 Across the world, we celebrate this week as International Family Week, culminating in International Family Day on 15 May. The United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 47/237 of 20 September 1993, proclaimed this annual observance to reflect the importance that the international community attaches to families. The International Year of the Family was 1994, and every year since we strive to consolidate its goals. The family is a universal value, enshrined and supported by the United Nations itself: • Families transform babies into responsible caring adults;
• They are the primaty source of human dignity, identity, honor, and maturity;
• They are the first source of community, compassion, charity, and wisdom;
• They are the best guarantee of happiness, health, well-being, and social cohesion; Our enjoyment of our rights must go hand in hand with a deep understanding and discharge our responsibilities to others. And, just as wisdom balances rights and responsibilities, love is that indispensable glue that underpins community, and most particularly, the family. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported again last year to the General Assembly on the tenth anniversary of IYF. His report is full of examples of what different countries, governments in particular, have done on this front. In many countries, the Head of State or Government established a national coordination mechanism. Many involved the active participation of non-governmental organizations, the academic community, the private sector and the media. In some countries presidential declarations on the family were issued as in the Philippines and the United States. In others, a ministry or ministries were re-vamped or new commissions or offices created, to give greater emphasis to family issues, as in the case of Denmark, Oman, Peru, Portugal, Jordan, and Ukraine. Countries also show commitment through the adoption and enactment of a State family policy or action action. Some countries that have recently adopted or updated State policies include Armenia, Bolivia, Latvia, Malaysia, Maldives, Peru, Philippines, and South Africa. The UN theme for this year’s Family Day is "Changing Families: Challenge and Opportunities". We encourage everyone to use 15 May as an occasion to renew family commitments, and promote dialogue to ensure entry into force of family-firendly legislation and to pursue social consensus on family policies. Where is the Family today, as the most fundamental institution of society? During the past 20th century, we have seen a population drift from rural to urban communities, coinciding with a shift from the extended family to the nuclear family. In more recent decades we have witnessed a further evolution from an industrial economy towards a service economy, a process also still underway in many parts of the world, and this is also aligned with a move away from the nuclear family towards a more diversified, and largely splintered pattern of conditions that in summary are socially disintegrative and giving rise to isolation, alienation, and decline. We are now into yet another phase, as the knowledge economy dawns, and the question must be asked: at this juncture, what does this mean for the family? What can it mean, and how can we use our new knowledge to ensure a better environment and more supportive policies for family life to thrive? Basically, what have we learnt, and how can we make a course-correction that restores the dignity and wholesomeness of family life, ensures social sustainability and larger human happiness? Here are some key global indicators: Changes in family structures:
• A shift from extended to nuclear families as well as the rise of one-person households and of cohabitation
• Falling fertility rates, migration, increases in divorce rates and increase in the number of older persons are responsible for smaller-size households
• Household size has fallen to an average of 3.7 persons in East Asia, 4.9 in Southeast Asia, to 4.1 in the Caribbean, 5.7 in North Africa and to 2.8 in developed regions
• Age at first marriage has risen to between the mid to late twenties in all regions of the world, often due to better educational and employment opportunities for women
• Women have fewer children later in life
• Current fertility rates are 1.57 children per woman in developed regions, 3.1 in less developed countries and 5.47 in least developed countries Demographic ageing:
• Lower fertility rates and higher life expectancy contribute to a larger share of older persons within the overall population
• Globally, the number of older persons (60 years and over) will more than triple from 606 million to 2 billion by 2050
• In developed regions, 20% of population is older than 60 - by 2050 it will have reached 33%. In developing regions the share will increase from 8% to 20%
• Support ratios (number of working people in relation to retired persons) have been declining
• Ageing impacts on inter-generational solidarity, housing, social security systems, care giving and health costs Rise of migration:
• 175 million people (3% of world population) reside outside their country of birth;
• Seasonal and internal migration of men contributes to higher number of female-headed households around the world
• Trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children have increased and have become a major part of organized crime
• Migration can cause major stress on family life due to cultural, ethnic, racial and religious differences and lack of integration HIV/AIDS pandemic:
• Over 42 million people live with HIV/AIDS
• HIV/AIDS affects the most productive members of society who often just started their own families
