第62回社会開発委員会における大野公使ステートメント

Thank you, Madam Chair.
 
I would like to start by thanking your excellency, the bureau members, and the secretariat for organizing this session. Japan continues to engage actively and constructively with the Commission for Social Development’s (CSocD) activities in order to accelerate our efforts to eliminate inequalities and realize a world where no one is left behind.
 
Today people around the world, including the most vulnerable, are confronted by multiple crises which are interlinked and compounding, and the SDGs are facing mounting obstacles with many of them off track. Against this backdrop, Japan believes that a holistic approach focusing on the “dignity” of each person is indispensable to overcoming these complex challenges and the “human security” approach will be a catalyst to achieving the SDGs. We should work towards a world more in the spirit of cooperation and international solidarity, not division and conflict, through applying such a people-centered approach.

Madam Chair,
 
It is of utmost importance for all of us to recall the challenges that children face now and promote cooperation through addressing their various needs and issues towards creating a better future for them.
 
In December last year, the Japanese government formulated the Children's National Policy, aiming for a society in which all children and youth can build a foundation for lifelong character development. The policy promotes concepts such as healthy growth, individual independence, and the protection of rights regardless of their physical and mental conditions or circumstances, in order to empower children to lead a life of better biopsychosocial well-being in the future.
 
No child should be left behind when it comes to protecting their rights. Japan is committed to providing assistance for children who are under vulnerable situations in many parts of the world.
 
Education is another important foundation for lasting peace and an enabler for all the SDGs. Japan considers it critical to ensure access to quality education for children under conflict and other humanitarian situations. Thus, Japan has been supporting reconstruction of educational facilities, providing school meals programmes, and increasing access to digital education tools through partnering with UNICEF, UNESCO, and WFP.
 
Japan is determined to continue cooperating with the international community and civil society to realize a society where children can grow up healthy, go to school free from fear and enjoy their rights.
 
Madam Chair,
 
From the perspective of “leaving no one behind” in social development, Japan attaches importance to the need to address the challenges faced by persons with disabilities.
 
The Japanese government continues to work hard to create an inclusive society where people with and without disabilities can coexist. In April this year, the Amended Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities will come into force, which will fully oblige all businesses to provide reasonable accommodation for requests from persons with disabilities to the extent it is not excessively burdensome.
 
Furthermore, last March, Japan revised the Basic Policy for the Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, based on discussions held by the Committee on Disability Policy, of which a majority of members are persons with disabilities. It sets forth the government's overall policy for promoting the elimination of discrimination on the basis of disability, highlighting the importance of constructive dialogue and mutual understanding between government agencies, businesses, and persons with disabilities.
 
Japan has also been faithfully implementing the CRPD. To make a further contribution, Japan has nominated Mr. TAMON Hiroshi, a lawyer with over 20 years of practical experience , as a candidate running for the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities this June, drawing on his personal experience as a person born deaf. I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm Japan’s commitment to the further implementation of the Convention, including towards an inclusive society.
 
Madam Chair,
 
Japan adheres to the key principle of the SDGs, “leaving no one behind,” and will do its utmost to promote international cooperation to empower those under vulnerable situations.
 
I thank you.