Gay McDougall Opening Remarks representatives of numerous Non-Governmental Organizations and thank you for your participation and continued support to the work of the Forum. I also welcome representatives of the UN Treaty Bodies and UN Specialized Agencies who help to ensure that the work that we do in this Forum contributes to the wider objectives of the United Nations in the field of human and minority rights. Once again, I would like to thank the Vice President of the Human Right Council for joining us this morning and for his encouraging words to us as we begin our deliberations. Equally, I want to thank the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, for taking time from her busy schedule to be with us and to lend her support once again to the work of the Forum. Helping to guide us in our deliberations is the Chair of this third Forum and I am delighted to now introduce to you our Chair, Prof. Dr. Gita Sen. Many of you will know that Professor Sen is an internationally celebrated development economist currently Professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and Adjunct Professor at Harvard University School of Public Health. Prof. Dr. Gita Sen combines a distinguished academic career with policy advocacy and NGO activism. Her work, including in the area of gender and development, has been an inspiration to a generation of researchers and policy-makers of South and North, and non-governmental organizations. I know that we will benefit immensely from Professor Sen’s experience and guidance and I warmly welcome her to the Forum. I now have the pleasure and the honor to give the floor to our Chair, and to invite Professor Sen to make a few introductory remarks. 6|Page