Closing Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita at the 59th Session of the Commission on Population and Development

Monsieur le Président, Murakoze cane cane

Excellences, distingués délégués

Monsieur Li Junhua, le Secrétaire général adjoint des Nations Unies aux affaires économiques et sociales,

Chers collègues, chers partenaires, chers amis dans cette salle ou en ligne,

Thank you all for your engagement this week, and for the national statements that did so much to express the relevance and importance of the issues under discussion during this Commission. What was said in this conference room by so many delegations has sent a powerful message - that we need to ensure the world meets the moment when it comes to technological change and ensure that all people benefit from the progress we see unfolding so rapidly before us.

The challenges we face today and the issues we discussed this week - technological transformation, demographic shifts, climate change and more - do not respect borders. Our fates are intertwined. Our responses must be, too.

That is why our presence and what happened this week matters. Whether it is South-South cooperation to exchange lessons on longevity, or collective action against technology-facilitated violence, or joint efforts to tackle climate impacts on maternal and infant mortality - cooperation is not an abstract concept or a choice. It is our only path forward.

Listening to trailblazers, like Google, Microsoft and Mignone Women's Health Collaborative, on groundbreaking innovations this week gave me immense hope.

Listening to countries preparing for their rounds of census in 2026 - Nigeria, DRC, Tonga, Samoa, Honduras, Tuvalu, Cook Islands or Trinidad and Tobago, and next year India, Bhutan, Fiji and so on makes me believe.

Listening to Latin America and the Caribbean preparing for the 15th anniversary of the Montevideo consensus …

Listening to Asia and Pacific standing for each other - big ones and small islands…

Listening to my donors countries pledging resources for global mechanisms between the CPD and the Spring Meetings in DC made me feel grateful for the generosity that exists on this planet.

Just now, one of those donors gave us US$26 million for commodities - thank you.

Listening to so many programme countries pledging their domestic resources makes me happy.

I want to express my profound thanks to the Chair, to the CPD Bureau, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, our co-facilitators - Luxembourg, merci, danke schön, and Mali, merci, initche - and the entire UNFPA team for their tireless efforts to make this a session of substance - a moment for political and programmatic reflection on the continued relevance of the population and development agenda.

Ambassadeur Olivier, vous avez été extraordinaire et plénipotentiaire, merci pour votre dernière CPD dans cette itération.

I especially want to thank the CSOs and the youth delegates for bringing such dynamism into these halls and proving what we all know - that the ICPD principles may be thirty years old, but they are evergreen.

As technology reshapes our world, we can either honour those principles or betray them.

The choice is up to us.

Will we use it to foster dialogue and peacebuilding? To bridge divides and support more inclusive pathways forward? Or will we allow it to deepen inequalities and further exclude those already on the margins.

In his keynote address, His Excellency the Vice President of the Gambia, made an appeal to us to "ensure that technology and research are guided by principles of equity, human rights, and inclusivity."

That is how we ensure that the digital revolution builds bridges to progress, rather than walls that keep the vulnerable out.

Innovation must serve humanity-all of humanity. And this week during the plenary sessions and the multitude of side events, we saw the many ways that it is doing just that everywhere.

Digital health platforms that reach the last mile. AI-powered tools that can predict maternal health crises before they happen. Data systems that finally make the invisible visible.

The promise of technology is extraordinary.

But as one of our panelists put it so plainly at yesterday's side event on co-creating a better future: "We need to get back to basics." His point was this: Before AI adoption, you need electricity. Before connectivity, you need infrastructure. Before data systems, you need digital skills. We need to ensure that the foundational layers of the digital revolution reach the countries and communities that need them most.

When the design and deployment of innovation and research are inclusive and rights-based, this can accelerate access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunity across all contexts. Today, UNFPA is bridging research, technology and communities to deliver impact at scale.

But innovation does not guarantee progress. We have to be intentional. Because technology comes with risks as well as benefits.

The online world must be a safe space for women and girls, and men and boys, everywhere.

We cannot allow misinformation and disinformation to erode trust in institutions, in public health or to undermine the very peace and security the United Nations was built to maintain.

The Cairo population and development map gives us the compass. Rights. Choice. Dignity. That is the filter through which every policy, every digital health initiative, every AI governance decision must pass.

