4th plenary meeting - 64th Session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD64)

Good morning. The fourth meeting of the 64th session of the Commission for Social Development is called to order. I invite the Commission to continue its consideration of Agenda Item 3A, entitled Priority Advancing Social Development and Social justice through Coordinated, Equitable and Inclusive Policies in order to hold a Ministerial Forum on the topic. The Leveraging the outcomes of the Second World Summit for Social Development from Copenhagen to Doha Mobilizing national action towards 2030 and beyond the main objective of this forum is to provide Ministers the opportunity to present and discuss national actions and policies that can translate the vision and commitments of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and Program of Action and the 2025 Doho Political Declaration into reality. Through this panel discussion, we hope to stimulate forward looking strategies while connecting the historical commitments of Copenhagen with the renewed momentum from Doha.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Dear Ministers, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to Segment one of the Ministerial Forum. I extend my sincere appreciation to the honorable Ministers for having accepted the invitation to participate in this forum. I am pleased to welcome the distinguished panelists of our ministerial forum. Segment 1 Her Excellency Butai Nabind Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaymi, Minister of Social Development and Family of Qatar Her Excellency Kaiser Yuso, Minister of Social affairs and Health of Finland His Excellency Antonio Sanguino, Minister of Labor of Colombia and Her Excellency Corinna Schumann, Federal Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Health Care and Consumer Protection of Austria. I look forward to a productive and interesting exchange of views.

At this time, I would like to invite participants wishing to make comments and pose questions to the panelists to press the microphone button before giving the floor to our distinguished panelists. I wish to remind to please keep within their allocated time limit of 5 minutes and delegations to please keep within the 3 minutes time limit or even less during the interactive discussion. I thank participants in advance for your cooperation. I first give the floor to Her Excellency Butayina Bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaymi, Minister of Social Development and Family of Qatar.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Madam Chair, we're honored to address this important Ministerial forum gathering us today. It is a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss measures that will allow translating the vision and the commitments of Copenhagen and Doha into reality. Madam Chair, we are proud to have hosted successful the second World Summit for Social Development that gathered leaders of the world 30 years following the first World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995. We hosted this summit as a testament to my country's policy of action based on partnership and cooperation with the international community, we are committed to consolidating international efforts to to achieve inclusive social development and social justice while accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This is also in line with my country's history of convening and hosting various international conferences.

This summit was positively received with the participation of leaders, officials, representatives of international and regional organizations, as well as various stakeholders. Through the various dialogue sessions, the main issues and social challenges were discussed. It was an exceptional opportunity for the world together to exchange expertise and strengthen solidarity and partnerships. Madam Chair, the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha laid the basis towards progress for social development for all and the Doha Political Declaration is an important document to advance social social policies while leaving no one behind, promoting international solidarity and working towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. It is important to build on the positive momentum during this summit.

It is important to translate various measures and promises that were included in the Doha Political Declaration. They must be implemented as well as all important commitments in Copenhagen as well. That way we will be able to eradicate poverty, ensure a decent work as well as full labor, social inclusion and the rapid implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This is the way to build communities, people, people centered communities that are more inclusive, more just and more prosperous for all. Madam Chair, on the national level, the inclusive in the inclusive development is a priority for my country with significant progress towards achieving our aspirations.

There were important success stories in light of the various national pillars, including social development through policies, programs and initiatives and through improving the quality of services and through partnerships. We launched last year the national strategy of the Ministry of Social Development and Family entitled From Care to Empowerment, in line with the principles of the Qatar 2030 National Vision which places people at the heart of development. The this strategy is a comprehensive framework to develop policies and social programs. It is a way to ensure the transition from care to empowerment through supporting the family, empowering women, supporting persons with disabilities, the elderly, and through community partnerships and volunteering. We're proud of our close strategic partnership with the United nations.

Given its exceptional importance amid growing challenges. These challenges require further cooperation and coordination. My country is keen to making every effort to achieve its commitments and we are one of the biggest supporters of the United nations in the various fields. Madam Chair, the theme of the Ministerial Forum convene today is extremely important and timely. It reminds us of the necessity of capitalizing on the results of the Second World Summit for Social Development from Copenhagen to Doha.

It is important as well to mobilize national efforts towards 2030 and beyond, including the promise not to leave no one behind, targeting the most marginalized and those who are left behind while putting people at the heart of development. We seize this opportunity to commend the important role of the Commission for Social Development, mandated with the primary responsibility of following up on and reviewing the World Summit for Social Development as well as intergovernmental commitments in the field of social development. To conclude, our success will hinge on the full implementation of our commitments through concrete measures to achieve social development for all, particularly for developing countries. You can count on my country's commitment to working alongside the United nations and all partners to achieve the desired goals. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Social Development and Family of Qatar for reminding us about the Doha Summit and spirit and presenting national efforts of Qatari government to advance social development and would appreciate if you could please answer the following question related to your intervention within two minutes. The Doha Political Declaration emphasized that international community came together at the summit in a spirit of renewed hope, guided by commitment and collective action. In your view, how can we sustain and build upon this positive momentum to advance social development for all, particularly in the face of urgent and very complex global challenges that are reversing progress and as we move closer to the timeline of the 2030 Agenda.

The second World Summit for Social Development held in Doha marked the historic opportunity and essential platform to mobilize the global global support, strengthen international cooperation and promote joint solutions. To sustain this positive momentum generated in Doha, we must translate its spirit into lasting progress by continuing to work together, strengthening multilateral cooperation and turning the aspirations and commitments of the Doha Political Declaration to concrete and measurable outcomes. It is also important to ensure that these commitments are integrated into national policies and development strategies. We firmly believe that meaningful progress is possible in the face of the pressing global challenges and as we approach the 2030 Agenda timeline, one key lesson stands out. The urgent need for collective action, genuine solidarity and effective multilateralism, supported by strong partnerships, placing people at the center of development and prioritizing those from furthest behind, remain essential to advance social development for all.

The Doha Political Declaration sets out ambitious commitments and measures providing a solid foundation for promoting social development and social justice for all, while advancing the three core pillars of social development, poverty eradication, full and productive employment and decent work for all, and social integration. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Minister Al Nuimi, for that very clear answer. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Kaiser Yousso, Minister of Social affairs and House of Finland. Please.

Honorable Chair. Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. For Finland, sustainable social development is not an Abstract idea For us, this is a core idea of the Nordic welfare state. Built on universalist equality, non discrimination and trust. These principles place people at the center of policy making and they form the foundation of what we call the economy of well being.

The understanding that a society is prosper when people and the planet do well. To advance social development, every country needs structures that support people's well being equally. This means ensuring universal social protection and access to services. When countries strengthen their social welfare systems according to their own context and capacities, they can support inclusive growth, higher productivity and stronger social cohesion. Employment is at the heart of a sustainable welfare society.

People must be able to live on their pay and work must be rewarding. Wage income in turn provides the shared resources that sustain public services.

Gender equality is a core priority for Finland. We work to eliminate discrimination in working life and to close the pay gap through long term equal pay measures and euro level pay Transparency, equal parental leave, quality child care and policies that support balancing work and family life are important elements of this work. Finland is one of the fastest aging countries in the world. Ensuring dignified aging and fairness between generations is a top priority for us. Our social and health care system is strong, but it needs to adapt to demographic change and growing service needs.

This is why Finland carried out the largest social and health services reform in its history. Our aim is to ensure accessible, high quality and financially sustainable services for all, regardless of income level or place of residence.

Future generations must be at the center of our decisions today. This requires long term thinking and investment in children and young people. Finland works across sectors to support young people's mental well being in their everyday lives. Mental health is a priority and we are taking new measures to offer help earlier and make care easier to reach.

Inclusion is especially important for Finland. We adopted a new Disability Service act last year that strengthens our implementation of of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The actor shifts from focus from medical diagnosis to individual needs. We recognize that all persons with disabilities have the right to autonomy, freedom of choice and full participation in society. Internationally, Finland is the largest honor donor to the Global Disability Fund, helping promote inclusion in education, work, sexual and reproductive health and protection services.

To conclude, in Finland, comprehensive security and resilience rest on a strong social foundation and active communities. Trust grows through fairness, inclusion and openness, which is why cooperation, social dialogue and coordinated action are essential for building lasting solutions. Thank you.

Thank you very much Minister of Social affairs and Health of Finland for particularly highlighting the reform in Finland's own social development. I would appreciate your answer to the following question. Looking beyond 2030, what development or trend would you like to highlight for the future? Social Development.

Looking beyond 2030, I want to highlight the role of digital transformation for social development. Digitalization and AI can help us so many ways identify needs earlier and make our services work better, better but progress must be for everyone. Some people cannot easily use new devices or digital services due to age, disability, skills or access and they risk being left behind. Our responsibility is clear. Pair every new tool with inclusive design, offline alternatives and real hands on support so that no one is left out in a digital society.

Thank you very much for that forward looking perspective. Minister Yuso. I would now like to give the floor to His Excellency Antonio Sanguino, Minister of Labor of Colombia.

Good morning and warm greetings on behalf of the Government of President Gustavo Petro. The Doha Summit was a turning point. It showed that after years of setbacks, crises and increasing inequality, the social agenda has returned to the center of the international debate. Colombia welcomes this shift because social justice today is the central axis of our Government of Change and because social development cannot remain just something we talk about, but must rather become a concrete and verifiable process based on rights. The Doha Political Declaration adopted by consensus affirms the commitments of the Copenhagen Summit and the 2030 Agenda.

