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Annual Session Executive Board of UNFPA Annual Report of Executive Director Statement by Denmark

Who Erik Laursen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN
Who Erik Laursen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN
When 05.06.2024

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Madam Executive Director, Mr. President,

We warmly welcome the Annual Report to the Executive Board and the mid-term review of the UNFPA Strategic Plan, 2022-2025.

First, allow me to congratulate UNFPA on the impressive results achieved in 2022-2023 and UNFPA’s contributions to achieving the three crucial transformative results: averting maternal deaths, preventing unsafe abortions and prevention gender based violence.

Despite this progress, global distress factors, including humanitarian crises and opposition to sexual and reproductive health and rights and climate change, are obstructing further advancements.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights remain under pressure worldwide. Human rights must be at the centre of population policies. Where rights are not prioritized, the most marginalized suffer.

Madam Executive Director, Denmark fully agrees with your point that we must leave no one behind. In a world of 8 billion people, we need to strongly advocate for rights and choices for everyone.

To achieve this, UNFPA must be agile, fully funded, and able to accelerate its work towards the three transformative results. Denmark remains committed to supporting UNFPA in this endeavour.

 

To this end, we would like to highlight some key issues for Denmark:                           

This year we celebrated ICPD 30 and the Commission on Population and Development adopted an important political declaration reaffirming commitment to the ICPD Programme of Action. Denmark was also proud to co-host together with UNFPA, Benin and the Netherlands, the Global Dialogue on Youth. We encourage UNFPA and others to look to young people and the Cotonou Youth Action Agenda to drive this agenda forward.

With UNFPA’s mandate comes the responsibility to advance and protect the human rights of women and girls, including their sexual and reproductive health, skills, knowledge, and education. Denmark fully supports UNFPA's efforts to strengthen its normative role, including through the ongoing HQ optimization process, enhancing support to country and regional efforts.

We welcome UNFPA’s efforts to scale up its humanitarian response capacity to safeguard the lives and rights of women, adolescents, and youth. We will continue supporting UNFPA's important role in combating gender-based violence, including by amplifying local and national capacities through women- and girls-led organizations

                                                                        

Madam Executive Director, let me end by warmly thanking you and all dedicated UNFPA staff for the tireless and meaningful work towards achieving the three transformative results and ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.