• Care for infected relatives, coping with the loss of numerous family members and the increase of the number of orphans cause major stress on families and societies What are the effects of these trends? These trends challenge the ability to fulfill basic functions of production, reproduction, socialization as well as needs of family members regarding health, nutrition, shelter, physical and emotional care and personal development. They also undercut social cohesion, and are laying terrible roots for inequity, injustice, and future instability. Policy considerations
• Families should be at the center of any future social policy development
• Any social policy should have the above-mentioned or national trends and the needs of families in mind
• Best national practices should be studied when designing a new approach to family policies
• Family well-being across society should become a matter of emerging justice, peace, and security concern. What is actually happening to our societies? All across the world, family size and structure have changed markedly and continue to evolve in response to powerful social, economic and technological developments, including urbanization and a continuing shift from extended to nuclear families. At the beginning of the 20th century, 15 per cent of the world lived in urban areas. As of 2003, 48 per cent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. The proportion of the world population that is urban is expected to rise to 61 per cent by 2030. Agrarian life-styles based on the extended family have faded dramatically towards urban life with the increasingly common nuclear family, which is itself beginning to break-down. The education of girls and women is also an important trend influencing families globally, influencing the greater participation of women in the formal labour force. The old pattern of women remaining in the home is increasingly being replaced with women in the labour force, especially immediately after completing their schooling. Many significant changes are also taking place in marriage and childbearing. Both men and women are delaying marriage to later ages. With the many expanding opportunities for higher education, careers, and economic independence, young women are postponing or avoiding altogether the onset of motherhood. In many industrialized countries, well above 10 percent of women in their early forties remain childless. Average ages of mothers at first birth have been rising for several decades, and are now typically in the late 20s for most developed nations. Postponing the first birth often translates into fewer first births and even fewer second or third births. Fertility levels have declined in almost all countries and regions of the world. In 1950 the average number of children per woman was five; today it is about half that level. Approximately thirty years ago, 13 countries had fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Today, more than 60 countries – almost one-third of the countries in the world – have below-replacement fertility rates, and half of those countries have levels of 1.5 or less. This translates to an average family of less than two children in many countries, and in many cases the average family has one child. This also means that the small minority of women who do have three or more children, in France less than a third, produce more than half of all children. Increasing numbers of married couples are experiencing divorce and separation, particularly in developed countries. There is also a significant number of people remarrying after a divorce, with many children now living in a family with a step-parent. There has also been the appearance of new or alternative forms of union, such as unmarried cohabitation and couples who, because of migration or career reasons, live in separate cities or countries. Many countries also have significant numbers of both single-parent families and single-person households, including a rising number of older persons living alone. Population ageing is having major implications for all aspects of human life, including family composition and living arrangements, housing and health care. Globally, the proportion of persons 65 years or older was 5 per cent in 1950 and 7 percent in 2000, and is projected to reach 16 percent in 2050. More people are reaching old age and, families of three or even four generations are more common. Economic and social conditions are changing many aspects of day-to-day family life, including traditions favoring life-long co-residence of parents and children as a basic means of ensuring support for young and old. There is a general trend in developed countries among older persons toward living alone or only with their spouse, but there is a growing preference for separate residence in some developing countries as well. While the most common arrangement in the developed countries is for older persons to live apart from their children, a large majority of older persons in the developing countries reside with their children. Over 70 per cent of older persons in developing regions are living with a child or grandchild. In European countries, by contrast, the average is around 25 per cent. Another condition greatly affecting families and leading to family change include the HIV/AIDS pandemic. HIV/AIDS has greatly affected family structure and functions, disproportionately increasing the vulnerability of families living in poverty. The impact on families has been devastating and wide-ranging. In many parts of the world, it is not divorce that creates single-parent and step-families, but parental death and orphan-hood due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As a result of these tragic events, new family forms are emerging, such as "skip-generation" families, where the parent generation has succumbed to AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses and the families are made up of grandparents and orphaned grandchildren, and child-headed families, where grandparents are not available. The spread HIV/AIDS is particularly worrying in Ukraine where 1.4 per cent of the population may be affected.