At the same time, it recognizes that social development is a shared responsibility requiring new solutions to poverty, inequality, informality and exclusion. For Colombia, this declaration is particularly meaningful because it puts decent work and employment at the heart of development. This is an objective that is aligned with the transformation in our country to ensure decent work, improve productivity and strengthen our labour institutions. All of this is embodied in our Labour Law, which has been approved and also as we implement a living wage. The declaration also underscores social protection as an essential pillar of development.

It represents support for the pensions reform that we are undertaking to expand pensions coverage, close gaps and ensure universal and sustainable pension systems. Likewise, the stress that it places on areas such as the care economy, gender equality and the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work is fully consistent with the labour modernisation agenda that Colombia is promoting. Something else that was fundamental for our country was the approach that the Declaration takes to migration. Indeed, it recognizes that migration is a driver of inclusive growth and it calls for the protection of migrants rights. For Colombia, a country of both origin and destination, this recognition is crucial to advance towards safe labour mobility policies and social labour inclusion.

Similarly, the call to address energy, technology and demographic transitions with appropriate labor policies is consistent with the challenges that we are facing. As a country that is highly vulnerable to climate change and to the productive transformations being undertaken by our Government of Change, we recognize the progress made by the summit. At the same time, however, we are aware that the true test lies in how we implement the Declaration. As the document rightly states, the success of the summit depends on our collective ability to translate international commitments into specific national policies that curb poverty, inequality and exclusion, particularly in developing countries. On all of this, Colombia has made significant progress under our administration.

For instance, poverty has fallen by nearly 3%, meaning that we've been able to lift 1.6 almost 2 million Colombians out of poverty. Likewise, our national unemployment rate has fallen to historic levels, dropping from 11% in 2022 to 8.9% in 2025. This is the lowest unemployment rate of the century, resulting in the creation of more than 2 million jobs. the same time, the informal labor rate is showing a downward Trend, falling from 58.5 in 2022 to 55% by the end of 2025. This means that today, hundreds of thousands of people now have access to work, with greater guarantees and social protection.

Added to this, we have a clear wage policy for workers, moving from the concept of a minimum wage to a living wage. Between 2023 to 2026, this represented a cumulative nominal increase of 60%. This has contributed to restoring purchasing power for more than 2.4 million households and has directly reduced poverty and inequality in the country. For this reason, we reiterate our commitment and we stress that the Doha Summit should not be seen as the end of anything, but rather the beginning of a renewed cycle of international cooperation for social development. Colombia stands ready to work closely with the United nations, the International Labor Organization, and partner countries to make a world of decent work and social justice a reality for everyone.

We reaffirm our commitment to multilateralism as the only viable peaceful mechanism for forging global and regional consensus. Thank you.

I thank the Minister of Labor of Colombia. Would appreciate your answer to the following question. Given that informality continues to affect a high percentage of the Colombian workers, significantly limiting access to labor rights and social protection and stable incomes, what concrete steps is the Ministry of Labor taking to accelerate labor formalization while ensuring that the creation of decent work keeps pace with Colombia's broader economic and social challenges?

Well, firstly, the government's macroeconomic policies propose sustained economic growth for our economy. Today we do have economic growth, and we closed 2025 at 2.9% growth, which was well above the average of regional countries, which are growing at 1.1%. We hope by the end of the year to go over the threshold of 3 or even 4% growth. All of this means better and more employment in the country and a considerable of informal jobs. Secondly, we are proposing formalizing 400,000 workers and technology and 500,000 in another sector, as well as 400,000 apprenticeships, which represents around 1.5 million formalized workers.

In addition, the Ministry of Labour has been promoting an incentives policy to generate jobs. This is called the Jobs for Life program. Between August and December 2025, for instance, we carried out cash transfers generating 24 240,000 new jobs, particularly for women, persons with disabilities and young people. In addition, we have been carrying out significant providing significant support to local and regional authorities to consolidate a national network of labour formality. We're also working with the ILO and the Ministry of Agriculture on a national strategy for labour formalisation in the agriculture sector.

And we have Law 504 2025, which aims to regularize and protect 14,000 agricultural workers and expand their access to family subsidy programs. This is a suggestion made by the Petroglyph Government to universalize social protection for all informal workers across the country.

Thank you very much, Minister Sanguino, for providing detailed information on the work formalization in Colombia. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Corina Schuman, Federal Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Health Care and Consumer Protection of Austria.

Thank you, Madam Chair, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for the kind invitation to take part in today's Ministry forum, which provides a platform to discuss the potential taps required to implement the commitments set out at the doha political declaration. 75 years after World War II, Austria has achieved a comparably high standard of living. Drawing on these experiences, I will address three areas which are key for advancing the social dimension of the Agenda 2030. In Austria, we have a long standing tradition of social dialogue. This has led to constantly better outcomes in different policy fields due to a consciousness oriented approach contributing to stability and progress in the labor market, collective bargaining, decent work, social policy, education and inclusive economic growth.

Furthermore, multi stakeholder engagement has been crucial to deliver inclusive social development. My Ministry BU annual hosts the so called Poverty Platform. This forum brings federal ministries, regions, social partners and civil society organizations together to discuss relevant topics to eliminate poverty and ensure social inclusion. At the heart of Austria's approach lies a comprehensive welfare state with a high level of social and family benefits. This allows us to largely prevent poverty risks.

Nevertheless, we are still experiencing negative effects stemming from the COVID 19 pandemic the energy crisis, inflation and the cost of living crisis. As a result, we are facing budgetary constraints. These challenges particularly affect groups with low incomes. First, let me give you an overview of our recent measures to address these issues. To align our policies with the commitments of DOA regarding to fight against poverty, the Austrian government has implemented measures to reduce the possibility for landlords to raise rents.

This measure will significantly slow down the rapid rise in rental coasts. To prevent the end homelessness, we implemented the so called housing Umbrella. This program offers support to avoid evictions, prevent energy shut offs and support people experiencing homelessness by offering permanent affordable housing. In general, meaningful policies need long term strategic approaches. Therefore, we have put a focus on ending child poverty.

Investing in early childhood education and care brings the expected economic and social benefits in the long run. To reduce the risks of poverty, access to health care is essential. Thus, strengthening the primary health care sector remains an important focus. The goal is to promote health, strengthen prevention and ensure high quality efficient medical treatment. Second, I would like to highlight the importance of policies to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Older persons are often affected by long term unemployment. The project Action 55 offers new perspectives for persons aged over 55 and aims to create up to 6,000 jobs. In addition, the new Partial Rent Retirement Scheme allows older employees to reduce their work hours while receiving a proportional pension benefit. This supports a gradual transition into retirement, helps to keep experience within the workforce and force and improves financial security. Likewise, women often face barriers in the labor market.

Thus, we increase the labor market promotion budget for women. Due to demographic changes, the demand for long term care is increasingly significantly which also impacts the labor market. In recent years, Austria has introduced measures to improve working conditions and create financial initiatives in the sectors. Ladies and gentlemen, let me highlight recent developments in Austria to ensure inclusivity and participation for social groups. In light of the commitments made in Doha to address gender based violence, Austria adopted a new National Action Plan on violence against Women.

Key focus are areas include early prevention in education, reducing women's economic dependence, strengthening prevention, targeted training for relevant professions and specific measures for women in vulnerable situations. Social exclusion and loneliness are major structure challenges in aging societies. Austria strongly underlines the importance of human rights of elder persons and remains committed to the implementation in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging, Austria is committed to fully implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. To this end, we have developed our second national plan on disabilities, compromising nearly 400 concrete measures covering all aspects of the lives of persons with disabilities. As a host State of the UN Headquarters we we will welcome an ambitious international community and a rule based international order.

Therefore, Austria is running for a non permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2728. International organizations such as the World Health Organization and International Labor Organization are indispensable for achieving sustainable development. They must play a pivotal role in implementing the Doha Political declaration. Looking ahead 20, 30 and beyond, a strong social pillar based on the commitments of Doha is the utmost importance. In this context, preventing policies and international cooperation are crucial. Thank you very much for your attention.

I thank the Federal Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Health Care and Consumer Protection of Austria for informing about key achievements of Austria in advancing social dimension. And in your statement, Madam Minister, you talked about vulnerable groups and how Austria tries to enable them to participate fully in society. Since employment prevents poverty. Could you please explain how you intend to include vulnerable groups in the labor market?

Thank you very much. In general, I would like to say that strengthening public employment, service and social dialect remain the utmost priorities for Austria. Therefore, Austria has introduced the possibility to include collective agreements for freelancers. Focusing on WOMEN Increasing women's participation in the workforce is a very important topic for us on two respects. Firstly, more women should participate in the labor market and we have to set measures to help women to increase their amount of time of the time they work.

We have here to work on the frameworks. We increased the financial support for women with the labor market promotion budget. With these funds, we provide women specific active labor market policies. For example, women are trained in crafts and technical occupations and to apprenticeships levels to a technical college degree. The training enables women to work in well paid jobs with good prospects for development.

Furthermore, women are supported with specific trainings and needs based care, counseling and focused on people with disability. The federal government offers a wide range of support instruments for persons with disabilities to gradually introduce them and to integrate them into the labor market. There are a range of project based support services such as youth coaching, the training programs, vocational training assistance, work assistance and job coaching. In addition, workplace related support is provided such as a wage, subsidies, technical work aids and for those with greater support needs, personal assistance in the workplace. What is more, a special adversary and service offering has been developed for companies to encourage them more strongly to create inclusive working conditions and hire persons with disabilities.

