Thank you Chair.

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and Sweden, Ukraine and my own delegation, Albania.

We would like to start by thanking the efforts of you and your co-facilitator throughout this process. We welcomed the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the ICPD Programme of Action, a critical document that has advanced this Commission’s work and the UN’s work on the ground for three decades.

While the Political Declaration is a missed opportunity for greater ambition and defense of key enablers for the realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to services, information and education, and freedom of choice over family planning, its consensus adoption sends an important message:

-That 30 years on, Member States remain fully committed to the ICPD programme of action and its principles

-That the programme of action and its principles are central to fulfilling the vision of the 2030 Agenda and that without accelerated implementation, we will not achieve the SDGs;

-That the realization of human rights for all is central to our efforts;

-And that gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls must be prioritized.

This is an important step in solidifying our collective commitment to the Cairo agenda as we look towards the Summit of the Future later this year, and a better tomorrow for all.

Thank you!