Statement of H. E. Dr.A.K. Abdul Momen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh on agenda item 23: Eradication of poverty , women in development and human resource development at the Second Committee Plenary of the General Assembly, October 17, 2013
Mr. Chair,
Today we are discussing three issues: eradication of poverty , women in development; and human resource development– all of which are complementary and reinforcing to each other in our common endeavor to achieve MDGs and our developmental goals beyond 2015. While my delegation aligns itself with the statement of the G-77 and China, I would like to highlight some points in this regard. We commend the Secretary General for presenting comprehensive reports on various sub-items under agenda item.
I like to start with women in development and citing Bangladesh’s huge success in empowerment of women through its women political leadership, political, social and economic empowerment of women and remarkable achievement in empowerment of women through the attainments in the field of MDG 3 and MDG 5. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the government has initiated various programs and projects for the development of women which are making contribution towards the achievement of the development targets .
Women’s empowerment is critical in the development process and to eradicate poverty. Women’s important contributions to the economy and to combating poverty and inequalities through remunerated and unremunerated work at home, in the community and workplace, significantly shapes overall development. We welcome Secretary General’s report, which has particularly emphasized on the issues of decent work, unpaid care work and social protection for women, especially given the ongoing financial and economic crisis.
Mr. Chair,
Many of the world’s poorest are women. Poverty eradication is a key challenge for rural women. To help rural women escape poverty we need to empower rural women to claim their rights, leadership, opportunities and choices, and to participate in shaping laws, policies and programmes.
We must also focus on the women — both high-skilled and “unskilled” — who constitute an increasing proportion of cross-border labour flows, protecting and promoting their rights, ensuring social protection and services, reliable information on safe and legal migration, low-cost remittance transfer mechanisms and savings and investment schemes.
Mr. Chairman,
Human resources development is a critical factor in reducing poverty. Increased investment in education and training, particularly vocational education and training, is important in human resources development. There is a need to identify new ways of addressing human resources development and to promote further progress in this area. Science, technological knowledge and innovation have led to positive transformations in people’s lives in developed world. However, least developed countries will be able to harness the full potential of science, technology and innovation only when they are equipped and organized with institutional and infrastructural capacity.
The capacity for innovation in the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and Small Island developing States is not sufficiently robust to contribute to industrial promotion, job creation and economic development. Financial challenges also constrain the ability of these countries to reorient their innovation strategies. More attention needs to be paid to these countries in the creation, application and diffusion of knowledge, human capital and technology.
Mr. Chair,
Poverty eradication is at the core of development, as reflected in the Millennium Development Goal to halve global extreme poverty by 2015. It is particularly critical to accelerate progress in regions that are lagging behind in implementing the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) which seeks to support the efforts to achieve this goal with the theme “Full employment and decent work for all”. The report of the SG reflects that the targets for eradication of poverty have not been achieved in an even manner, and even the gains are not evenly distributed among or within regions.
It has been observed that although South Asia, one of the two most poor regions of the world, has taken significant steps forward in this effort, Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, is yet to make satisfactory progress in this regard. Same trend is prevalent in the target of providing productive and decent employment. On the other hand, in achieving the goal of reducing the number of hungry population, there has been progress in both of the two regions, but not significant enough to fulfill the target.
Even today, one-eighth of the global population is chronically hungry. We have crossed the halfway mark of the second UN decade for eradication of poverty, and it is imperative that we strengthen our efforts to fulfill the ambitions of this period.
I thank you.