And one more group is very important, the older persons. The project Action 55 offers new perspectives for older persons aged over 55 and aims at creating up to 6,000 jobs and workplaces. The new partial retirement scheme allows older employees to reduce their working hours while receiving A proportional pension benefit. It supports a gradual transition into retirement, helps to retain experience within the workforce and improves financial security. Yes, we are working on it.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Minister Schumann. I would now open the floor for comments and questions to our distinguished panelists and would like to give the floor to the representative of El Salvador, Chair of the Office of Integration at the Presidency of El Salvador. Please, you have the floor.

Mucha gracias. Thank you very much. Madam Chair, we'd like to congratulate you for the presentations and also for the outcomes of the Doha Summit. I'd just like to briefly tell you a little and ask a question. In El Salvador, we have a broader concept of poverty.

We have an enormous number of resources in our country that are not necessarily the traditional ones that were used.

This allows us to break down an historic issue that we've faced today. Every young person finishing their education at 18 has the opportunity to access university or technical schools.

Before, we had around either 1 to 13% of people going to university and now we have 45% of 18 year olds going to university just one year into this project. We've done this on the basis of an innovative way of seeing poverty and social investment in which relationships between people and between people and their institutions have managed to overcome these issues and break down poverty or be lifted out of poverty. This has generated a new middle class, if you like, in our country. This is one, this is something that has affected grandparents, all generations.

I'd like to congratulate you for what happened in Doha as well. And I'd just like to understand.

How do you specifically think that we, we can achieve this country transformation within every country so that they can lift people out of poverty?

And furthermore, just so I can make the most of my three minutes, how can we use technology on a more wide basis, as Ms. Kaiser Jusso was saying, to help us in this effort? Thank you.

I thank the Chair of the Office of Integration at the Presidency of El Salvador. And I now give the floor to Deputy Minister of Family, labor and Social Policy of Poland.

Madam Chair, first of all, I would like to thank Kaisa Yusu and Corina Schumann for mentioning a role of appropriate support to persons with disabilities and the need of guarantee them dignity, freedom and independent life. Appropriate support to persons with disabilities is one of the key drivers in boosting the social development in contemporary world. In Poland, we are strongly focused on the area of rights of persons with disabilities, especially right to conduct an independent life. This is the reason we now prepared in Poland a reform declaring Financed by state budget, personal assistance to persons with disabilities and introduced a few years ago. Special supporting benefit to cover costs connected with need of assistance and care in day to day life.

The question is what we as United nations can do more to promote a right to conduct independent life by persons with disabilities.

Thank you to Deputy Minister of Family, labor and Social Policy of Poland. And I now give the floor to Minister of Labor and Social Insurance of Cyprus.

Thank you for the floor, dear panelists, ladies and gentlemen. Social justice is a core priority of the Cyprus Presidency of the Castle of the European Union. In a labour market reshaped by digitalization and the rise of artificial intelligence, we must promote policies that harness technological progress to improve job quality, reduce inequalities and support just transitions. Fair wages, safe conditions and equal opportunities must remain central to ensure innovation that serves all workers. The NDOHA political declaration points towards a renewed global social contract grounded in solidarity rights and effective multilateralism.

As we navigate green and digital transitions, the real measure of success is fairness. With billions still without social protection or fair employment, our focus must now shift decisively from commitments to delivery. Our political priority should be delivering concrete results for people. And then I want to ask you a question. What practical steps can ensure that the World Social Summit commitments are translated into real progress on social justice, decent work and social protection, especially for those most at risk of being left behind?

Thank you very much.

I thank Minister of Labor and Social Insurance of Cyprus. And I now give the floor to Minister for Social Services of Sweden.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Sweden believes that prevention and early intervention and support are the best way to. Reach social development and dignity for all. Our new Social Services act shows this. We now focus on helping families and people early before problems escalate.

We know from experience that early intervention. Works, that parental support, mental health care. For young people and good childcare make a real difference. These investments save money over time. But most of all, it helps people.

All people, especially those who need it the most. So we must build policies that prevent problems before they get out of hand. This means strong social services, family support and access to help for everyone. And we cannot reach social development without protecting children. Children are key to our work.

Violence against children in all forms prevent the realization of equal and fair society. This being said, Sweden is very focused on ending violence against children, both in terms of corporal punishment and more severe violence. During 2026, the government aims to adopt a national strategy to prevent and combat. All form violence against children. As governments, we are obligated to include child protection in all our plans.

We must support families and keep children safe. Global coalition is key in these areas and Sweden works with other countries. On this one example. And on this one example is through the Global alliance to End Violence Against Children. We call on all countries to do the same.

So we have had good goals for 30 years from Copenhagen to Doha. Now we must make them real. And the essential question is how do we do that? Thank you.

I thank Minister for Social Services of Sweden and now give the floor to Vice Minister of Women and Child Development of India.

Global social development is a pivotal moment. Thirty years after the Copenhagen Declaration placed people at the center of global development, the Doha political declaration has reaffirmed that social justice is essential for sustainable development and global stability. India aligns with this vision. Our pathway to become a developed nation is guided by Sabkasat Sabka Vikas, a whole of government and whole of society approach. Leaving no one behind.

For India, social development is not welfare alone. It is constitutional imperative with social justice as its objective. Let me share some statistics aligned with two Doha critical areas. Over 800 million citizens are ensured food security. More than 550 million people access free universal health care through 150,000 health centers including cervical and breast cancer screenings and gender reinformation surgeries.

16,000 Jan Aurogya Kendras provide affordable medicines and medical devices including sanitary napkins. Just at nearly 1 rupee, 3.3 million persons with disabilities have been provided aids, assistive devices and motorized tricycles. Our constitution mandates 1/3 reservation for women at all levels of governance. Today over 1.45 million women serve in Indian local constituting 46% of the total. Behavioral change and financial empowerment for girls are being strengthened through Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and the Sukarnya Samridhi Yojana under which over 41 million accounts have been opened.

Four labor codes prohibiting gender discrimination and ensuring equal pay for equal work alongside initiatives promoting safe workplaces and women's entrepreneurships. 550 million collateral free loans worth over 382 billion rupees to non farm entrepreneurs including over 200 million women and street vendors have provided a segue into formal economy. The SMILE schemes provide rehabilitation, counseling and healthcare education and skill training for transgender person and people engaged in begging. So far, 970 individuals have been rehabilitated. The journey from Copenhagen to Doha reminds us that the development must be measured in the dignity of the last person in the line.

Guided by Vasudhaivka to the world is one family. India stands ready to share its experience in digital public infrastructure and inclusive growth. Thank you.

I think Vice Minister of Women and Child Development of India and now give the floor to Under Secretary in the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines. Thank you.

Madam Chair. The Philippines commends the Commission and the views expressed by the invited Ministers. As panelists, we are honored to contribute to this forum to highlight that today's realities climate change, technological transformation, demographic shifts and persistent inequalities require us to rethink how we design and implement social development policies. Human capital development remains central to the Philippine social development strategy. There is evidence to show that conditional cash transfer to poor households have contributed to improvement in their health, education and family development and helped break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

This must be complemented by interventions which address child nutrition and early development. We should not also forget about the older persons or what we call the silver economy and provide them the necessary support, both financial and in kind assistance, to ensure dignity, productivity and security in old age. Together, all these programs should form a continuum of social protection, supporting households across the life cycle, reducing poverty and promoting social integration while ensuring that vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and in remote communities are not left behind. Excellencies, the Philippines views social development beyond 2030 as integrated, rights based and people centered, anchored in human capital, coordinated financing, inclusive innovation, transparent governance and community driven participation. It is indeed a positive development that there are a lot of commonalities among states in mobilizing national action post Copenhagen and Doha.

The difference lies in the specific vulnerabilities of a particular country, especially vulnerability to disasters, such that whatever gains already achieved by the social assistance programs are somehow reversed by climate shocks. Thus, Excellencies, we would like to hear insights on adaptive and shock responsive social protection that requires coordination of DRR interventions such as preparedness training, early warning systems and rapid response cash assistance, both in partnership with local governments and community based organizations. We believe these interventions are closely integrated with social protection programs ensuring that vulnerable households can maintain access to education, health and livelihood even in times of crisis. Thank you.

I thank the Undersecretary in the Department of Speaker, Social Welfare and Development of the Philippines and I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation.

Madam Chair, distinguished colleagues at this session of this session of the Commission on Social Development takes place immediately in the wake of the Doha Summit. For Russia, the social protection of the population is a priority area of state policy. This despite contemporary challenges and pressure that my country is facing. Labor success and the achievement. The achievements of the people of history of Russia rather are setting new standards.

So social protection of our society is particularly important. In light of these achievements, it's critical to reaffirm dedication to the fundamental documents in this area. Primarily, I'm referring to the Copenhagen Declaration for Social Development, the Program of action of 1995 and the decisions of the Special Session of the General Assembly. The Doha Declaration in 2025 is a continuation of the foundation that was laid some years ago. Vladimir Putin has set out a number of critical areas of social policy for social development.

Number one, preserving the population, strengthening health and improving the well being of people and supporting families with children. In Russia, the family is a source of faith, mutual assistance, health and traditional moral values. The so called global moralism is.

Something that we reject and also new measures to support young people and older persons and strengthening children's health is what we are doing as well as promoting family values in our country. They're not only families of multiple children, but also intergenerational families which we are promoting, for which we have a strategy. Another important indicator for ensuring the well being of our citizens is decreasing the poverty level. As for the situation in the labor market, the level of unemployment has steadily declined over the last few years and as of last year it's at low, record low levels for our country. This indicator is the result of active state policy on the employment market, especially for vulnerable populations.

In closing, I'd like to say that in recent years we've been able to achieve much. We've discussed our achievements with our social partners and with foreign colleagues and we are convinced that the main task in the social sphere is is something that we can work on in order to make social policy more effective for all of our citizens. Thank you.

