High Level Event of the UNGA on
‘The Contributions of Women, the Young and Civil Society to the Post-2015 Development Agenda’
New York, March 6, 2014

Statement by H.E. Ambassador Asoke K. Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to the UN

Mr. President,

1.At the outset, let me congratulate you on your excellent initiative of organizing a series of thematic debates and high level events in setting the stage for the post-2015 Development Agenda.  We thank you for the Background Paper circulated for this meeting.

2.Today’s theme of ‘Contributions of women, the young and civil society to the post-2015 Development agenda’ is very relevant. As has been mentioned in the Background Paper, the two major barriers of challenges posed by inequalities, discrimination and marginalization, and effective contribution to decision making, are of paramount concern.  Let me first briefly elaborate on our approach to post-2015 Development Agenda.

Mr. President,

3.India firmly believes in an inclusive approach to crafting and implementing the post-2015 Development Agenda. It is a people- centric agenda and women and the youth are central to it.

4.It must carry forward and build on the foundations laid by the MDGs. The imperatives of eradication of poverty and hunger, gender, education, sanitation and health must all be strengthened. But these objectives cannot be realised in the absence of robust inclusive economic growth.

5.The post-2015 Development Agenda must, therefore, first and foremost, create conditions for rapid, sustained and inclusive growth in developing countries. Eradication of poverty and hunger must remain its overarching and central objectives.

Mr. President,

6.Let me now turn to the main theme of our discussions today. We agree with the calls for strengthening partnership with women, the youth and the civil society in the formulation and implementation of the post-2015 Development Agenda.

7.The Government of India’s priority is to ensure sustained inclusive economic growth. We are also paying special attention on gender equity issues and for the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized sections of society in our development efforts.

 8.The Government has taken many steps to ensure a participatory approach to governance and for it to be transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs and aspirations of all our people. 

9.It has also set up mechanisms to monitor progress and to receive feedback from relevant stakeholders to introduce adjustments in policy or its implementation, as may be required. 

Mr. President,

10.Addressing the need to enable women to contribute effectively to decision making, the Government of India in 1992 devolved greater power to local elected bodies, with 33% reservation for women, in rural areas coupled with sound financing to take decisions on socio-economic development issues such as education, health, community development, local infrastructure, etc.

11. Today, 1.5 million women representatives are working in these bodies making tangible progress in bridging the gender-divide in decision making and at the socio-economic level.

12. Inclusiveness and empowerment of people is also dependent on accessibility of information about their rights and entitlements. ICT tools and social media are being used for dissemination of such information. The Right to Information Act 2005 has also greatly empowered the ordinary citizens.

Mr. President,

13.The Government undertakes wider consultations on important policy matters and legislative initiatives.  For example, this approach was adopted for the formulation of the 12th Five-year plan, the bill on amendments to the criminal procedure code to address the issue of sexual violence against women and the bill harmonising national legal provisions with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

14.The Government has collaborated with civil society in formulation, implementation, review and modification of several of its schemes.  For example, the polio eradication drive would not have been successful without collaboration with civil society organizations. 

Mr. President,

15. Allow me to reflect a bit on calls for ‘full’ participation of ‘all’ stakeholders in decision making at all levels.  Clearly, governments are not sole repository of wisdom or expertise on public policy. Therefore, the governments, which are vested with the necessary authority to take decisions, should do so after taking into account different perspectives.

16. In a similar vein, while the UN discourse on post-2015 Development Agenda needs to be inclusive and participatory for all relevant stakeholders, the final outcome of these deliberations must be agreed to by the member States of the UN through an inter-governmental negotiations process.  Only then can any SDG on issues as important as the one we are discussing today become implementable.

Mr. President, 

17. The post-2015 Development Agenda must broaden the access to development and economic opportunities for all including women and youth. Inclusive growth along with job creation is a pre-requisite for the women and youth to meaningfully partake in the development process and chart out their own destiny.

18. Advancement of gender equality, women\'s empowerment and ensuring protection of women\'s rights are all imperative to promote inclusive and sustainable development. We also need to mobilize and upscale investments in education, health care, rural development, housing, infrastructure, etc.

19. Education is perhaps the most important transformative tool in improving the quality of life. Greater investments in universal quality education and skill development would provide a firm basis for the children and youth to participate in and benefit from development. Youth are a great asset. Their ability to take risks, being imaginative and drive innovation can all lead to better outcomes.

Mr. President,
20. I firmly believe that we need to focus more on technology and innovation to realize our development objectives. There is widespread recognition of ICT technologies as enablers be it for accessing education and information or for connecting with the wider world for better economic opportunities.  This issue can, if adopted and harnessed imaginatively by policy makers, play a major role in mitigating and ultimately eliminating the challenges posed by inequalities, discrimination and marginalization. 

21. But we need to focus beyond ICT as well. For example, the Barefoot College in India is training rural women including from other developing countries to become solar engineers. This has led to empowerment of these women as well as electrification of remote villages.

22. Significant number of innovations driven by youth and entrepreneurs are taking place in India. I refer here to development of ‘Mittikool’ (literally cool earth) refrigerators, which do not consume electricity but cause cooling through diffusion and evaporation of water across layers of clay. These units have the potential to transform rural healthcare given the problem of maintaining vaccinations for children at a certain temperature while they are being transported from primary health clinics to remote rural areas.

23. We must explore technology and innovative solutions as we try to address barriers to education, clean drinking water, basic healthcare, etc. If we can further decentralize their use by transferring the access, control and management of such technologies to end-users, including women, themselves, it can bring about a significant structural transformation in the lives of millions across the world.

Mr. President,

24. In conclusion, let me stress that contributions of women, youth and civil society are indispensable in shaping an inclusive post-2015 Development Agenda.

I thank you, Mr. President

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