Presented at the Symposium in Commemoration of the International Day of Families
United Nations, New York, May 18, 2009
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I want to welcome you to this important symposium on the International Day of Families, sponsored by the Mission of Guinea in collaboration with the Universal Peace Federation.
The family is indeed the central element of all society. It is not an exaggeration to say that the family is the foundation on which any healthy society is founded. Therefore, the breakdown of the family, or threats to the family from any direction, is in fact a menace to society as a whole. This is certainly the case in my own nation of Guinea, but I believe it is equally true for all the countries represented here at the United Nations.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the initiative of the Universal Peace Federation in proposing this symposium on the Day of Families. The Universal Peace Federation has taken on a great work for the unity of the world and for peace in the world, and this is an effort that all of us should appreciate and encourage. Thank you to the UPF for all the arrangements you have made for this event.
Finally, I want to invite all of you to be more than observers in this effort. Please invest yourselves in the proceedings today, and make a commitment to play an active part in the work to come.
Read on behalf of the Ambassador by Mr. Almamy Babara Toure.