STATEMENT BY MS SABRINA LEE, DELEGATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE TO THE 79TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON AGENDA ITEM 26, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, THIRD COMMITTEE, 3 OCTOBER 2024

Mr Chair, 

1 Thank you for giving me the floor. Singapore aligns itself with the statements made by Uganda on behalf of the G77 and China, as well as Viet Nam on behalf of ASEAN. Singapore also congratulates the Chair and Bureau on your election. We assure the Chair of our support and constructive contributions.

2 “Social Development” is a very important agenda item. The number of people aged 65 and older is projected to double by 2050. Social and economic inequalities have worsened due to the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with disproportionate impact on women. Against this backdrop, Singapore strongly reaffirms its support for the full, effective, and accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. 

3 As a small country with limited natural resources, our people are our most valued resource. Our policies are therefore tailored to give every individual the opportunity to succeed. Allow me to elaborate on a few key aspects of our social development policies, aimed at building a fairer and more inclusive society. 

4 First, Singapore remains steadfastly committed to strengthening our support for families, which are the bedrock of our society. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the International Year of the Family. Families play a big role in our lives, and are an important anchor for us to collectively achieve the SDGs. 

5 Over the years, Singapore has made significant progress. Take-up rates of government-paid paternity leave has increased; and full-day infant care places nearly tripled in the last decade. Nevertheless, we recognise that there is scope to do more. In 2022, we launched the Singapore Made for Families 2025 plan to engender whole-of-society support for families, in partnership with stakeholders from employers to family service centres. By 2026, government-paid shared parental leave will be further increased by 10 weeks, to a total of 30 weeks for both parents. 

6 Second, we will empower older persons to age actively, in line with the goals for the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing. Singapore will be approaching “super-aged” status in 2026. We recognise that seniors prefer to age in the community, close to their families and friends.  Hence, we launched Age Well SG in 2023, which is a comprehensive nationwide transformation across areas including housing, transport, and care services, to enable seniors to lead vibrant and fulfilling lives in the community, with their families. To better support families in caring for their loved ones, we rolled out targeted grant schemes, to better assist families in defraying caregiving expenses, especially for the lower-income.

7 Third, we will better enable persons with disabilities to participate in and fully contribute to society, in line with our commitments to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  We have made consistent progress in this area, especially in inclusive employment policies. Resident employment rate of persons with disabilities has steadily increased in the last five years. We have updated our Enabling Masterplan 2030, to enable persons with disabilities to live more independently. We will be piloting the Enabled Living Programme, which provides home management services to foster independent living, and community engagement support services to encourage enhanced participation. 

8 We are also creating opportunities to share experiences in social development in our region. Singapore will be organising the Asian Family Conference next month to exchange best practices with other Asian countries on enhancing family resilience.  

Mr Chair,

9 As we look ahead to the Second World Summit for Social Development next year, we must seize the opportunity to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. With collective resolve, we can build a fairer, more inclusive society, where as far as possible, no one is left behind.   

10 Thank you, Mr Chair. 

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