I thank the representative of the Russian Federation. And I now give the floor to the representative of South Africa.

Can I begin, Chairperson, by expressing our appreciation for all of the members of the Panel for the input that they have provided in this sitting. Can I also begin by saying that South Africa was very proud to be part of the team that participated in the drafting of the Doha Declaration.

After the drafting of the Declaration and then following also the World Summit, the second World Summit, we have as a country gone and developed and implementation plan that you are currently discussing within the country in order to make sure that we have stakeholder buy in when we implement it. We believe that for the plan to be fully implemented with measurable outcomes, there needs to be sufficient buy in and financial resources. So we would like to ask the panel of the distinguished panel to make some proposals to us and some recommendations and advice as to how we might be able to find strategies that can be implemented to be able to mobilize the necessary resources for the implementation of these plans. That is our first input. In addition to that, we wish to congratulate the Minister from Colombia who was speaking about the way in which the country has been able to move from minimum wages to a living wage.

This is something that we think is very important, especially in South Africa, since we have been implementing minimum wage legislation for very many years. But post the pandemic, we are finding that the cost of living has increased exponentially for many people who are living at that level of income, at the minimum wage level. So we would like to hear if the Minister from Colombia is able to elaborate a little bit more in terms of how. How they have differentiated from minimum wages to living wages. What are the changes that they have introduced.

And in addition to that, we would. Welcome some description of what sort of. Instruments they have come up with to be able to implement this living wage. Thank you very much.

I thank the representative of South Africa.

And I now give the floor to the representative of Cuba.

Madam Chair, distinguished ministers and vice ministers, we're grateful for the panel presentations that show that we all face considerable challenges, but we have all also made achievements. Thirty years ago, the international community met at the Global Summit on Social Development with a desire to achieve a world without poor poverty, with full and productive employment based on social integration. Meeting in Doha, we concluded that today humanity is facing even more colossal challenges, and we reaffirmed that the Copenhagen commitments remain just as urgent as they were at the time. In Cuba's case, social policies and achievements in this area are widely recognized. At the international level, we have guaranteed universal, free access to health, education, culture, sport.

At the same time, we've continued strengthening our solidarity and south, south and Triangular cooperation so as to share our capacity with other people around the world. We have promoted inclusive policies to guarantee access to quality employment, reducing informal labor and recognizing new economic stages, stakeholders that have had a favorable impact on job generation. The adoption of a new family code in 2022 and a new child, adolescent and youth code in 2025 strengthened the guarantees of the rights of all social groups, particularly those vulnerable groups, fostering protection for families through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach. Madam Chair, to reach all of these results, Cuba has had to harness its creativity and resilience to overcome the effects of the most prolonged and the tightest blockade ever applied against any other country. In this regard, we must condemn the recent executive order of the US President, which seeks to impose a complete barrier to the supplies of fuel to the country, forcing our people to endure extreme living conditions and of course, hampering any social development.

Therefore, mobilizing national action towards 2030 and beyond will take immense efforts. In light of these new circumstances, there is no way for our national development plan to 2030, including its social aspects, not to be impacted or held up in some way by this. In the midst of all of these circumstances, how do the panelists see that we can move towards reaching the 2030 agenda just four years before the deadline achieved to achieve that? In their view, what are the main challenges we face and what should we include in a universally agreed document on the future development goals? Thank you.

I thank the representative of Cuba and I now give the floor to the representative of Switzerland.

Excellence, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the panelists for their presentations. The genuine impact of the Doha Declaration Declaration will be determined based on what we can specifically implement from the commitments. This declaration set several goals for the follow up. In particular, strengthening the role of the Commission for Social Development and better integration of the United nations family, especially that of specialized agencies. There's another important element.

It's explicitly found in the Declaration. I'm referring to the promotion of multi stakeholder partnerships for the implementation of common objectives. This applies to international partnerships. It also applies to the Global Coalition for Social justice and to national partnerships. Switzerland was already represented by a multi stakeholder delegation in the Doha Summit.

Therefore, we are promoting the multi stakeholder implementation of the Doha Declaration in Switzerland. Specifically, the relevant ministers have already in Switzerland have held a meeting with representatives of employers, employees and others at the end of the month. This is a collective reflection where all stakeholders can present current measures in line with the Doha Declaration so as to better coordinate planning and to leverage opportunities. In this context, we have the following.

How can multi stakeholder partnerships be anchored at the national and local level so as to translate the achievements of the Doha Summit into tangible action in the local context? In states such as Switzerland, with decentralized organizations, a number of social development areas are up to regional or even local authorities. How can you include these regional and local entities in your follow up process?

I thank the representative of Switzerland and I now give the floor to the representative of Chile.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. We're grateful for this opportunity for discussion which was particularly relevant because it allows us to take stock of the progress since Doha and Copenhagen and focus on how we can make sure that the commitments that we have made lead to specific action and results for people. The Second global summit held in Doha reflected the consensus from Copenhagen and the current challenges. The Department political declaration is a new agreement to put people at the heart of development, to strengthen the social contract and to eradicate poverty, ensure decent work and social inclusion. But the challenge starts now.

Now we have to implement these policies and we are working between agencies, civil society and governments. If we can translate these. See if we can translate these commitments into policies. Colombia, together with Mexico, India and Qatar, has been implementing a follow up on the Doha Political Declaration. This has been signed by 24 countries.

We reiterate in that the importance of strengthening the ability of multilateralism to reach tangible outcomes, particularly social inclusion and cutting poverty. An important part of this joint declaration was underscoring that 2026 was a key year. A year in which at a national, regional and a UN system wide level, we need to be able to implement and identify clear priorities, define modalities for implementation and set landmarks, milestones for post Doha. In this regard, the work of this commission is particularly important. Particularly, we also would like to identify the role of regional commissions, the need to ensure that agencies, funds and programs strengthen their coordination and consistency between their work, bearing in mind the role of UN Resident Coordinators in their respective countries.

Madam Chair, you can count on Chile and rest assured that you can also count on the other signatories of the joint statement to continue in the wake of the Doha Declaration. Thank you.

I thank the representative of Chile and I now give the floor to the representative of Dominican Republic.

The representative of Dominican Republic, please.

I now give the floor to the representative of Burkina.

The representative Dominica Rupa. Please.

We'll take the floor in the afternoon. Please later on. Thank you.

Noted. Thank you very much.

I give the floor to the representative, Burkina Faso.

Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Chair, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, ministers, distinguished deputies. Burkina Faso welcomes the convening of this ministerial forum. It affords us the opportunity to fully draw on the results of the Second World Summit on Social Development. In line with the Copenhagen Declaration and the Doha Declaration, as well as the 2030 Agenda.

Burkina Faso sees in this forum a good opportunity to further strengthen the mobilization of international action, but also national action. And it's an opportunity to translate international actions into concrete, measurable results geared toward tangible results for the various categories of our population by 2030 and beyond. This is a context marked by many major challenges. And so Burkina Faso has made a strategic choice to put social development, social justice and human resilience in the forefront of its public efforts. And this has been shown through the implementation of our National Development Plan, 2026-2030.

That's the framework for our national action. It's our recovery plan too. It foresees an incident, a decrease in the level of poverty and an increase in life expectancy. We're bolstering human capital. We're addressing employment, health and social protection.

We've taken specific actions already. From 2021 to 2024, over 3 million vulnerable people received food and social assistance and health assistance. That includes forcibly displaced people. We did this through empowerment programs, economic empowerment programs, and providing them with access to basic social services. We've also promoted health programs.

That's among our priorities. We've created many decent jobs and we've raised the minimum wage as well.

In tandem with that, significant investments have been made. That's been done in basic social services, in particular healthcare and education. We've reduced the cost of specialized care. We've improved nutritional indicators of children. And we've stepped up education and technical training and vocational training.

This plays a key role in transforming our economy. Chair if national mobilization is essential, it goes without saying that the international community also has a role to play side by side with states.

By way of conclusion, Burkina Faso reaffirms its commitment to responsibly and inclusively implement the recommendations of the second Summit on Social Development. Through our recovery plan. Our country intends to speed up the implementation of our national plan so as to craft a society that is more just, inclusive and resilient, which serves the well being of everyone, especially vulnerable people, I.e. persons with disabilities, IDPs, women, children and young people. I thank you for your kind attention.

I thank the representative of Burkina Faso and I now give the floor to Deputy Minister, Ministry of Family and Social Service of Turkey.

Madam Chair, distinguished participants, it's an honor to address this ministerial form on behalf of the Republic of Turkey. The second World Summit for Social Development renewed our commitment to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As our Minister, Her Excellency Mahindur underlined in Doha last November, true development is measured by people's living conditions based on human dignity. However, ending poverty and inequality remains a major global challenge. This situation requires stronger national implementation, better conditions and people centered politicians.

Under the leadership of our President, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey gives high priority to ending poverty through social policies based on fairness and solidarity. Dear participants, Turkey is commitment to turning international promises, international results. We continue to strengthen our social protection system to ensure that no one is left behind. At the same time, we recognize that sustainable social development cannot be achieved in our shadow of war and conflict. The ongoing tragedies in Gaza, Syria to other conflict zones remind us that peace is essential for recovery.

Turkey stands ready to continue supporting countries in need. We are aware that condition within the United nations system is necessary to align peace efforts. Ladies and gentlemen, guided by the principle of let the people live so that the state lives Turkey countries Turkey continues to build a strong social state based on social justice and solidarity. We have implemented comprehensive policies to ensure full participation of women, children, persons with disabilities, older person and people at risk in all areas of the life. In the field of the societies assistance operate an integrated system that coordinates cash and in kind support, social service and psychological assistance through a single digital framework.

