Statements and speeches
Statement
Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem as war in Sudan reaches one year mark
13 April 2024
Famine is bearing down on the women and girls of Sudan as the deadly conflict reaches its one year mark. The war has triggered one of the world’s worst hunger crises, with 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women facing acute malnutrition, robbing them and their newborns of health and potentially even life.
Learn moreSpeech
Keynote address by the Executive Director at the 8th International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation
10 April 2024
Keynote address by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the 8th International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (IPCI) in Oslo, Norway.
Learn moreStatement
Statement by the Executive Director at the ICPD30 Global Youth Dialogue's Closing Ceremony
05 April 2024
Mr. Deputy Chief of Staff representing His Excellency Mr. Abdoulaye Bio Tchane, Minister of Planning and Development Excellencies, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, Commissioner ECOWAS Youth Ambassador Sophie…
Learn moreStatement
Statement from UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on World Health Day 2024
05 April 2024
On World Health Day, we celebrate the successes achieved since the adoption of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action in Cairo, which placed sexual and reproductive health and rights at the heart of development.
Learn moreSpeech
Speech by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the Global Youth Dialogue
04 April 2024
I begin by quoting a proud daughter of Benin, a cultural artist of world renown, Angelique Kidjo. Angelique has said: “Your brain is your greatest weapon. Connect it to your heart and you can go anywhere.”
Learn moreStatement
Statement by the Executive Director on Impending Famine in Gaza
27 March 2024
The threat of famine is looming over Gaza. Hunger and malnutrition, driven wholly by manmade causes and by a lack of humanitarian access, have spread through Gaza at frightening speed, causing…
Learn moreStatement
Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on International Women’s Day 2024
04 March 2024
A peaceful and prosperous future depends on the empowerment of women and girls. Thirty years ago, at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, 179 countries agreed that this was the right thing to do and the necessary path forward for sustainable global development.
Learn moreStatement
Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem
29 February 2024
I note with deep concern the Parliament of Ghana’s passage of the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill''. If the bill becomes law, it will expose many individuals to the risk of arrest…
Learn moreStatement
Joint statement by OHCHR, UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, UNICEF and UNOPS on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
26 February 2024
The Brussels Offices of OHCHR, UNDP, UNEP, UNFPA, UNICEF and UNOPS welcome the European Union’s initiative to introduce the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The adoption of the Directive would represent a significant advance in the global efforts to respect, protect, and fulfill children’s rights and human rights, support gender equality and address environmental challenges, as well as boost efforts to create a level playing field for businesses.
Learn moreStatement
Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee - Civilians in Gaza in extreme peril while the world watches on: Ten requirements to avoid an even worse catastrophe
21 February 2024
NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 21 February 2024 – In the less than five months that followed the brutal 7 October attacks and the ensuing escalation, tens of thousands of Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed and injured in the Gaza Strip.
Learn moreStatement
Putting survivors at the forefront of the global movement to end female genital mutilation
06 February 2024
NEW YORK, 6 February 2024 – “Today, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, we reaffirm our dedication to the girls and women who have been subjected to this grave violation of human rights. Every survivor's voice is a call to action, and every choice they make in reclaiming their lives contributes to the global movement to end this harmful practice.
Learn moreSpeech
Speech by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the Black Feminism Forum
06 February 2024
Keynote Remarks by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the Black Feminism Forum in Bridgetown,Barbados.
Learn more