Delegate: Ms. Ranki
79. Ms. Ranki(Finland), speaking as a youth representative of her country, said that Finland associated itself with the statement made by France on behalf of the European Union. Young people were important to society, which should ensure their growth into responsible citizenship and adulthood while recognizing their role in world development and their right of access to joint resources. Affected as they were by unemployment, poverty, environmental problems and such diseases as HIV/AIDS, young people were one of the most marginalized groups and everyone’s responsibility.
80. Being young was a rewarding time of life, but it could also be hard, particularly for girls, who were victims of violence and discrimination. Governments must therefore cooperate at the international level in protecting girls and young women from all forms of violence, and every Member State should adopt a national action programme to combat domestic violence. Men should have a role in such initiatives and, while offenders should be held accountable, efforts should also be made to develop positive male role models.
81. Every year, five million women between the ages of 15 and 19 had abortions, 40 per cent of them in unsafe conditions. They were generally ill-informed about HIV/AIDS-related issues, although the best way of preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases was the dissemination of proper information and the provision of social services.
82. Universal and equal access to primary education was of the utmost importance for development, and yet 65 million girls still remained out of school. Girls must also have access to all employment opportunities and should be encouraged to participate in traditionally male-dominated sectors, while men should be urged to assume greater responsibility in the home.
83. To overcome stereotypes and discrimination, support should be given to the efforts of Governments and international and non-governmental organizations, particularly youth organizations, to promote the equality and participation of girls in society, for human rights applied to all persons equally. Women represented half the world population; without gender parity, the Millennium Development Goals and the objectives of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond could not be achieved.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/63/SR.2
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/63/SR.2, 31 December 2008, p. 12, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/finland-2008/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-194406-0.