Sustainable Development Goals 2015 Summit held Sept 25-27, at the UN headquarters in New York

Sept 27, 2015:

NEW YORK: Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development (MICAD), Head of the UAE Committee for the Coordination of Humanitarian Foreign Aid, has said that the UAE played a leading international role in helping and supporting various groups in need of health care and humanitarian support, especially women and children, contributing to save the lives of many who suffer difficult and inhumane conditions.

She noted that this role is consistent with the UAE's commitment to achieving the targets of the humanitarian initiatives launched by the United Nations within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and in line with the guidance and vision of the wise leadership of the UAE.

This came during the participation of Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi in a number of meetings and consultations with UN officials and global leaders at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015 in New York, which focused on children and the support and empowerment of women, the most affected groups in crises and conflicts in various regions of the world.

Sheikha Lubna participated in a session titled "Children and the Sustainable Development Goals: Giving Every Child a Chance," which was attended by the world's most prominent leaders, including Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden; Graca Machel, widow of former South African President Nelson Mandela; and Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.

The meeting highlighted various new initiatives, programmes, and procedures addressing the protection of children from all forms of violence, including trafficking, sexual abuse and exploitation, and drug abuse, by influencing political decision-making and increasing investments aimed at providing viable solutions internationally.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi also met with Princess HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, wife of HRH Prince Zeid bin Raad Al Hussein, the current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and discussed the next steps for the implementation of the United Nations "Every Woman Every Child" strategy, which will focus during the next phase on improving the quality of care for women, children, and adolescents facing difficult humanitarian conditions and crises by boosting funding efforts that will contribute to support these initiatives.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of increasing cooperation between the UAE and the United Nations following the "Abu Dhabi Declaration," whose recommendations were raised to the United Nations in February, calling for the adoption of special initiatives pertaining to reproductive health and the health of mothers, infants, children, and adolescents, and considering them as groups that require priority humanitarian action and intervention.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi met with a number of UN officials, where prospects of cooperation and joint efforts between the UAE and the United Nations in various fields related to sustainable development projects were discussed.

Al Qasimi also met with Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme; Judith Karl, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund; and Grete Faremo, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services.

In the same context, Lubna Al Qasimi participated in a key session entitled "Transforming Economies: Empowering Women and Girls," in the presence of international leaders, most notably Justine Greening, British Secretary of State for International Development, Dr. Phumzile Mlambo, Executive Director of UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women."

The session, organised jointly by the United Nations and Britain, focused on the theme of women empowerment, and the possibility of achieving it in line with the "post-2015" targets and general framework of the sustainable development summit.