This system allows us to access needs more effectively, avoid duplication and ensure timely support for at risk groups. National Actions 2030 and beyond focuses on digitalization, inter installation, institutional conditions and resilience of tushock Social assistance extend beyond short term support and address persistent and integrate intergenerational generational poverty risk. We also use digital tools and strengthen child protection through family base service and respond to violence against women, including through the Women's Emerging Assistance Notification system in Turkish Cadiz Mobile application At the same time, we implement programs that support women's economic empowerment through decent work opportunities and access to social protection. Our policies remove active and dignified aging and social integration by supporting older person to live independently in their own towns. Today we know that the family institution faces many traits.

Defending the family composed of a woman and a man is also defining life and the future. We protect the family as the core of social solidarity. We are expanding our social support programs to protect family institutions, improving access to equality, child care services and promoting a balance between work and family life. However, in today's world, social development is no longer shaped on the economic and social policies. It's also deeply influenced by rapid technology change.

We believe that transformative potential of the technology must reach all societies. Children's safety, dignity and well being must be at the center of the digital transformation in the context Turkey takes part in global effort to protect children's rights in the digital world. Honorable delegates, let us work together Turn the commitment of the Doha political declaration into the cons rate result. Let Doha and this forum be not only a place for discussion but also a step for us. Thank you.

I thank the Deputy Minister of Family and Social Service of Turkey and we have heard the last speaker on my list. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate all requests for for the floor. I now invite the distinguished panelists to briefly respond to the questions and comments from the floor and to deliver very short closing remarks within three minutes or less. I would like to give the floor to Her Excellency Butayina Bintali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi, Minister of Social Development and Family of Qatar. Shukran Seyda Raeesa.

Thank you, Madam Chair, we'd like to thank you for giving this opportunity, giving us this opportunity to hear from the various ministers and representatives here. We are aware of how important this discussion is. We believe it will contribute to strengthening the measures taken to implement the Doha Political Declaration. Also, bearing in mind the Copenhagen Declaration and relevant program of action, we managed to highlight the various challenges and the gaps that need to be filled in terms of social inclusion, inequality, climate change and the impact of various crises that are affecting many countries. In this context, we believe it's necessary to overcome these challenges, both old and new, through global solidarity and by stepping up multilateral action as well as through implementing innovative solutions.

Social policies should be inclusive. In particular, they should include the most fragile fringes of society. Society. This is why we should align national development strategies with the Doha Political Declaration. This is vital so that we can move ahead and guarantee social development for all.

The Doha Summit renewed global hope in terms of multilateral action. Today, the ambitions from Doha should lead to concrete action. We should involve all stakeholders in this process so that we can achieve a fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable world. Thank you.

I thank the Minister of Social Development and Family of Qatar for her intervention. And I now give the floor to Her Excellency Kaiser Yousso, Minister of Social affairs and Health of Finland.

Thank you, Chair. Very good comments and questions. The report of the UN Secretary General to the priority theme of this commission underlines coordinated action to implement Doha commitments. To achieve the wanted transformations in society, we need whole of government and whole of society approach. This is the only way to guarantee necessary political coherence to El Salvador.

I will say that every country has different kind of poverty, equality among different groups of persons, for example women, different income levels, etc. It has been the key level, the key for Finland in our path. In the beginning of our independence, we were not a developed or rich society. But equality has helped us to become what we are today. To Poland, persons with disabilities are not victims, but they are an important part of our societies and can participate in workforce if we create enabling environment in education and in labor markets.

This has been our guiding idea, including in recent legislative reforms.

As a closing remarks, I will say that this is a defining year for the United nations the ambitions of the Doha Declaration should guide the UN reform process. We must also improve how we measure progress. As I said, the Secretary General's work on bound GDP indicators for the Post2030 agenda aims to ensure that future global frameworks focus on what truly matters inclusion, resilience, well being and people's real opportunities for dignified and secure life.

I thank the Minister of Social affairs and Health of Finland. And I now give the floor to His Excellency Antonio Sanguine, Minister of Labor of Colombia.

We are very pleased to have this chart or this map that the political declaration of Doha represents, which will be useful not only at a global level, but within each specific nation in line with their individual conditions. We also think this Doha Declaration needs to reach not only the national levels of government, but also the local levels of government, so that public social policies don't only bring transformation at the national level, but also deliver change and are seen at the sub national or local level.

Because social inequalities are also different across the country, across territories. We also want to highlight the importance of multilateralism. Right now we are trying to overcome a situation of diplomatic tension between our government and the government of the United States. Currently, at this precise time, we have had a meeting between the President of the US and the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, to try to ease these tensions, to strengthen bilateral cooperation, but above all to consolidate multilateralism as the main instrument for coexistence and cooperation between nations. And this cooperation is based on the self determination of peoples on national sovereignty.

So we hope that this meeting.

Will be helpful in this approach and will provide solutions. And just to address the concern raised by South Africa, we have been able to raise the introduce the living wage in Colombia on the basis of studies carried out by the ilo.

And we have also been able to do so because Article 153 of our National Constitution says that the minimum wage should be a living wage. This means that we need to be able to guarantee the minimum conditions of dignity for every worker and his or her family. We recognize that the labor force is where we generate wealth and this labor force.

Needs to have its dignity guaranteed. So we've introduced agreements between employers, employees and the government. We tried to implement an agreement, but it was not possible due to pressure from one particular industry sector in Colombia. However, through an administrative act, we were able to raise the minimum wage. And the President of the Republic, together with the Minister of Labor decided that the minimum wage from this year 2026 would be known as a living wage with an increase of 23% when compared with the minimum wage in 2025.

This means that we are able to move towards reducing wage gaps and ensuring minimum living conditions for Colombian workers. Thank you.

I thank the Minister of Labor of Colombia. And I now give the floor to Her Excellency Corinna Schulman, Federal Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Healthcare and Consumer Protection of Austria.

At first, I would like to thank you very, very much for the very inspiring and insightful exchange. And I'm convinced that dialogue and learning from each other is essential to face the enormous challenges that lie ahead of us. Only together, we will be able to manage the multiple crises and to advance sustainable development by 2030 and beyond.

In times of geopolitical turmoil, we need to uphold the accomplishments of multilateralism and translate them into national actions. These include the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development, but also the Copenhagen Declaration as well as the Doha Political Declaration. In order to end the poverty, to promote full and productive employment and decent work, and to foster social inclusion, we need to translate the commitments of Doha into national actions to leave no one behind. Social dialogue and multi stakeholder engagement are essential. However, in light of the limited fiscal space that many of the countries in both the Global north and the Global south are facing, we must develop innovative social policies to support the most vulnerable members of our societies, including young people, older people, women and people with disabilities.

Looking ahead of 2030 and beyond, a stronger social pillar footed on the commitments of Doha is key. Only if we consider the three dimensions of sustainability. Sustainable development in a holistic manner, namely the ecological, social and economic societies can thrive. Furthermore, promoting the rules based on global order and multilateralism forces, stability, peace and sustainable development. It is not about following the law of the strongest, but about a common effort for a better future.

Let us join forces on an international level, realize the potential of arises from cooperation and work hard together to improve lives all over the globe. Thank you.

I thank the Federal Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Health Care and Consumer Protection of Austria for her intervention. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we have reached the end of segment one of the Ministerial Forum. I would like to thank the Minister's panelists for excellently presenting forward looking policies and strategies that work in Qatar, Finland, Colombia and Austria. And also to thank all the delegations for your insightful contributions made during this panel discussion. We will now have a brief pause to allow the podium to be rearranged for the next segment, so please remain seated.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, it is my pleasure to welcome you to segment two of the Ministerial Forum.

I would now welcome our distinguished panelists, Her Excellency Leslie Nadir Shika Seguil, Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru Her Excellency Ilona Hovronska, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity for European Integration of Ukraine and Her Excellency Margaret Sarofim Youssef, Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity of Egypt. I look forward to our productive and interesting exchange of views and I would like to give the floor to Her Excellency Leslie Nadir Chica Seguil, Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru.

President Excellencies, it is a honor for Peru to participate in this Ministerila Forum. We are gathered here not only to reflect but more importantly to mobilize national actions based on the renewed commitments of the Second World Summit for Social Development. From Copenhage to Doha in 2023, the international consensus has been clear. Social development cannot be limited to merely mitigating poverty. It must transform the structural conditions that perpetuate it.

The Doha Political Declaration calls upon us to strengthen that social dimension on sustainable development toward 2030 and beyond. With an emphasis on inclusion, equity and economic resilience, Peru has reinforced its alignment with the 2030 Agenda. Our national Policy for Development and social inclusion to 2030 coordinates a force to reduce poverty, inequity and exclusion, integrating them across multiple sectors to maximize impact and efficiency. The process is further bolstered by Peru accessions process to the oecd. This has allowed us to incorporate international standards, strengthen state capacities and move towards social protections systems that are more integrated, predictable and sustainable.

In Peru, this commitment is expressed through a clear decision to invest in human capital and opportunities rather than just assistance. For this fiscal year, the budget for the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion is more than $200 million. However, the approach is even more significant than the figure itself. Our intervention combines protection and promotion programs featuring cash transfers that reduce vulnerability through the life cycle and non transfer programs that build capacity, drive entrepreneurship and promote economic inclusion. Protecting today while creating opportunities for tomorrow.

To achieve concrete results, we have defined three priority management, early childhood development and JET entrepreneurship and economic inclusion and food security and school feelings. Moving beyond cash transfers toward inclusive and sustainable development, that means the evidence is overwhelming. Early childhood is the stage with the highest social return. Also, regarding our job pillar, we are promoting the Adolescent Life Project which coordinates interventions to accompany young people as they build their educational and professional futures. This program is juntos in Peru.

