Promoting International Development Through a Cultural Lens

It's a real pleasure to be here with all of you today. Thank you Mr. Sha for inviting me to this important event since it is a direct line to my commitment to ensure that culture is taken seriously in development work. It is also because I am proud to speak about UNFPA's legacy of engaging cultural agents of change for development.

I know this theme is of increasing concern to all of us working in development. The Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, who, defined development as freedom, said in an essay:

The issue is not whether culture matters…That it must be, given the pervasive influence of culture on human life. The real issue, rather, is how—not whether—culture matters. What are the different ways in which culture may influence development? How can the influences be better understood, and how might they modify or alter the development policies that seem appropriate? The interest lies in the nature and forms of the connections and on their implications for action and policy, not merely in the general—and hardly deniable—belief that culture does matter.

It makes me proud to discover that Professor Sen and I agree on this very critical approach to development.

With the support of the Government of Switzerland , UNFPA was able to introduce culture within the gender and human rights branch in our Technical Division. This is strategic because we know from experience that we have to address cultural issues to make greater progress, and this is especially important in work to promote gender equality and reproductive health and rights because these issues are fraught with taboos, myths and sensitivities.

The debate on reproductive health and rights and gender equality is really about beliefs and values. Therefore, we must understand culture, and this includes religions and faith, as it affects human experiences and lives. And we must support communities and local cultural agents to bring about positive change because to be lasting, change must come from within.

I remember a video message of Archbishop Desmond Tutu that touched me deeply. He sent it to a meeting where women's rights organizations, faith-based organizations, and international development counterparts came together to end poverty through empowering women. In the message he said, "religion has too often been used as a tool to oppress women…and too often we have not named, and condemned roundly, culturally and traditionally rooted discriminatory practices like child marriages, genital mutilation, and violence against women and children".

It was important to come together, he said, "as people of faith, and stand up for women and girls by addressing these issues from every pulpit and platform in the synagogues, mosques, churches and other places of worship." And he further underlined the importance of cultural agents of change when he called for the interfaith community to join with leaders in other sectors to demand more resources so that – and I quote again – "women and girls can change their own lives and those of their families and their communities".

We at UNFPA recognize the  the strategic priority and urgency to work through positive values that exist in all countries and in all cultures to realize further progress. We have learned through country experiences that culture matters. And, therefore, we are committed to deliberately, systematically and strategically institutionalize a culturally sensitive approach to development.

Our work on culture is based on eight principles:

Principle 1 is that cultures are the realities in which development takes place and that people seek religious leaders and institutions for guidance, comfort and support.

Principle 2 is that people are the products of their culture and also its creators. As such, they are not simply passive receivers but active agents who can reshape cultural values, norms and expressions.

Principle 3 is that cultures are neither static nor monolithic. Every culture is characterized by diversity, contestability and private and public space for mediation and negotiation and diverse interpretations. This also includes interpretations of religious texts that are made by "men" and I mean "men" and that can be changed by the engagement of both men and women of faith.

Principle 4 is that cultures have a strong impact on the social sectors and on social relations, but especially on gender power relations.

Principle 5 is that it is through change from within societies/communities that cultural norms, traditions and expressions are changed.

Principle 6 is respect for cultural independence and cultural diversity with the acknowledgement that change can be mediated in favour of human rights and gender equality.

Principle 7 is that cultures and religions share common denominators with universal standards, such as human equality, compassion and tolerance and that their manifestation and/or interpretations can be a force to promote or obstruct human rights.

Principle 8 is that human rights can be recognized and internalized through a culturally sensitive approach that gives social basis and support to the legal approach and that builds on positive cultural values and religious interpretations that strengthen human rights principles.

Success, we have learned, requires patience, a willingness to listen carefully, a respect for cultural diversity, and learning to find different ways to express culturally-loaded issues. The point is that we cannot achieve human rights for people; achieving human rights is the responsibility of the people and governments themselves, but we the United Nations can support their efforts in this process.

I am optimistic because communities are coming together and networks are expanding to promote human rights and end harmful traditional practices.

To give you just one example: In Senegal, there is an 84 per cent reduction in FGM; in 2009,  317 communities publicly declared that they've abandoned the practice and, so far, out of 5,000 villages, 4200 villages have abandoned female genital mutilation in Senegal.

This is good news! There is also emerging evidence that maternal deaths are starting to decline and motherhood is becoming safer. And more and more men are speaking out for women's rights and health, and saying NO to violence against women.

Progress is also being made to address HIV and AIDS. Today stronger action is being taken to link policies and programmes for HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproductive health to save more lives. And gender and reproductive health are now addressed more than ever before in humanitarian response benefiting displaced persons and refugees.

Our challenge now is to ensure that programmes are scaled up. At UNFPA, we believe that this requires a culturally sensitive, gender responsive and human rights based approach to reach those most in need. We need to address persistent inequities, stigma and discrimination by going to the grassroots and getting to the root of the problems.

We know we still have a long way to go, but we have witnessed how solidarity and partnership propel us forward. UNFPA looks forward to working with all of you to advance the right to sexual and reproductive health, women's empowerment and gender equality.

I thank you.