Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Damascus, SANA – The Syrian Commission for Family Affairs, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the participation of several MPs, organized a workshop on “Sustainable Development Goals: A demographic vision” at Damascus-based al-Sham Hotel on Wednesday.
The participants discussed the framework to achieve the 17 sustainable development goals and the 169 targets as well as the recommendations of Cairo Conference on Population and Development in 2014 focusing on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls which was the fifth Sustainable Development Goal.
Director of the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs, Hadeel al-Asmar indicated that the commission has set a series of goals and national index to measure progress towards achieving SDGs, particularly the fifth goal to empower all women by 2030.
She noted that the commission is working on a set of programs and activities to achieve integration and equality of opportunity relying on the establishment of partnerships with ministries and bodies concerned and the civil society, adding that the workshop’s outcomes constitute the first step to launch a national work plan to meet SDGs.
The representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Syria, Massimo Diana, stressed the Fund’s support to the commission in setting up plans and conducting studies on population and protection of women and children.
The participants stressed the need to amend laws and legislations to enhance the role of women in society and exert efforts to achieve sustainable development.
In September 2015, the UN’s 193 member states have unanimously agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals to meet the needs of developed and developing countries alike.
R. Raslan / Ghossoun
