Economic and Social Council

 Distr. GENERAL
1 December 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

 

SUMMARY The present document contains the programme of work in the field of population of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat for the biennium 1998-1999.   The programme of work was formulated within the framework of the medium-term plan for the period 1998-2001, adopted by the General Assembly at its fifty-first session (resolution 51/219, sect. I). The activities include follow-up activities relating to the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, September 1994); estimates and projections of population for all countries; studies of mortality, fertility, migration, population policies, and population and development; monitoring of world population trends and policies; coordination and dissemination of population information; and technical cooperation.

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* E/CN.9/1998/1.

1. The present programme of work is an elaboration of the activities in population to be carried out by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat during the biennium 1998-1999. The programme of work is formulated within the framework of the medium-term plan for the period 1998-2001,1 which was adopted by the General Assembly at its fifty-first session (resolution 51/219, sect. I). The programme of work is also designed to take into account the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, September 1994)2 and other relevant conferences.

2. The activities of the subprogramme on population of the medium-term plan during the biennium 1998-1999 will support the implementation of the actions contained in the Programme of Action. In particular, the activities will include monitoring progress towards the achievement of the goals set out in the Programme of Action and analysing and investigating new policy issues and emerging global trends in the field of population and development.

3. Documentation and substantive services will be provided to the Commission on Population and Development, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, according to the long-term programme of work of the Population Division, and as mandated. Analytical reports will be produced on the thematic issues before the Commission in 1998 and 1999, as well as on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action.

4. A major focus of the subprogramme will be to provide accurate and timely information on and analyses of population trends and policies. During the biennium official United Nations demographic estimates and projections will be prepared for all countries and areas of the world, as well as urban and rural areas and major cities. These estimates and projections will serve as the standard and consistent set of population figures for use throughout the United Nations system.

5. International migration, an area of concern highlighted by the Conference and by the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session, and the demographic and social consequences of the ageing of populations, will be two of the emerging issues of importance that will be addressed. Emphasis will be placed on the measurement of levels and trends of international migration, the analysis of its causes and its relationship to development. Other priority areas for analysis will be national population policies, including fertility, mortality and migration policies, and the relationships among population dynamics and development issues. Studies will be carried out on the social, economic and other factors that affect mortality, fertility, migration and population growth, and on population change and its effects on the social, economic and environmental conditions of people.

6. The activities of the subprogramme will increase the capacity of Member States to formulate national population and related policies for the effective implementation of the Programme of Action. Through the provision of technical cooperation, the subprogramme will assist Governments in improving their institutional capabilities for the collection and analysis of national population information and for the formulation of national policies. As part of the follow-up to the Conference, the subprogramme will include the strengthening and expansion of the Population Information Network (POPIN) to enable it to respond effectively to requests for information and to support coordination among United Nations entities in the field of population.

7. During the biennium the following activities will be undertaken:

(a) Servicing of intergovernmental/expert bodies (RB/XB)

(i) Substantive servicing of meetings. Second Committee of the General Assembly (4 meetings); Economic and Social Council (4 meetings); Commission on Population and Development (22 meetings); and inter-sessional meetings of the Bureau of the Commission (8 meetings);

 

 

(ii) Parliamentary documentation. Seven reports to the Commission on Population and Development: world population monitoring (two); review and appraisal of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development; progress reports on activities in the field of population (two); proposed programme of work in the field of population for 2000-2001; and report on world demographic trends;

 

 

(iii) Ad hoc expert group meeting on population ageing;

 

 

(b) Other substantive activities (RB/XB)

 

 

(i) Twenty-four recurrent publications: levels and trends of international migration; international migration and its relationship with development; World Population Prospects, annex tables; World Population Prospects; The Sex and Age Distribution of the World Populations; World Urbanization Prospects, annex tables; World Urbanization Prospects, report of the Administrative Committee on Coordination Subcommittee on Demographic Estimates and Projections on its twentieth session; Global Population Policy Database, 1999; Population Policy Diskette Documentation; Population, Resources, Environment and Development Database Documentation; Summary of World Population Monitoring (annual); World Population Monitoring (annual); review and appraisal of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development; Population Bulletin of the United Nations (semi-annual); and Population Newsletter (semi-annual);

 

 

(ii) Six non-recurrent publications on mortality; contraceptive use; nuptiality, adolescence and childbearing; the results of the eighth population inquiry among Governments; emerging issues in population policy; and population and development;

 

 

(iii) Technical material. Databases on contraceptive use; fertility levels and trends; mortality; international migration; world population; demographic indicators; sex and age in five-year groups; populations; sex and age in single years; age patterns of fertility; urban and rural areas; urban agglomerations; global review and inventory of population policies; and population, resources, environment and development;

 

 

(iv) Information materials and services. Wall charts on world population, urban and rural areas, urban agglomerations, and contraceptive use; provision of ad hoc information services and data on contraceptive use, fertility, international migration, mortality and national, urban, rural and city estimates and projections and demographic indicators; provision of ad hoc information services and data on population policies and on interrelationships between population and development trends; catalogue of Population Division publications; documentation on POPIN and the POPIN Gopher/World Wide Web site; population reference centre acquisition list (monthly); activities of the POPIN Advisory and Coordination Committee; activities of the POPIN Information Technology Working Group; state of the art report in the area of population and development strategies; evaluation of population and reproductive health programmes; population data analysis and research; and training in population and development;

 

 

(c) International cooperation and inter-agency coordination and liaison (RB/XB)

 

Contributions to interdepartmental activities, including activities of inter-agency task forces, on international migration, mortality, fertility and family planning; activities of the Administrative Committee on Coordination Subcommittee on Demographic Estimates and Projections (twentieth session); inter-agency and interdepartmental activities on the provision of basic social services for all, population policies, the status of women and sustainable development; collaboration with organizations of the United Nations system in the preparation of the reports to the Commission on Population and Development on the activities of the United Nations system in the field of population and on the follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development; activities of the POPIN Advisory and Coordination Committee and collaboration with organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations in the dissemination of population information through the POPIN Gopher/World Wide Web site; and liaison with governmental and non-governmental organizations working in the field of population in relation to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development;

 

 

(d) Technical cooperation (RB/XB)

 

 

(i) Advisory missions to Member States and provision of technical support in the fields of mortality, internal and international migration; population estimates and projections; implementation of population policies and programmes and development issues; and information technologies in the field of population (16 missions);

 

 

(ii) Provision of advice to Member States and regional support teams in the formulation and implementation of population and development strategies; training in population and development; population data analysis and research; and evaluation of population and reproductive health programmes (16 missions to be undertaken by two technical support specialists.

 

Notes

 

1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-first Session, Supplement No. 6 (A/51/6/Rev.1).

 

2 Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5-13 September 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18), chap. I., resolution 1.

Date last updated: 26 January 2001 by esa@un.org
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