Reem Abdullah Eisa Al Falasi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, has stressed the council's pursuit towards coordinating and developing its cooperation with international organisations, particularly those of the United Nations, concerned with issues of childhood and motherhood. During the UAE delegation's participation in the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, being held from 10th to 21st March at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Al Falasi outlined the progress of the Council, which was established in 2003 by a federal decree issued by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as a culmination of an initiative launched in 2002 by H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union (GWU), Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, through which she called for national action towards upholding the role of the mother in the preparation of Emirati generations capable of giving to the nation. She noted that the objectives of the Council chaired by Sheikha Fatima focused mainly on upgrading care, attention and follow-up for motherhood and childhood, and provide support in all areas, especially in the cultural, health, social, psychological and educational fields. At the end of the meeting, Reem Al Falasi discussed ways to develop the relationship of the council's work with the relevant United Nations' organisations and agencies so as to take advantage of the latest applications, experiences and international conventions to ensure the implementation of national practices aimed at upgrading the affairs of Emirati children and motherhood in general. Source: WAM