And in Europe Europe is entering a new demographic regime, which is underpinned by the fundamental changes in family dynamics, relationships and behaviour. The regime of low or very low level of fertility is widely expected to become economically and socially unsustainable. In central and estern Europe, with Communism we saw family devotion replaced by submission to the State, and political devotion. But with the collapse of Communism, what have we allowed to emerge to replace it? How are we using our freedom? Is it the freedom to be materialistic? Is consumerism the new ideology, where devotion is now to consumption and professional achievement? Has results-oriented management intruded so much into our lifestyles that we can no longer manage the stress of the workaholism it inherently generates? Does it risk destroying our work/life balance? Is the economy itself a new tyranny? Unbridled materialism will lead us in that direction, unless we restore the space, time, respect, and resources for families to thrive. The post-Communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe brought about an abrupt transformation in family life: delayed family formation; avoidance of marriage and preference for cohabitation; abrupt drop in births and rise in extra-marital births mostly within non-marital unions. Single-person families increased and the average size of families and households dropped significantly. Population ageing caused a rise in the share of old-age families and widowed persons. This transformation caused radical changes in social norms and values. While some manage to cope, others have to rely on society. This is particularly apparent for single persons, single parents, families with children and older people. Social policy and family policy in particular was often slow in responding to the needs of the people. The change was swift and suddenly influenced all spheres of family life: both social functions of the family and personal care for family members. Transition provoked a weakening in state institutions, including those that relate to family issues. It also caused a rupture of norms and values. The transition has affected the socialization of children. Those children who do get born grow up in a social environment characterized by weakened norms and institutions. The weakened value of the family is noticed by children in the process of their socialization. Hence the family is less able to control self-destructive behavior of the children, such as unsafe sex or drug taking, or the spread of anti-social or delinquent behavior due to a relativisation or ignorance of values. In Ukraine, this period has also seen a dramatic rise in juvenile delinquency and now about 60% of all convicted criminals are under 30 years, i.e. are youth by Ukrainian definitions. And a third of all crimes are committed by alcohol or drug intoxicated youth. There is a need to overhaul the juvenile justice system. Ukraine is in sharp demographic decline, and in the past 16 years has dropped its population by a figure equivalent to the entire population of Ireland, north and south (by over 5 million, from 52 million in 1990 to under 47 million today). During this period the number of children born out of wedlock has jumped from 11% to about 20%. On a positive note some turn-around seems to have come about in 2002/2003 with an upswing in marriages and births. And while abortions are still a problem, the figures have dropped by a factor of 2.2 in a decade. The trauma of the post-Communist transition in Central and Eastern Europe is now largely behind, and the timing is good for the re-structuring social policies. The family today is in a changed environment and needs better conditions for the fulfillment of its basic functions. But current trends challenge the ability to fulfill basic functions of production, reproduction, socialization as well as health, nutrition, shelter, physical and emotional care and personal development. Challenges and opportunities Since the family is the basic unit of society, changes to the family also affect communities and society, leading us to confront both our collective vision of the family as well as societal problems relating to family difficulties. The overall objective of family policy should be to promote, protect and support the integrity and functioning of families. Achieving this goal requires the adoption of policies that reinforce healthy family relationships, protect and increase family resources and strengthen the resilience of families in an ever-changing environment. Effective policies and programmes should help families to retain and strengthen their economic and care-giving functions. As globalization and rapid social change progress, the strength of families and family networks can be instrumental in determining how well individuals and communities adapt to change and its consequences. Freedom, rights, and responsibilities In our UN work for justice, peace, and development, a rights-based approach is increasingly applied, based on the notion that human rights must be mainstreamed in this work. In the discourse of rights-based approaches, people are seen as rights-holders, and institutions seen, more often than not, as duty-bearers. But this dichotomy may only feed an ethos of self-centered individualism, if it is not balanced by education-for-responsibility. In truth, we are only half-fulfilled as human beings when we exercise our freedom to enjoy our rights. We are more fulfilled when we equally exercise our freedom to perform, fulfill and discharge our responsibilities to others in a community of care and commitment. Our current social model and behavioral trends are not sustainable, mainly because we are increasingly losing touch with core values that have found expression and underpinned human societies for millennia in all cultures: integrity, virtue, valor, dignity, honor, and devotion. And at the heart of this, children risk being the big losers. As indicated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, and reiterated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth", yet, today, the greatest tragedy ever is still underway, in the massive waste of human life and the appalling denial of the possibility of birth for millions refused the enjoyment of their right to exist. Article 6 of that Convention says that States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life, and shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. Yet millions are aborted