Summary: 22 October 2009, New York – Explanation of Position on behalf of the European Union by the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations, 64th Session of the General Assembly Third Committee, draft resolution L.7 GA64: Follow-up to the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family and beyond
Mr. Chairperson,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union to make the following Explanation of Position on the resolution entitled “Follow-up to the International Year of the Family and beyond”. The following countries align themselves with this Explanation of Position: The candidate Countries Croatia*, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area as well as Ukraine and Georgia.
The European Union would like to thank the G77, and in particular the delegation of Sudan, as well as all other Member States who participated in the negotiations on this resolution, for their constructive approach to this year’s discussions.
The EU attaches great importance to family-related issues. As far back as 1989, the European Commission published its first communication on family policies, and this has been followed by a number of important actions addressing such issues as parental leave, reconciling family and work life and improving the living conditions of vulnerable families.
The EU recognises the crucial role of parents, carers and families in improving outcomes for children and young people and the need to provide support for them to do so. We share the view of many in this room about the valuable contribution that families make to strengthening our societies and the need to develop policies to support their role. But for these policies to be successful, they must also be inclusive. Across the EU, as in the rest of the world, families have changed and continue to change with time - illustrating the fact that a family is a living, dynamic entity. In this regard, the EU believes that we must all continue to recognise this diversity, as we did at the various UN conferences and summits of the 1990s and in their follow-up processes, and that our ongoing policy discussion and development should similarly continue to reflect the diversity of family forms.
The EU understands all references to the term “family” within this resolution as reflecting this diversity.
We have noted that positions on this issue are shifting and that support is increasing for an inclusive approach to the term “family”, bearing in mind that, in different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of the family exist. Therefore, we look forward to continued discussions on this issue in two years time.
In two years time, we will also discuss the observance of the twentieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family in 2014. The EU looks forward to a modest and focussed observance.
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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