UNITED NATIONS POPULATION INFORMATION NETWORK (POPIN) UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)

From the NGO Desk

From the NGO Desk

 Economic and Social Council Resolution 1993/4 provided non-governmental 

organizations (NGOS with an unprecedented opportunity to participate in the 

preparatory process of the International Conference on Population and 

Development (ICPD), to be held in Cairo in 1994.



On the occasion of the second session of the Preparatory Committee - PrepCom 

11 - 332 non-governmental organizations were officially accredited to the 

ICPD process. Of that number, 142 attended PrepCom 11, in addition to the 69 

NGOs that already had consultative status with ECOSOC. This brought the 

total number of NGOs to 211 non-governmental organizations represented by 

approximately 400 NGO participants. Their contribution to PrepCom 11 was 

highly appreciated by both delegations and the ICPD Secretariat.



Forty-one NGOs addressed the plenary session and presented their views. One 

of the many important achievements for NGOs was the inclusion of Chapter XIV 

- "Partnership with the Non-Governmental Sector" - in the Conceptual 

Framework



In her opening statement, ICPD Secretary-General and Executive Director of 

UNFPA, Dr. Nafis Sadik, reiterated the importance of NGO participation in 

population and development activities and welcomed active NGO involvement in 

the ICPD and its PrepComs.



Several government representatives, such as those from Brazil, Canada, 

Egypt, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Sweden, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, confirmed 

the importance their governments placed on the work of NGOs. "We are in this 

together. NGOs were the stars of UNCED'! were the words used by the 

Counselor at the United States Department of State, the Honourable Timothy 

Wirth, when he delivered his government's message to PrepCom 11 

participants.



Dr. Fred Sai, PrepCom Chairman and President of the International Planned 

Parenthood Federation (IPPF), spoke of the important role played by NGOs on 

the national level "What happens at home is more important than what is 

taking place here", he said. Such was his message of encouragement to the 

African Regional NGO group.



The OAU Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Ibrahima Sy, in his address to the African NGO 

group, highlighted the importance of national population programmes in 

Africa and added that OAU was currently working on a Non Governmental 

Liaison Service (NGLS) for its social programmes.



In addition to the scheduled meetings, NGOs participated in daily caucuses 

on women's issues, organized by the Women s Environment and Development 

Organization (WEDO). Participants were briefed on the activities of the 

PrepCom and on United Nations procedures.



The NGO Steering Committee organized a series of seminars dealing with 

issues such as ethics, AIDS, migration and reproductive health. The 

International Women's Health Coalition, U.N.-NGLS, IPPF and other groups 

also held regular meetings for their affiliates. The indigenous groups met 

on several occasions as well, to put forth their specific population and 

development concerns.



Three regional meetings were organized on a daily basis by the ICPD 

Secretariat for NGOs from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Latin 

America and the Caribbean regions These meetings provided fora for NGOs to 

discuss important regional issues and to prepare speeches for the PrepCom. 

They also provided an opportunity for NGOs to meet representatives of their 

own governments, those from other countries, as well as U.N officials.



The regional meetings led to the creation of an organization called "The 

Southern NGO Forum" which is expected to meet in February 1994 to discuss 

common matters affecting developing countries from the South. The purpose of 

the Forum is to create networks and reach common positions on population and 

development questions.