every year around the world. Even in this country, in recent years, for every 10 children born in Ukraine, 12 never get to see the light of day. In some areas, the ratio is two abortions for every birth. It is no wonder that this country, and many others, are in a demographic crisis. Even the most crass economic calculation would reveal that abortion is the major factor in the drastic fall in the support ratio, i.e. the number of working people in relation to retired persons. So as we look towards our pension, and see it continuously postponed and diminished, leaving us increasingly impoverished in years to come, with health services unable to cope, we must remember that it was the selfishness of our generation that brought this about, as we postponed marriage, delayed child-bearing, aborted more often than not, and divorced so often that we could not have done a more effective job in destroying the family and the very fabric of a sustainable, caring and humane society. Today, fed by the media and entertainment industries, and our own insatiable desire for pleasure, we have a prevailing culture of persistent adolescence and immaturity carried into adulthood and into inter-personal, indeed institutional behavior. It is the mirror of our times that unmanaged globalization reaps havoc for too many and benefit for too few. The result is growing social fragmentation and de-socialization. Is this rampant consumerist individualism is a new totalitarianism? We need children. They make us whole, complete. They make us think beyond ourselves and our own desires. They give us cause, joy, happiness and love. They need us. And they need to be born. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance. The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding. The UN considers that the family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children, should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community. States should develop family-friendly strategies and policies, including migration, citizenship, taxation, education, social benefits, employment, media, and communication. Family-friendly policies can be economically sound as they ensure fiscal and social sustainability. They should encourage marriage, marriage reconciliation and durability, and incentivise child-bearing and rearing. They should discourage abortion and equip young people and families to plan for children, including supporting those fewer single pregnant mothers-to-be through delivery and motherhood. They should also encourage mentoring by seniors for young people. We need additional and new roles for our seniors that they may know appreciation and dignity as they age, and that they may give to the young the care, knowledge, and wisdom that they need. Countries that are undertaking or have undertaken reforms in family law include Armenia, which has a new family code that includes a special section devoted to the problems of children deprived of parental custody; Hungary, whose refinements of the legal framework to ensure further support to families now also include a prohibition of corporal punishment; Maldives, which revised its family law pertaining to divorce and is conducting impact analysis research; and Viet Nam, which is developing and amending its family-based legal system and policies to form a favourable legal framework for the healthy and sustainable development of families. Some countries have either reformed or expanded their provision of social services. Latvia increased social child allowances; New Zealand improved financial support for parents and their children, including income assistance, housing support and childcare assistance; Pakistan set up crisis centres in several cities, to protect women against violence of all kinds. Actions taken with regard to other issues related to families include improving the conditions and status of women; developing programmes to promote responsible fatherhood; improving Government services and social support to protect nationals living and working abroad; pursuing and enacting policies such as more flexible maternity leave and a wider range of choice with respect to day care, to assist families to achieve a healthy balance between work and family life; and developing comprehensive programmes to assist single-parent families. Following the Secretary-General’s report, the General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/60/133 on 31 January 2006, calling for more effort to integrate family concerns into national development planning processes, and to support families in performing their societal and developmental functions, especially in their educating and nurturing roles which contribute so much to social integration. It also pointed out that equality between women and men and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all family members are essential to family well-being and to society at large, noting the importance of the reconciliation of work and family life, and recognizing the principle that both parents, mother and father, have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child. The United Nations, which is to say practically every country in the world, clearly has a vested interest in this: quite simply, if we do not have sustainable societies, countries will fragment, and war will result. Therefore, family policy, solidarity, and sustainability, are quite simply a matter of political, economic, social and cultural survival. It is a matter of global security, and a matter of national security. And lastly, while one cannot ensure that families are gender-balanced especially with uneven numbers, marriages should be. Children have a right to a mother and a father. They have a right to a family. There is a wonderful Article in the Constitution of Ukraine: article 3 which says that to affirm and ensure human rights and freedoms is the main duty of the State. Let us make it work, in this country, and around the world, by enjoying our rights and using our freedom to care for each other, and restore active, ethical, and altruistic personal responsibility to its rightful place in the wholeness of human fulfillment. This is the only way to nourish a society that cherishes its people, and most of all its children. Cherish the Family.
Francis M. O’Donnell Resident Coorindinator of the United Nations in Ukraine For further information on international Family Day observance, please visit www.un.org/esa/socdev/family/IntObs/IDF/IDFFrames/IDF2006.htm |
12.05.06
