HRC expert workshop - NB8 statement - Role of the family: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

Human Rights Council
Expert workshop on the role of the family and family-oriented approaches, policies and programmes in the promotion and protection of human rights and in sustainable development

Theme 1: ”Achieving the full enjoyment of human rights by family members, including achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls”
Statement by Denmark on behalf of the Nordic Baltic States
28 May 2025

Excellencies, experts, colleagues,

I deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic Baltic States.

Families come in many shapes and sizes, reflecting the diversity of human experience. Some thrive with more generations under the same roof. The single parent unleashes a parental potential they never knew they had. Some are rainbow families, others live in families bound by love, not by blood.

Regardless of the family composition, the full enjoyment of all human rights by all requires a commitment to ensure equality, dignity, and opportunities for each individual family member as the rights holder, including the individual right of every child.

Gender equality is not only a human right but also key to fostering healthier, more prosperous families and societies. Achieving gender equality means challenging gender stereotypes and negative social norms – also within families.

Supporting diverse family structures requires inclusive family policies. In the Nordic and Baltic  States, this includes measures such as paid parental leave, quality and affordable day-care and flexible working hours. Furthermore, dismantling societal barriers, addressing SGBV as well as multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, ensuring equal access to quality education, to SRHR, to economic opportunities, and to full, equal and meaningful participation in all aspects of society, is key.

Ultimately, it is all about ensuring that all family members thrive and are able to enjoy all human rights, regardless of their gender, age, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Excellencies, experts, colleagues,

“Various forms of the family exist in different social, cultural, legal and political systems”.

Under the headline “diversity of family structure and composition”, we all agreed to this small but important sentence in 1994 when the ICPD Programme of Action was adopted by 179 States.

We hope that we can all agree that the sentence is as meaningful today as it was 31 years ago.

I thank you.