In our ministry, we are moving beyond cash transfers throughout the life cycle. Miemprendimiento Mujer Jacobinhay Agno A. Hayatai and saberes productivos hoyas, comunes, comedores populares y progresiva mente el vaso de leche are more comfortable. Also, we drive progress through social investments across the life cycle using interventions that protect the most vulnerable population. We drive the progress through strategy social investment. Colleagues, we recognize that urgency of tackling poverty and employment in Peru.

Peru proposed strengthening the social dimension in the 2030 Agencia by placing economic autonomy at the heart of public policy. That is the spirit of Doha. That is Peru's social new contract. Thank you.

I thank the Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru and would appreciate if you could answer the following question related to your intervention. What actions or measures has the government of Peru taken to promote social inclusion for future generations?

The Government of Peru has taken historic steps in this transition period in which we currently are. For the first time it has been able to adopt the first public policy which focuses on early childhood development. This allows us to care for our children, investing in the present so that we can reap a better future in the future. This starts from the mother's gestation period.

This.

Policy involves public political parties, regional government and also local governments. This state based policy has been able to garner a great consensus among politicians, but also trades unions. This has allowed us to meet the needs of the most in need. We have looked, for instance, at local authorities to ensure that we can reach those who need us most. And we have also been focusing on other levels of government to improve early childhood development.

The JUNTOS program supports our young people working on their soft skills, their team working skills, giving them job opportunities and higher education skills, meritocratic public employment and a subsidy so that they can continue to study, so that they want to work in the government, so that they can build a better future for our country. Because the young Peruvians today will be those taking the decisions in the future in Peru and of course in the world internationally. We are also investing in practicums and apprenticeships, etc. In Peru in 2026. Being a poor young person doesn't mean being left out.

Rather, it is the beginning of a roadmap provided by the state through from San Juan de Jurigancho in Lima.

A young person can go through the ranks in Peru and even represent the country in the world. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Minister Chica Seguil, particularly for providing the insight of the support of young people in Peru. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ilona Hovronska, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity for European integration of Ukraine.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it's a profound honor to address this ministerial forum. And allow me to ask the question to the audience, how is the weather in New York?

It's cold, isn't it? It's even colder in my home in Ukraine. Millions of households, including my own apartment, remain without electricity and heating during this winter period.

Even this night, despite the announced energy ceasefire, more than 400 Russian combat drones and 71 ballistic and cruise missiles attacked Ukrainian energy, housing and other civilian infrastructure. And I am here now with thoughts about my loved ones, about my colleagues, my relatives, who are freezing without heating and electricity. Well, we stand at unique intersection of history, bringing the vision designed in Copenhagen 30 years ago with the ambitious commitments we reaffirmed just three months ago in Doha. The 1995 Copenhagen Declaration, for the first time in history recognized the significance of social development and human well being for all and announced these goals, their highest priority for most countries, including Ukraine. Three decades after the Copenhagen have been a period of gradual social progress.

But practice shows that not all countries consider social development and human well being to be a priority. For recent years, during the ongoing war of aggression of the Russia Federation against my country, we in Ukraine are seeing how threats are to human well being are becoming an element of terror. Used by one party to the Copenhagen Declaration against another better together has been heard many times in the fields of commission and forum. Common values are common precisely because they should be upheld by all. When one of the parties fails to keep their commitments, the other have to make a multiple effort for themselves and for those who are unable to keep their promises.

Today I come to thank all our partners who uphold the common values of Copenhagen Declaration and to share the experience of a nation that not only remains committed to the values of social development and human well being, but has transformed social policy into the tool for resilience, sovereignty and systemic recovery amidst global upheaval. This years after Copenhagen, we have learned that money alone does not solve complex social fractures. People need services and human connection. We have also realized that social policy can no longer serve as just safety net that catches people after they fall. It must also be a trampoline.

We are transforming our system from a passive model of subsidy distribution to an active model of investing in human capital and social cohesion. This is the Dirac in the implementation of Doha mandate ensuring social justice through human empowerment, not just assistance. We also see how important social cohesion is for people. Due to the war of aggression, millions of Ukrainians have lost Their social ties because they have been forced to leave their homes. Women, men and children in Ukraine, families suffer from being separated from their loved ones.

Approximately 4.6 million Ukrainians are internally displaced persons and about 7 million have left and remain abroad. In the European Union alone, approximately 4.3 million Ukrainians are under temporary protection. Social cohesion also foster inclusiveness, including a dignified attitude towards the veterans. In such circumstances, social services that support integration and adaptation to new conditions as well as mental health support, become critically important. Resilience center are our flagship initiative.

We have established these centers in over 200 communities across Ukraine. They serve as island of safety where every citizen, veterans, mother with children and older persons receive not only services but also psychological support. Through these centers, our citizens are equipped with self help tools to withstand the pressure of war. Doha called us on us to mobilize national action toward 2030. Our strategy is centered on social investment.

We are not merely spending budgetary resources. We are investing to prevent individuals and families from falling into crisis. Prosthetic Reform Ukraine is building one of the most advanced prosthetic and rehabilitation ecosystem in the world. We guarantee free high tech prosthetic for every in need, both military and civilian. In complex cases, the state covers cost of up to 2 million Ukrainian HNAs.

This is approximately 50,000 of dollars for a single high functioning device. This is social justice and investment in action. Restoring individuals to active productive lives and and reintegrating them into the labor market. We are radically reforming our childcare system with a focus on family based care. Ukraine has set an ambitious goal.

Every child should grow in a family environment despite war. We are expanding the number of foster families and family type orphanages. Because the future of our nation depends on the children growing in love, safety and security. One of the core commitments of the Doha Declaration is to ensure transparent and equitable access to services. Ukraine is delivering on this commitment through the unified information system of the social sphere.

The digitalization of the social sphere enables us to implement case management and take a proactive approach to delivering social assistance. It also allows us to ensure access to social support for for millions. Even during blackouts caused by massive strikes on our energy grid. Our cloud based system remains resilient. Today, over 30 social benefits are available online or automatically.

We have cut bureaucracy and eliminate squeeze, ensuring that assistance reaches people here and now, regardless of the darkness surrounding them. Excellencies. We are operating in reality where over 10 million Ukrainians require various forms of support. We do not ask the world for merit charity. We offer a partnership in resilience.

Ukraine has Become a hub for social innovation under crisis. We are ready to share our lessons on maintaining a functional social system under constant bombardment. Implementing large scale digitalization during an active conflict, Reintegrating veterans and internally displaced person into communities through inclusive local services. Ukraine can also share valuable experience in implementing humanitarian aid and development projects simultaneously in the social sphere and have government capacity ensure a strong nexus between the two instruments of international response. Ukraine's experience can serve not only as an example to follow in the social sphere, but also as valuable insights on the path to implementing the UN 80 initiative, showing how UN organization on the ground can adapt to become more agile, integrated and equipped to respond to these complex global challenges amid tightening resources.

In 1995 in Copenhagen, we dreamed of a world without poverty. In 2025 in Doha, we spoke of a world capable of recovery. Today in Ukraine, we are proving that when a policy is truly people centered, no act of terror can halt development. Social resilience and innovations are what make us terrify stronger than our challenges. I thank you.

I thank the Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity for European Integration of Ukraine for presenting valuable experience of Ukraine and kindly ask you to answer the question related to the intervention. How will your ministry ensure that social protection support actually reaches vulnerable families quickly and without gaps, particularly during wartime?

Thank you. For this reason, our social policy framework is shifting from status based entitlement to needs based case management pathways. This approach is possible in particular thanks to digitalization, as interacting between state and municipal registers allows us to respond to people needs in proactive and customized manner.

In the context of war of aggression, it is also important to talk about combining the efforts of both the state and humanitarian organization. For Ukraine, this is a daily operational challenge. How to respond to acute humanitarian needs while preventing people from being locked into long term vulnerability and dependency. For us, social recovery does not begin after the crisis phase ends. It starts at the moment of humanitarian response, when people are evacuated, when housing is destroyed.

The key question is not only how fast assistance is delivered, but what happens next. That is why our new IDP strategy is built around a single continuous pathway from evacuation and initial stage stabilization to integration in new communities of a possible voluntary return, including for those potential IDPs currently abroad. For the humanitarian recovery nexus, this has very practical implications. People should experience continuity of support, not fragmentation between programs and actors. In this logic, we are advancing the use of humanitarian and resilience account as a bridge between response and recovery.

Through this governmental account, the humanitarian organizations can distribute their support to our citizens. Together with unicef, we are piloting this approach through winter support for children with disabilities and will scale up in March. This is possible thanks to a well developed social support infrastructure, particularly digital. And of course we are grateful to our international partners for their support in enabling us to maintain such a higher level of social support.

Thank you, thank you Deputy Minister Hroinska.

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Margaret Surufim Youssef, Deputy Minister of Social Media Social Solidarity of Egypt.

Thank you Madam Chair, excellencies, ministers, esteemed UN partners and esteemed colleagues. Over the past 10 years, Egypt has progressively matured a comprehensive and integrated social protection system reflecting deliberate shift from fragmented assistance toward a ride based life cycle oriented approach. This system spans cash assistance, health care, social insurance, housing, emergency response, economic empowerment and in kind support, demonstrating how national policy can operationalize the achievement of social development and sustainable development for all over the last decade, in particular, social protection has been placed at the core of Egypt's national development vision even amid regional instability and global economic talks. This commitment is reflected in the doubling of national social protection expenditure reaching 742.6 billion EGB in the 20252026 budget underscore that social development is not a residual policy but a macroeconomic priority.

