UN launches 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family

The 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Family was launched at United Nations headquarters today with a message from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a high-level seminar on the family and an exhibit by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

In his message, Mr. Annan said the International Year in 1994 drew worldwide attention to the issues facing families and encouraged local and national governments and institutions, with help from the UN system, to support their well-being through a range of policies and programmes.

“Ten years later it is time to take stock and to determine whether the situation of families has improved,” he said.

The anniversary offers the occasion to consider what more can be done on issues of direct concern to families, he said, such as poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS, migration and the ageing of societies, especially at the local and national levels. It provides an opportunity for governments and concerned organizations to review policies and carry out specific programmes to reach the objectives of the Year.

The General Assembly proclamation of 1994 recommended ways to create “among Governments, policy-makers and the public a greater awareness of the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society.”

Later this month the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) will issue several family studies, including one on “The Global Situation of Families.”

Next year the observance of the anniversary will end with a General Assembly plenary meeting.