UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
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| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
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Round Tables Address Critical Issues In the aftermath of the six expert group meetings and five regional conferences, a number of Governments have raised the need for further dialogue on the most critical issues to be discussed at the 1994 Conference. In response to this request, ICPD Secretary-General Dr. Nafis Sadik has organized a number of round table meetings: Women's Perspectives on Reproductive Issues NFPA is organizing a Round Table on Women's Perspectives on Family Planning, Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights in Ottawa, Canada, 26-27 August 1993. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is funding the meeting, and the Canadian Federation of University Women is providing on site administrative support. Reproductive freedom is a basic human right. The right of all individuals and couples to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children was amplified in the Teheran Proclamation on Human Rights (1968), the World Population Plan of Action (1974), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) and the recommendations adopted at the International Conference on Population (1984). As part of the preparations for ICPD, this meeting will expand the dialogue initiated at such forums as the WHO/IWHC meeting on Women's Perspectives on the Selection and Introduction of Fertility Regulation Technologies (1991), the Expert Group Meeting on Population and Women (June 1992) and the Expert Group Meeting on Family Planning, Health and Family Well-being (October 1992). It will bring together experts in contraceptive technology and delivery of health services, women's health advocates, policy makers, those involved in technical cooperation activities, representatives of United Nations agencies and organizations, and the NGO community. Participants will come from developing and developed countries. Improving women's status is essential to the achievement of other development objectives. If women are to realize their full potential in the multiplicity of roles they have in every society, it is essential that they have equality of opportunity. With equal opportunity, women will be able to make choices regarding the critical aspects of their livesÑdecisions regarding marriage, childbearing, employment, and household and environmental managementÑand will be able to participate as full partners in the development process. Investments in women's education and health are a prerequisite for a country's development. Progress in these areas enhances the return from investments in other sectors. Background papers have been prepared on "Women, Human Rights and Reproductive Rights"; "Contraceptive Research, Development and Introduction"; "Family Planning Service Delivery"; and "Men and Family Planning Roles, Responsibilities, Concerns". Population and HIV/AIDS The rise in the numbers of people afflicted with HIV/AIDS presents strong challenges to population and family planning programmes in all parts of the world. At least 13 million persons are now infected and the numbers are growing. To address the devastating impact of the disease on the lives of these people and those around them, UNFPA and the German Foundation for International Development will organize a Round Table on Population Policies, Programmes and HIV/AIDS. The meeting will bring together policy makers and maternal and child health/family planning (MCH/FH) programme managers to take stock of the present situation and plan for the future. The purpose of the meeting is twofold. It will examine the short- and medium-term demographic impact of the AIDS epidemic, and the implications of AIDS on population and development policies and on MCH/FP programmes. The report will concentrate on findings, policy statements and conclusions which will be used as inputs for ICPD. Forty participants will attend the four-day meeting, which will be held in Berlin, 28 September-l October 1993. Participants are technical experts and representatives from developing countries and selected developed countries, non-governmental organizations and United Nations organizations. Reproductive health programmes have two roles to play in the epidemic: the first is to provide services, counseling and support to those infected and to those closest to the infected persons. The second, and larger, task is to prevent the spread of the infection through knowledge and healthy sexual practices which give women and men the ability to protect themselves against possible infection and slow the spread of the disease. The needs for maternal and child health and family planning services are intensified by the epidemic. Providers of reproductive health services are uniquely qualified to respond to community needs through their experience in counseling and in providing sensitive information and services. The report of the meeting will be a principal source of information about population and HIV/AIDS and will be used as an input for the 1994 Conference document. Rethinking Population and Development In recent years important changes have taken place in the conceptualization of development, as well as in the role of policy in development. The collapse of the centrally planned economies, the opening of many national economies to the international market and the application of structural adjustment programmes have thrown traditional development planning into a major crisis. At the same time, new approaches are emerging in policy making and development planning which emphasize the political dimensions of development UNFPA, in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), will, convene a Round Table on Population and Development Strategies in Bangkok, Thailand, from 17-19 November 1993, to discuss new approaches to population and development planning. The round table's findings and recommendations will be important in planning future assistance in this field and will also be used in preparing for the International Conference on Population and Development, 1994. The main objectives of the round table are to examine the extraordinary political and institutional changes which are taking place in policy making and development planning, and to recommend how best to integrate population concerns into emerging development strategies. Discussion papers will focus on a number of topics (1) current trends in policy making and development planning; (2) global overview of trends in population policies; and (3) assessment of operational and institutional aspects of activities in the area of population and development planning. Three regional case studies on region-specific approaches used to integrate population into development planning will also be presented. Participants will include experts from the industrialized and developing countries and officials from both bilateral and multilateral development agencies. Beyond Agenda 21 The Round Table on Population, Environment and Sustainable Development in the Post-UNCED Period will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 24-26 November 1993. It will be organized by the International Academy of the Environment (IAE) in Geneva, in close collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Swiss Government. Agenda 21, the action programme of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), offers a comprehensive diagnosis of the problems facing the world in the fields of environment and sustainable development. It is the most inclusive and ambitious programme of action and cooperation ever to be endorsed by the international community. Some of the policy prescriptions of Agenda 21, however, are couched in terms which may require further clarification. This is true, in particular, of a number of the aims and intentions listed in Chapter 5 on "Demographic Dynamics and Sustainability", which stresses the need for relevant policy research into the relationships among demographic factors, environmental degradation and sustainable development. The round table will examine these complex relationships, focusing on specific areas of the world where population pressures and poverty appear to be important factors contributing to serious environmental degradation. The following areas and issues have been selected for attention ( I ) Deforestation in Central America; (2) Desertification in Africa; (3) Coastal and Marine Degradation in the Bay of Bengal; (4) Forested Upland Areas of Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia; and (5) Problems of Small Island States in the South Pacific A background paper, which will serve as the point of departure for the discussion, will) review the current state of knowledge of the relationships among population, poverty, environment and sustainable development in these five areas Participants will endeavour to determine (I) whether existing knowledge of the relationships among population, poverty, environment and sustainable development in the selected areas is sufficient for policy formulation and subsequent implementation; (2) additional research needs, 13) what other obstacles exist to the formulation and implementation of policies in the countries concerned; and 14) which problems, if any, should receive priority in terms of policy implementation. Thirty policy makers and experts on population and environment issues from both developed and developing countries will participate in the round table. Their conclusions will be made available to ICPD and its preparatory process