Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Maria Zabolotskaya at the UNGA81 high-level side-event “The Geneva Consensus Declaration on Women’s Health and Protection of the Family”
Dear colleagues,
We thank Civil Society for the Geneva Consensus Declaration Coalition, the United States and other co-sponsors for organising this event.
In 1948, the authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights codified the long-established truth: men and women of full age, without limitation due to race, nationality, or religion, have the right to marry and found a family.
This simple but important message was further developed in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and many other international instruments that form the human rights legal framework.
However, in recent years, we have witnessed a growing coordinated campaign aimed at demonising the very concept of family and family values. With reference to gender equality and transformative change, we see the notion of “family” degraded and even linked to persistent inequalities, domestic violence and limited opportunities for women and children. Meanwhile, any attempt to raise the issue of biological sex and speak about males and females and their roles as parents is labelled as “gender backlash” and “an attack on inclusivity”.
This situation demands our immediate response. Family remains a key enabler of social development, creates a nurturing environment for children’s upbringing and provides necessary assistance to its members, particularly in education, access to health care, and financial support.
Russia prioritises family-oriented policies. Marking our national year of family, in 2025 we adopted a comprehensive family framework – the Strategy for the Implementation of Family and Demographic Policy until 2036 that consolidates support for families.
We need coordinated international action. We must insist on recognising the cross-cutting nature of the family and mainstream it throughout the work of the UN, especially its social development branch. To achieve this, we need to arrange more gatherings like this Forum under the auspices of the UN, and actively support the work of informal alliances, such as the Group of Friends of Family, coordinated by Belarus, Egypt and Qatar. But we also need to be active and defend our positions during negotiations at key forums, such as the Commission for Social Development, Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Population and Development.
Dear colleagues,
We started our intervention by quoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As we close, we want to reiterate that we are not calling for anything new and not asking for anything that wasn’t agreed before. Article 17 clearly states that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. We have every right to stand by it.
I thank you!
