant’s country of origin. Remittances increase the diversity of family income sources, help to ensure against risks, make investments in education and health possible and provide a source of capital for the establishment of small enterprises in developing countries. But with today’s financial and economic downturn, this source of income for many poor people around the world is threatened.
The EU is committed to promoting the positive synergies between migration and development. The aim of the EU’s Global Approach to migration, adopted in 2005, is to increase coherence between various policy areas in order to realise the potential of human mobility. The three pillars of the Global Approach – promoting mobility and legal migration, optimising the link between migration and development, and combating irregular immigration – must all be pursued in a coherent manner. The Global Approach, as well as the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum adopted in July 2008, will be implemented in true partnership with countries of origin, transit and destination.
The international dialogue on migration and development has deepened in recent years. After the United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in 2006, the international dialogue has continued in the [state-led, informal and voluntary] Global Forum on Migration and Development. The first meetings of the state-led, informal and voluntary Global Forum was held in Brussels in 2007 and in Manila in 2008. The third meeting will take place in Athens from 4 to 5 November.
Migration is, among other factors a significant contribution to urbanisation, as people move in search of social and economic opportunities. The proportion of people living in urban areas will continue to increase in the future.
This population shift poses new socio-economic challenges in developing countries. Rapid urban growth strain the capacity of local and national governments to provide basic services such as health, education, water, electricity and sewage.
Development policies are more effective when countries include population dynamics such as urbanisation in their planning and decision-making.
Women all over the world demand change and insist on opportunities to improve their own situations and the well-being of their families. But women’s political participation and access to decision-making processes are still restricted and women continue to be discriminated against in law and in practice in many parts of the world. Progress in this regard has been too slow.
The European Union welcomes the strengthening of the United Nations’ capacity to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The General Assembly resolution to establish a new gender entity is an important step towards the realisation of the United Nations’ obligations to women around the world.
Violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is a major obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development, peace and security. In this connection, we urge that all efforts be taken to intensify the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820, in order to ensure compliance with international law, the effectiveness of conflict-resolution, human security, peace-building and the fight against impunity for perpetrators. The EU and its Member States have taken important steps to address such violence, including plans of action to implement Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820 and we welcome the newly adopted resolution 1888 and the important steps taken by 1889 on “Women and peace and security” that further sets the agenda for next year.
The ICPD Programme of Action and the Beijing Platform for Action together paved the way for a progressive and forward-looking approach to gender equality recognising the importance of women’s empowerment and that women’s rights are human rights.
Men and boys must become fully involved in policy and programme development aiming to improve the equal sharing of responsibilities with women and girls, so as to foster changes in attitudes and behaviour patterns in order to promote and protect the human rights of women and the girl child. The ICPD Programme of Action highlights the importance of improving communication between women and men on issues of sexuality and reproductive health, and the understanding of their joint responsibility.
There is one thing that bears repeating over and over again; on the 15th Anniversary of the ICPD Programme of Action, the EU reaffirms its strong support for and commitment to and the full implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development, 1994, as well as the key actions for the further implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action agreed at ICPD+5 and the Copenhagen Declaration and Action Programme; and also emphasises that gender equality cannot be achieved without guaranteeing women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, and reaffirms that expanding access to sexual and reproductive health information and health services are essential for achieving the Beijing Platform for Action, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals.
In the countdown to 2015 – with only five years remaining – the European Union will accelerate action to guarantee universal access to reproductive health and ensure reproductive health commodity security. We will continue to work closely with UNFPA, governments, civil society and other partners to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as women’s empowerment and gender equality with the aim to achieve to the goals set out at relevant international conferences, including the ICPD.
The EU commends the United Nations system – and in particular the UNFPA – on its successful efforts to implement a holistic approach established in the ICPD Programme of Action.
The EU recognises that the right to attain the highest standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health, is a basis for action. The incorporation of the ICPD agenda into national development strategies – especially in national health policies, strategies, programmes and budgets – is a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
This is particularly important in view of the fact that, every year, more than half a million women die from causes related to pregnancy and child birth and that little progress has been made over the past fifteen years. Most maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. A woman’s lifetime risk of maternal death in sub-Saharan Africa is one in twenty-two while in developed countries the risk is less than one in 6 000.
According to the UN, 13 per cent of maternal deaths at the global level are due to unsafe abortion and in parts of sub-Saharan Africa the figure is 30–40 per cent.
This means we are far from achieving MDG 5 and its targets. The causes of maternal mortality are well known, and in the vast majority of cases, they are preventable. With over 99 per cent of maternal deaths occurring in developing countries, there is an urgent need to address the largest health inequity of our time.
We cannot address the issue of maternal mortality unless we adopt a multisectoral approach to protect the rights of women and girls and take urgent action to strengthen national health systems.
The close connection between health, economic and social well-being is well-documented. Disease and ill-health weaken the poor by diminishing their personal capacity and their ability to contribute to their households, resulting in lost incomes and lower productivity.
HIV and AIDS continue to pose a threat to development and the well-being of individuals. Most new HIV infections are spread through unsafe sex. There is therefore a need to integrate HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and rights into policies and programmes, at local, regional and international levels. Comprehensive sexuality education, access to youth-friendly health services, to affordable and high quality male and female condoms and other forms of prevention and contraceptives must be part of our response to fight HIV and AIDS. Special attention to the roles and responsibilities of men is needed.
Over the years, we have learned that to advance the implementation and achievement of the goals of the ICPD Programme of Action, countries and communities must feel ownership and protect the agenda. We cannot stress enough the importance of involving governments and communities, civil society organisations and civil society as a whole. But more importantly, women and men and girls and boys must be fully involved in efforts that address their specific situations and challenges.
The UNFPA has spearheaded this process by exploring different ways to promote gender equality and human rights so that they are internalised and understood at the community level and by individuals. Change comes from within.
Sufficient financial resources, both domestic and international, are vital for achieving the goals set in Cairo. Despite the current economic and financial crisis, the international community must honour the internationally agreed ODA targets.
Equally important, however, is political will. Giving people the freedom and opportunities they need to grow, to take responsibility, to make informed choices and to fulfil their dreams – this is the overall objective of the ICPD and our common task. Not numbers, but something much more important: the rights, well-being and development of each and every individual.
That’s how we can achieve sustainable human development.
Thank you.
* Croatia and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.