Ladies and gentlemen, central pillar of Egypt's approach is the Cash Assistance Program Takaful and Karama Social Solidarity and dignity. Launched in 2015 as a cornerstone of cash assistance reform, this program embodies a particular step government can take to advance the social dimension of development, moving beyond income support toward human capital investment and intergenerational poverty reduction. The program expanded from the 3.6 billion EGB serving 1 million families to over 54 billion EGB currently supporting 4.7 million families today and 8 million families over the past decade. The KEFL and Karama is designed not as a standalone transfer but as a platform for integrated cash plus interventions linking beneficiaries to health, education, nutrition, disability inclusion, early childhood development, literacy, public awareness, financial services and economic empowerment. This integration is reinforced through flagship national initiatives such as Decent Life Hayakarima, which tackles multidimensional poverty in rural Egypt reaching 58 million citizens through infrastructure, structure, services and coordinated social support.

Esteemed participants Egypt's experience illustrates how national development strategy can be aligned with Doha Political Declaration through the institutionalization scale and sustainability. A major milestone in this alignment is transformation of Takaful and Karama into a legislated social right governed by the amended Social Assistance law adopted last year. This legal anchoring strengthening accountability, predictability and long term sustainability. Key principles emphasized In Doha.

In parallel, Egypt has prioritized graduation from poverty, not dependency through the newly established Manzuma National Coordination Mechanism. Beneficiaries capable of work are linked to skills training, microfinance and economic opportunities. Strengthening financial inclusion and expanding access to social banking across government rates. Distinguished colleagues Inclusivity is embedded so structurally within Egypt's social protection architecture. The system explicitly targets women, persons with stabilities, children, the elderly and rural population, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Women represents 75% of the careful and Karama beneficiaries, reinforcing their income, their economic agency and decision making power. Integrated disability service cards, early childhood interventions, particularly the first 1000 days of the child life and education fee exemption, ensure life cycle inclusion. Investment in early childhood development programs. Egypt has advanced the socialization of care. Expanding family based alternatives such as small homes and kafela models for children deprived of family care.

Parallel investments in elderly care and inclusive infrastructure reinforce dignity across all stages of life. Ladies and gentlemen, a defining lesson from recent global crisis is that social protection system must be adaptive, choke, responsive and data driven. Egypt's system demonstrates this resilience during the COVID 19 pandemic and economic shocks by rapidly expanding coverage using the Unified National Registry and Social Registry enabling the swift scale up of benefits and inclusion of newly households. Looking beyond 2030, Egypt is now drafting its national comprehensive Social Protection Framework, a living adaptive policy instrument. The framework is grounded in a human centered approach and design tool.

Expand universal and life scale based protection Leverage social protection for inclusion and opportunity Build risk informed and resilient systems Harness governance data and digital integration Ensure financial and institutional sustainability. It explicitly links protection to development, economic empowerment, care, economy investments and decent work, particularly for women preparing the system to address emerging vulnerabilities across the life of cycle. Thank you so much.

I thank the Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity of Egypt particularly for providing Egypt's advancement in social protection. And I would kindly ask you to answer the following question. Given global and regional uncertainties affecting Egypt's economic outlook, how is the government adapting its social protection strategies to shield vulnerable groups from economic shocks while still pursuing ambitious development goals? Thank you.

Based on what I mentioned now the main factor is the conditional and unconditional cash assistance and it has to be very comprehensive.

So it links with health, education, nutrition, food security. So it's very comprehensive. And also one of the very important component is giving the financial assistance for productions because the poor people and the people who need for assistance, they do have skills and they do have the ability to be productive. So we already have Many examples. One of them is we already initiated initiated a very important initiative called Cultivate initiative or ISRA in Arabic.

So cultivate initiative is giving the financial support for small farmers in the agricultural supplies to be able to cultivate one of the very important crops, which is wheat. So by the way, the ones we help them among the small farmers, they were from the people from Takaful and Karama. So giving the financial support to have the high productions and the high productivity and increase the manpower in sectors like agriculture. It's one of the very important factor for social protection. Third, enhance Social Security and the human security throughout the following components.

Focus on the family, as the family is nuclear of the Social Security and social cohesion. Also increasing the available economic opportunities. At the same time, enhance the people's skills and qualification. Thirdly, enhancing and deepening the partnership with the civil society organizations and private sector sector. Also encourage the different opportunities at the society level.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Deputy Minister Yousef. I would like to invite delegations wishing to make comments and pose questions to our distinguished panelists. To press the microphone button.

And I now open the floor for comments and questions to our distinguished panelists.

I now give the floor to Deputy Minister of Family, labor and Social Policy of Poland.

Distinguished Madam Chair. Distinguished panelists. First of all I would like to thank Ilona Hovroniska for presenting the unique experience of achieving social goals in time of war and unprecedented and unjustified aggression. Poland strongly supported Ukrainian nation becoming a safe home home for millions Ukrainian citizens forced to escape from their country because of bombardments and risk to their lives. We offered them access to labor markets, social service, education and health care.

Because for us Poles it was clear that if our neighbor is invaded, we should help. And it was for us obvious. And going to the question I would like to ask because United nations. We are, as United Nations Charter says, peace loving states. I would like to ask what we can do more as a united nation to help countries to achieve social and economic goals that are in a crisis situation like Ukraine.

Thank you.

I thank Deputy Minister of Family, labor and Social Policy of Poland. And I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation.

Madam Chair, thank you for giving me the floor.

I would like to provide some facts which over the last week Ukrainian armed forces have grossly violated the rules of international humanitarian law. They deliberately attacked an ambulance and healthcare facilities in Belgorod, Bryansk and Belgorod hospitals that injured some health care officials. One of them died. There were attacks on the civilian sector. They killed a six year old boy and traumatized and injured four children as well.

Such attacks have been inflicted on residential homes and electrical distribution systems, healthcare institutions, educational institutions and civilian enterprises as well civilian ships.

The Ukrainian formations are trying to create unbearable conditions for the lives of the civilian population. They are carrying out deliberate attacks on energy facilities. Like I've said before, they're laying most of the emphasis on distribution points which provide electricity to several regions at once. In so doing, rather, in this. In this same vein, this week we've seen this happen in Belgorod province.

Thank you.

I thank the representative of the Russian Federation and I would encourage delegations to speak directly to the theme of the Ministerial forum, which is the leveraging the outcomes of the second World Summit for Social Development from Copenhagen to Doha. And I now give the floor to the representative of Algeria.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Like other countries, my country is facing various challenges and is endeavoring to achieve sustainable development. We are working to implement a three pillar vision that is eradicating poverty, full and productive employment and social inclusion. These are top priorities and national policies and programs are designed as such. In terms of social expenditure, in my country we have witnessed an increase and this shows our commitment to people's welfare.

A maximum budget in 2026 was allocated targeting namely social dimensions. About $135 billion were targeted to social transfers, especially in education, health care and housing. There were also direct transfers for beneficiaries.

My country is the biggest African country and third Arab economy. We have seen progress in terms of human development. We've invested greatly in infrastructure and we continue to implement social policies that are targeted. They allowed to reduce poverty and improve social indexes as well as development. The public programs are a way to prevent poverty.

We have seen a social protection system that includes various aspects as determined by the ILO. More than 30 million people benefited from these programs. Furthermore, we continue our ambitious policy for a genuine transition towards a more diverse economy. This would allow more job opportunities. It is an important challenge to tackle, especially given the number of young people.

In 2020, we adopted various measures to increase investment. A new law on investment was enacted and our developmental priorities are focusing on the private sector and on good governance. In public expenditure, we're also working on increasing non oil exports, improving the reform in labor, as well as various administrative measures regarding access that is inclusive and equitable to access to education and primary health care. My country was indeed able to ensure the right to education free of charge for all for our population, including persons with disability, without any discrimination. More than 98.99% of boys and girls under 60 under 6 years of age are enrolled in schools and the number of students is about 12 million pupils.

Based on our responsibility, we also work on various education programs with other African countries so that they enjoy various services offered by our education system.

Furthermore, the level of healthcare services has increased. We have ensured equitable and fair access to health care. That is and vaccination is free of charge for all children as well as treatment in public medical facilities. Various programs have been adopted in Housing. About 11 million housing units were also created.

This allowed linking housing with services such as drinking water, gas and persons with disability were also able to access these services in order for no one to be left behind. My country works on promoting equitable and just social inclusion, especially for vulnerable categories. Programs are being elaborated for the elderly, persons with disability, women and youth. We place persons with disability at the top of our priorities, especially that a law. A new law was enacted on 20 February 2025 regarding the protection of persons with disability in order to strengthen their rights and in order to determine determine guidelines regarding their protection.

I thank you.

I think the representative of Algeria and I now give the floor to the representative of Malawi.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, most especially for giving Malawi this opportunity to share our experience experiences with member States present here this this morning. Madam Chair, ladies and gentlemen, the road from Copenhagen to Doha and beyond has been an exciting journey for Malawi. Along it there have been a lot of experiences. Exciting experiences, but also challenging experiences. Experiences as the country looks at uplifting the most vulnerable people within its communities.

Our focus Chair has mostly been using social protection as a foundation for jobs, inclusion and resilience. Under the Malawi Agenda 2063, we no longer see social protection only in support of times of crisis. But it is a way to help the most vulnerable people attain better and more secure livelihoods, especially the youth, women, children and people with disabilities. We are working not to leave anyone behind. This approach Chair is making a difference to some parts of our communities.

