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N. Al Nasser: Qatar's Support for Family Policy Issues
Written by Nasser Al Nasser; Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations
Monday, May 18, 2009
Symposium in Commemoration of the International Day of Families
United Nations, New York, May 18, 2009
Sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Guinea, with additional cosponsorship from the Permanent Missions of Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Qatar, Sudan, and the Permanent Observer of the African Union
Allow me to extend my thanks to the Universal Peace Federation and the sponsoring missions for holding this important panel discussion on the occasion of the day close to our hearts and minds, and that is the UN International Day of Families.
The family is and has always been the essential social unit in all societies. Since 1994, many governments and other actors have supported the well being of the family through a range of policies, programs, and strategies. For this reason, the celebration of the International Day of Families draws worldwide attention to the family as a fundamental policy issue.
The State of Qatar has been active in strengthening the family, since it is the basic unit of society. This is evidenced by the holding of the Doha International Conference on the Family in the year 2004 and its adoption of the Doha Declaration on the Family.
Since 2004, the State of Qatar has promoted the importance of national capacity development in the area of family policy-making. For that purpose, Qatar is hosting the Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development, which was established in 2005 as one of the outcomes of the Doha International Conference on the Family.
The center is significant in four respects. First, it was born from a vision to serve the objectives of the International Year of the Family. Second, it has global intent and content addressing international concerns and solutions. Third, it supports the United Nations initiatives pertaining to the family. Fourth, it plans to focus on family policies with an emphasis on developing dramatic measures and approaches that are beneficial to countries around the globe regardless of ideology.
Just recently, the institute hosted the United Nations Expert Group meeting on Family Policy in a Changing World: Promoting Social Protection and Intergenerational Solidarity, held in April 2009 in Doha. That was organized in collaboration with the Programme on the Family in the Division for Social Policy and Development and the Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development.
Dear colleagues, Qatar will continue advocating the promotion and protection of the family as the basic unit of society. We would like to thank the Federation for organizing this panel and look forward for its deliberations. I thank you all.