Date: 14/10/2004
Source: Ministry of Social Development
Title: J Benjamin: UN General Assembly special session


STATEMENT BY DR J BENJAMIN, MP, DEPUTY MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA TO THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON ICPD+10, New York, 14 October 2004

Your Excellency, President of the General Assembly,
Your Excellency, Secretary General of the United Nations,
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

Mr President,

Firstly, allow me to associate my delegation with the statement made by Qatar on behalf of the G77.

My delegation is honoured to address this special Commemoration of the Occasion of Tenth Anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development. We also express our appreciation to Ms Thoraya Obaid, Under-Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director for her leadership on population issues.

The ICPD was the first major international conference in which South Africa participated following our democratic elections in April 1994 and we contributed to the formulation of the ICPD Programme of Action that we endorsed. South Africa reaffirms its support for the ICPD Programme of Action and the Key Actions for the further implementation of the ICPD. As a country, we continue to measure our progress of the past ten years on how we implement the outcomes of the ICPD. In March 2004, we presented South Africa's report on the implementation of the Programme to the United Nations Commission on Population and Development and there are some copies available outside.

Mr President,

For us in Africa, the issues of population such as women's reproductive rights and health, gender equality, equity and development, the care and protection of children and youth empowerment remain extremely important. We come from a continent where underdevelopment remains a reality for millions of our people particularly in rural areas and the role of women and youth in poverty eradication is critical.

In preparation for our meetings in New York, South Africa participated in several meetings on population at which important declarations were adopted. In May 2004, our sub-region organised the Southern African Ministers Conference on Population and Development in Maputo, Mozambique. In June 2004, we attended the African Ministers,