Mr. Chairman,
Members of the Commission,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to address this historic 47th Session of the Commission on Population and Development. Let me begin by commending the Chair of the Commission on Population and Development, Ambassador Gonzalo Koncke of Uruguay, for his distinguished leadership, and the members of the Bureau on their work in preparing for this session of the CPD. I would also like to thank the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Wu Hongbo, and the Director of the Population Division, Mr. John Wilmoth for the important contributions of DESA and the Population Division to the ICPD review.

The ICPD Programme of Action changed forever how we perceive population and development. It moved population policies and programmes from a focus on numbers to a focus on individuals – women and men, girls and boys. And in so doing, it ensured that our collective goals included all people, particularly the most marginalized and vulnerable women and girls.

In part because of this great advance, today there are girls around the world who are able to learn about and have control over their bodies, to stay in school, find work and have children when they are ready – to their benefit, that of their families, and their societies.

The past two decades have seen remarkable progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action, as well as continual advancement of the ICPD agenda across many of its most vital areas.

At this CPD, Member States will follow through on the decision they took three years ago to “extend the Programme of Action and the key actions for its further implementation beyond 2014, and ensure its follow-up in order to fully meet its goals and objectives.”

To aid the process, the General Assembly mandated a review of implementation. Since then that has occurred.

The ICPD review, based on the voices and data of 176 Member States, input from civil society and comprehensive academic research, and covering the entire Programme of Action, as well as new challenges and opportunities, provides a powerful evidence base to support our work at this most critical juncture, as we shape our continued commitment to the ICPD Beyond 2014 and the development agenda beyond 2015.

The results of the ICPD Beyond 2014 review point us to a set of common principles that will allow us to deliver on GA Resolution 65/234 and truly and fully achieve the aims of the Programme of Action.

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