Even with limited resources and frequent climate shocks. Social protection programs in Malawi have helped the most vulnerable families to cope during difficult times, improve access to basic services and recover more quickly after shocks when linked to skills development and labor intensive programs. These interventions also. These interventions also open pathways into productive work and help into greater resilience. At a time when we.

At this time, at a time like this Chair, we remain honest about the challenges that we face. Financing has remained tight and the biggest of challenges amid dwindling support from partners local and international, but also government itself having challenges it is a challenging experience that we have come across and in this regard, we ask member countries on the best way to partner, especially as resources are dwindling around the corners that exist in this world.

Chair we are also looking ahead on our priorities as we are strengthening shock responsive systems, improving targeting and delivery through digital solutions, and working to better link social protection with employment and economic programs beyond 2030. Our goal is simple, to build an inclusive and resilient systems that work for everyone. To do this, we need predictable financing, strong partnerships, local and international, that align with national priorities, and continued international cooperation for countries facing strong structural vulnerabilities. We think partners that we've been working with to uplift the most vulnerable poor in Malawi, both local and international, and we continue to seek more partnerships, more stronger partnerships. Chairperson Social development is not optional for Malawi.

It is essential. Malawi stands ready, therefore, to work with partners to turn global commitments into real change for people with the most vulnerable lives on earth. The challenges exist and we share and extend our hand as we search for coordinated solutions to these very challenging experiences that we have and those we continue to see in other parts of the world. Thank you, Chair, for everybody's attention. Thank you.

I thank the representative of Malawi and I now give the floor to the representative of the European Union.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I would also like to thank Minister Hovroniska for presenting the challenges of striving for social development and social justice, while at the same time facing the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. It depicted well what we meant when we agreed the Doha political Declaration that social development and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace and security or in the absence of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Doha Political Declaration, underpinned by the Sevilla commitment, forms the basis of a renewed global social contract grounded in solidarity, in international cooperation, in human and labor rights and in social justice. I would like to ask a general question to all panelists on what, in your opinion, are the main obstacles in realizing social justice nowadays?

Thank you. Thank you. To the representative of the European Union. I now give the floor to. To the representative of Children and Youth International.

Hi, my name is Caleb Lee. I'm 16 years old and I'm taking the floor on behalf of Children and Youth International. We'd like to begin by thanking the honorable ministers for their insightful remarks on advancing their respective national outcomes of the Second World Summit for Social Development towards 2030 and beyond. As I mark one year in this space, I've noticed that while global commitments on social development have been renewed, the Mechanisms for rights based and collective participation in social development processes, especially for youth and children, remain weak. As someone who was born and raised just across the east river in the Worldsboro, I never knew that someone my age could participate meaningfully in this global institution at any scale.

As children and youth, we've seen firsthand how quickly youth move from observers to contributors when participation is designed intentionally rather than performatively. Effective engagement requires multi sectoral approaches including youth representation in policy design, mentoring and evaluation. But young people are having to carve out these spaces themselves from the efforts of youth constituencies who convened the WSSD2 Youth Working Group to enable meaningful engagement of young people and youth led organizations in the Social Summit process and to support our engagement here at CSOCD itself through to local youth led initiatives such as the Youth Publications and Socioeconomic Forums City Youth Network model that I built that connected schools, government and society and civil society and the private sector throughout New York City. With that, we'd like to pose two questions for the distinguished panelists. Firstly, what steps are being taken to engage young people and youth led organizations in the follow up of the Doha Political declaration and other WSSD2 outcomes, especially when it comes to oversight and accountability.

And two, what steps are being taken to ensure that the needs and capacities of young people in all their diversity are addressed in national policies, including as both partners and beneficiaries of social development? From Copenhagen to Doha and now towards 2030 and beyond, youth are consistently named as stakeholders. Yet in practice, rights based and meaningful participation, especially for those under 18 like me, is still being treated as optimal rather than structural. If social development is about people's lived experiences, then young people must help shape them. Not someday, not in the future, but now.

Thank you Madam Chair.

I thank the representative of Children and Youth International and I now give the floor to representative of the Asia Pacific Resource and Research center for Women. Thank you Madam Chair. I represent the Asian Pacific Resource and. Research center for Women, ARO and the NGO Committee for Social Development. Our question is how can civil society.

Support Member States and the UN establish a regular multi stakeholder review process for the Doha Political Declaration and the Copenhagen Declaration, especially to ensure full and meaningful. Participation of civil society organizations in decision making at all levels, ensuring implementation and accountability. While we are at this process, could you kindly share your recommendations in regards to this? Thank you.

I thank the representative of Asia Pacific Resource and Research center for Women, AERO NGO Committee for Social Development and I now give the floor to the representative of Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University.

Thank you Madam Chair, my name is Kinnari, representing the Brahma Kumari's World Spiritual University and the NGO Committee for Social Development. The Doha Declaration makes a unique and timely mention by stating we remain committed to a political, economic, ethical and spiritual vision for social development that is based on human dignity, human rights, equality, respect, peace, democracy, mutual responsibility and cooperation, and full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of people. We believe development is not merely material, it is human and more deeply, it is spiritual. As the Doha Declaration rightly draws attention to this fundamental unit of our existence, how can we design and develop spiritual interventions that accelerate and amplify sustainable social development? How might we design initiative that first.

Promote inner resilience for outer peace? We would like to hear the views of our esteemed panelists on this topic. Thank you.

I thank the representative of Brahma Kumari's World Spiritual University and the NGO Committee for Social Development. We have heard the last speaker on my list.

I now invite the distinguished panelists to briefly respond to the questions and comments and deliver short closing remarks. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Leslie Nadir Shikhar Seguil, Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru.

Okay, Gracias. Thank you, Madam Chair. Excellencies.

Peru currently has a transitional government and we have the responsibility to lay the foundations for the necessary reforms that are required by our various social interventions. Firstly, we are adopting the first historic policy in early childhood development. We have a school meals program. Also, we are promoting entrepreneurship throughout the life cycle, including women at the gestation period and including our old age pensioners at 65 and up. So we are putting people, our citizens, at the heart of our public policies, embracing them with comprehensive public policies to cover all of their needs.

It's also important to highlight what's been said by delegates here, specifically referring to the fact that young people should change from being mere observers and become true contributors to development. That was an important thought that was shared. We also need to act with responsibility. Responsibility is a two way path.

That is why we have an adolescent life program in Peru. It means we are working with young people so that they can establish a path for their own development, be it through a technical career or going through university to adapt to what Peru and the world needs today, that is new skills in addition for young people. We need not only to think about the future, but rather to invest today in our present. So, as we say, we need to ensure less assistance, but more opportunities, more progress for for development with social inclusion. Thank you very much.

I thank the Minister of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru. And I now give the floor to the Deputy Minister to her Excellency Lorna Hovronska, Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity for European Integration of Ukraine. Thank you. The well being and dignity of every Ukrainian, regardless of their location is important to us. Therefore, I sincerely thanks to the honorable representatives of Poland and EU for their support.

Our partnership is very valuable for our country. Speaking about obstacles to social justice From Ukrainians experience, the wars are the dangerous obstacles to social to realize realize social justice and speaking about how we can help governments. Countries can be supported in wartime through close cooperation with their governments. The example of Ukraine shows that even during a war of aggression the government is able to remain capable and help direct aid from partners to citizens where it's really needed. Ukraine takes care of our people on our territory in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and we will do this.

I would like to emphasize how important mental health is for people's well being around the world in today's circumstances and that we as international community must take care of it. I would also like to note how important is for mental health to provide people with reliable unbiased information. Reliable information is the key to individual's mental integrity and well being. The deception is a similarly deadly weapon used by Russia just as they employ hundreds of strike drones and dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles. It is also not true that in their statement they cite unemployment numbers far below the natural rate which either reflects deceptive statistics or a severe internal crisis.

I can only repeat my statement. When one party fails to uphold it commitments, the others must make a multiple effort. I thank all our partners who uphold the common values of the Copenhagen Declaration and who are willing to share the experience of a nation. Thank you.

I think the Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity for European Integration of Ukraine and I now give the floor to Her Excellency Margaret Saroofi Miuzaf, Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity of Egypt. Thank you, Madam Chair. I do have a few answers for the list of questions including that I think we need to have sufficient and fair accurate data and not bias. This is very important to be a base for social justice and also deal with the development as a one package. So not dealing with the development fields from Silo's point of view.

Thirdly, that's enhance the synergy and the complementarity among the different components of development. Fourth, and this is very important to have a political will and commitment especially for field like the human development, capital, youth engagement and we have to start with the early childhood and most importantly, deal with the family as a focus of the society. Cohesion the last word is from the foundational commitment of Copenhagen to the renewed momentum of Doha, Egypt. Experience demonstrates how vision can be translated into policy, policy into institutions, institutions into measurable social outcomes. Through legislated social assistance, integrated cash plus model, rural transformation, digital system and forward looking national frameworks, Egypt is strengthening its social contract and building a resilient model for human capital investment.

We remain committed to advancing a social protection system that is adaptive, inclusive and firmly rooted in solidarity and dignity for all Egyptians today and beyond 2030. Thank you.

I thank the Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity of Egypt for her intervention. We have reached the end of high level Ministerial forum. Thank you very much for the rich exchange of views. Today we had an opportunity to learn and discuss about national actions and policies that contribute to translating the vision and Commitments of the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration and Program of Action and the 2025 Doha Political Declaration into reality. We heard about promising policies in Peru, Ukraine and Egypt.

I would like to thank the Minister and Deputy Ministers panelists for the second segment for excellent presentations and to the delegations for your interventions and the discussions from this forum will be reflected in the Chair's summary. Thank you and the meeting is adjourned.