That is why this Commission matters. Thank you, UN DESA. Thank you to all the Regional Economic Commissions. Thank you, WHO. Thank you, UNESCO. Thank you, ITU.

Multilateral negotiations are difficult. Reaching consensus on issues that touch the most intimate dimensions of human life is never easy. Some years - impossible. And yet, we keep showing up.

On behalf of my 5,000 UNFPA colleagues and myself, we are very grateful to all of you. The Minister of Finance of a country told me yesterday, "I am not sure people realize the true force and support UNFPA provides to people and countries." Everything we do does not end up on social media, as it is so intimate, when it is about people's lives (maternal health, maternal morbidity, GBV…) Or it is so confidential, when it is about data and census (the very indicators and information for good governance).

So, allow me to recognize the efforts of delegations who engaged diligently in the true spirit of multilateralism. Thank you for negotiating in good faith, even where positions diverged.

That is why it is so unfortunate that consensus on an intergovernmental outcome on this special theme could not be reached this year.

But the absence of a final document does not diminish the urgency of this agenda or the importance of this Commission - the only dedicated space in the United Nations where we can discuss population issues, rights and development.

The urgency of the agenda before us demands action. President Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Do we want to change our world?

I remain firm in my conviction that more unites us than divides us, even if it may not always seem that way.

We all agree that no woman should die giving birth. We all agree that women and girls should live free from violence, online and off. We all agree that everyone deserves the chance to plan their family, their future, their life.

Our discussions this week highlight just how critical our mission is. So, we do not leave this room discouraged. We leave with a sharper map of the work that remains.

As we ready ourselves for that work, I appeal to all of you: Let us not allow fragmentation and polarization to hinder our collective path forward.

Let us show clearly to those we serve that what happens here still matters. Because it does.

Let us be guided by evidence and data - evidence which says that sexual and reproductive health is foundational to achieving the SDGs.

Let's build on the exchanges this week and turn them into results that matter.

That means redoubling our efforts to leave no one behind. Because human lives, human rights and human dignity are at stake.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

For nearly sixty years, UNFPA has provided the evidence, the research, and the normative guidance that governments rely on to navigate demographic complexity and uphold sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. And we are not looking back.

Our new Strategic Plan is a future-facing roadmap for transforming demographic shifts into sustainable development - for putting people first at every turn through their life course. Because when people are empowered, when their rights are upheld and their dignity respected, the goals we seek - inclusive growth, sustainable development, peace - come within reach.

We see this every day in our work across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. When we invest in the leadership and agency of women and young people, in all their diversity, we are investing in the most effective architects of social cohesion and a more equitable, peaceful future for everyone.

We will continue to stand with those furthest behind. We will remain your trusted ally - supporting national leadership, responding to country priorities, remaining culturally respectful and making sure everyone counts in the digital sphere or any other.

Before we close, I would like to recognize two remarkable colleagues.

After years of distinguished leadership at DESA's Population Division, John Wilmoth is retiring. For more than a decade, he has supported this Commission while serving as the UN system's lead technical authority on global demographic trends and population data. John successfully maintained the highest standards of demographic analysis and population projections for the UN, ensuring rigorous, globally comparable population estimates - an essential contribution to the international community. On behalf of UNFPA, thank you for your exceptional service and best wishes for a well-deserved retirement.

This is also the final Commission for Priscilla Idele, Chief of UNFPA's Population and Development Branch, who retires this year after a long and distinguished UN career. Priscilla has been instrumental in strengthening UNFPA's leadership in population data, advancing the use of high-quality evidence in policy and supporting Member States to navigate complex demographic shifts. Her leadership has helped to translate data into action, ensuring that demographic insights inform real-world decisions and development outcomes. We deeply value her contributions and know that her legacy will be felt for years to come.

Mesdames et messieurs, le monde change. Assurons-nous que ce soit pour le meilleur, chacune et chacun partout sur notre belle planète bleue.

As the Artemis mission - since the theme is about technology - dedicated a crater on the moon to the late wife of one the astronauts, I would like to dedicate this session to Emanuel, a 13-year-old boy who lost his life this very week while his mom was away on an important mission for UNFPA. May he rest in peace.

I thank you.