General Assembly Plenary in Observance of Tenth Anniversary of the International Year of the Family 

6 December 2004, GA Session 59, Meeting 67

Ambassador Iftekhar Chowdhury, Bangladesh

The family is the natural and fundamental unit of society. That has been so since time immemorial. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that. It remains as valid now as when the Declaration was adopted.

We thank the Secretary-General for his report (A/59/176), as well as for his presence and his remarks this morning.

Values and cultures are not static. They change with time. They differ from place to place. They vary with ethnic origins and religious affiliations. But despite these differences, one element remains constant: it is the belief that the family is society's core component.

For most of us, the term family implies husband and wife and their children. This is the nuclear family. In some societies, it includes close relatives and constitutes the basic economic, social and civic unit. Governments and civil society do well to recognize that central fact. All our economic and social programmes must also bear that in mind. The attainment of every Millennium Development Goal must begin with the family. The family is the main instrument of societal transformation.

A very good example of this is how and why the family, indeed the women in the family, is the focus of Bangladesh's microcredit programmes. These have contributed so significantly to poverty alleviation in our country that they have become models worthy of emulation in countries and societies of comparable milieu.

In Bangladesh, a Government ministry is dedicated to social and family welfare. It works hand in hand with non-governmental organizations and civil society. We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is the linchpin that binds and bonds the family together.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family. We applaud the Government of the State of Qatar for hosting the recent Doha International Conference for the Family. We also thank the Consort of the Emir, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Misnad, for her keen interest and contribution. The outcome of the meeting reiterates international commitments towards efforts to strengthen the family.

The family also helps not only to bring up children but to protect their rights. It provides them basic health care and education. It teaches them the need to avoid social evils. Today's children are tomorrow's citizens. The family is, as it always has been, the best school for the promotion of civic culture. That is why we must do our best to support the family and that is why my delegation wholeheartedly endorses the Doha Declaration and the draft resolution now before the Assembly (A/59/L.29).

It is our hope that this tenth anniversary celebration of the International Year of the Family will further motivate us towards promoting and strengthening our efforts on issues pertaining to the family at the United Nations and beyond. We must adopt every effective measure and take every possible step to protect, sustain, support and promote the family in times of peace and war.