El Salvador's president spoke before the United Nations about decreasing poverty levels, quality of life and migration of children that's also affecting Central America.

According to President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the country has been faced with challenges like reducing poverty and social inequalities. Sánchez Cerén said poverty and social inequalities have not allowed families to live "healthier and safer lives" in the country and have had an affect on the region.

Sánchez Cerén noted the accomplishments of El Salvador such as reducing extreme poverty in rural areas to 13.6 percent, allocating 14.8 percent of the country's GDP to social spending and increased primary education coverage to 93.7 percent, which has brought reductions in illiteracy by over 5 percentage points.

"We keep working to create the factors that can increase our human development, bringing stronger social protection, which will in turn allow us to ensure sustainable universal access to basic social services," Sánchez Cerén said.

With the 15-year-old Millennium Development Goals concluding next year, Sánchez Cerén called for a new development agenda integrating international issues such as climate change, education, food security, health, public safety and migration.

"The objectives and goals should speak to and contribute as much to personal fulfillment and to our right to the pursuit of happiness, as to economic growth," Sánchez Cerén said. "I call upon the United Nations to maintain its resources and programs in Latin America, and specifically in Central America, regardless of the macroeconomic classification of our countries. To reduce the U.N. presence would only deepen the serious economic and social inequality problems suffered by the region."

Sánchez Cerén said his country has made the effort to improve the quality of life for the population of 6.12 million Salvadorans. He also wants to "build the conditions that allow us to strengthen values, family unity, create opportunities for new generations, and raise awareness about the risks of irregular migration, especially to the United States."

Sánchez Cerén called for the international community to help support El Salvador and its crisis caused by the "increased flow" of unaccompanied migrant children traveling north to the U.S.

"It is necessary that the United Nations system, including the General Assembly, assume an increasing role on the migration issue and recognize human mobility as a relevant factor in the work of the organization, including it also in the implementation of the Post-2015 Development Agenda," Sánchez Cerén said.

The Salvadoran president referred to the migration situation as a "multi-causal phenomenon" that requires a comprehensive approach while securing protection for children, respect to legal due process and "support the reunification with their parents."

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 66,127 unaccompanied children from Central America and Mexico have been apprehended by its Customs and Border Protection agency. Specifically from El Salvador, 15,800 unaccompanied children were encountered by the CBP.

"We must work with the communities of origin of the migrant population, to generate better conditions, increase the investment in education, health, safety and jobs; all this with a perspective of joint responsibility between the countries of origin, transit and destination," Sánchez Cerén said.

He said public safety concerns is not exclusive to El Salvador but for the Central American region. Sánchez Cerén said he hopes the international community supports El Salvador and Central America combat the "titanic struggle" against several forms of existing violence.

Sánchez Cerén's comes after Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez addressed the U.N. and said the migration issues were due to countries "north and south" of the country.

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