Remarks by Mr. Yacoub El Hillo, UN Resident Coordinator in Liberia, for the National Celebration of UNFPA at 50, ICPD at 25, and the 2019 State of the World Population Report Launch

Your Excellency, Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, Madame Jewel Howard Taylor, 

Honorable Ministers of the Government of Liberia,

Your Excellences Members of the Diplomatic Corps, 

Civil Society Representatives,

Members of the Press,

My United Nations Colleagues,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the United Nations in Liberia, I am delighted to be here today and to welcome you all to this important day when we celebrate UNFPA at 50.

On this occasion today, we mark three important Events: the 50thAnniversary of UNFPA the 25thAnniversary of the Cairo International Conference on Population & Development (ICPD), and the Launchof UNFPA flagship Report “State of the World Population”, that focuses attention on issues of population and development.

Since its founding in 1969, UNFPA led the global movement to empower women to make their own decisions about whether, when, how often and with whom to become pregnant - that gained momentum. This momentum was further ignited in 1994 by the Cairo International Conference on Population and development (ICPD), where 179 governments, including Liberia, endorsed a global Programme of Action (PoA) that linked women’s empowerment, rights and sexual and reproductive health to sustainable development.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: Achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health is not only a matter of rights, but also crucial to achieving other global objectives, chiefly the Sustainable Development Goals. For us in Liberia, ensuring a comprehensive investment in gender equality, sexual reproductive health and rights can make a transformative difference in the lives of women and girls, and fuel our development agenda. 

We have collectively tried over the years to address and eliminate sexual and gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices including Female Genital Mutilation and improve access to quality adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and rights in Liberia. Good progress has been made but we are not fully there yet. Women and girls are still being subjected to violence and harmful practices, and there remains a lot to be done. Let me make clear here that not all traditional practices are harmful! Most traditional practices are in fact helpful and should be preserved and strengthened. But FGM and other forms of violence, such as child marriage, are indeed harmful.

The choice of the theme for this year’s State of the World Population Report: Unfinished Business: the pursuit of rights and choices FOR ALLis not a coincidence. It is a deliberate attempt to reinforce the relationship between rights, choices and development, as there can be no development where rights and choices are limited, denied or curtailed.

It is in this vein, that the United Nations in Liberia will continue to avail itself and work with government, civil society and all stakeholders including traditional leaders and international partners to strive for the pursuit of rights and choices for all, and by extension for development in Liberia. By doing this, we will also be addressing the critical Unfinished Business of Liberia’s development.

The UN is convinced that with the combined actions of civil society, government and development partners we can unlock opportunities and possibilities for women, men, boys and girls across the globe. To show the UN Liberia’s commitment, Liberia is one of the eight selected African Countries that will on 18 June launch the Spotlight Initiative supported by the European Union. I would like here to acknowledge the presence of the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Williametta Saydee-Tarr, and thank her for her dynamic leadership in moving this agenda forward.

The Spotlight Initiative seeks to build on past efforts to address and eliminate SGBV and Harmful Practices where the progress remained slow, uneven and approaches fragmented. One of the commendable efforts on which the Spotlight Initiative will build upon is the ongoing Joint Program on combatting Sexual and Gender-based Violence supported by Sweden. The Spotlight Initiative is an inclusive and integrated programme that seeks to address SGBV, harmful practices including FGM, child marriage and sexual reproductive health and rights. It gives the Government, the UN, civil society and other actors the opportunity to make a transformative difference in the lives of women and girls, as well as contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Please join me in congratulating the UNFPA Team on this occasion of UNFPA at fifty.

Thank you!