UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
|
| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
|
"ICPD 94"
January 1994
Number 11
Newsletter of the International Conference on Population and
Development, Cairo, Egypt, 5-13 September 1994
NEWS IN BRIEF
Under the sponsorship of UNESCO, UNICEF and UNFPA, ministers of
nine of the world's most populous developing countries (Bangladesh,
Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and
Pakistan) held an education summit in New Delhi from 12-16
December. They reviewed progress towards the aims of Education for
All (EFA) set at the 1990 Global Conference on Education, and
examined future requirements. Population issues and girls'
education were high on the agenda.
The Presidents of India and Indonesia and the Deputy Premier
of China addressed the summit, as did James P. Grant, Executive
Director of UNICEF, Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO, and
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA. India's Prime
Minister committed an increased share of his country's budget to
education. A Delhi Declaration and Framework for Action were
unanimously endorsed.
Dr. Sadik, who is also Secretary-General of ICPD, made a
closing statement on behalf of the three co-sponsoring agencies.
She summarized the basic philosophy of the summit as "the three
e's: education, empowerment and equity", and expressed the hope
that the Cairo Conference would endorse the EFA goals.
***
By 22 December, the ICPD Secretariat had received 82 national
reports from countries participating in the Conference, and a
substantial number more are expected in the coming weeks. Many
developing countries have received funding from ICPD extrabudgetary
resources to assist in preparing their reports.
By region, 9 of the reports received were from Asia
(Indonesia, Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines,
Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka), 15 from Central and Latin America
(Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru,
Uruguay and Venezuela), 5 from the Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda,
Dominican Republic, Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago),
6 from Europe (Belgium, France, Germany Netherlands, Norway and the
United Kingdom), 12 from Oceania (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Western
Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu), 6 from North
Africa and the Middle East (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco,
Yemen), and 29 from Sub-Saharan Africa (Angola, Botswana, Burundi,
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo,
Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea,
Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda
and Zimbabwe).
The ICPD Secretariat is preparing a synthesis of national
reports for PrepCom III. This will be further developed for the
Conference itself. National reports will not be issued as UN
documents and translated; countries are being encouraged to produce
sufficient copies for national and international distribution.
***
Starting on 1 November, Ms. Linda Libront has joined the ICPD
Secretariat as Chief of the NGO Unit. Ms. Enku Kebede completed her
assignment as NGO Liaison Adviser on 31 December.
***
A Caribbean Meeting of Experts for a Plan of Action on Population
and Development in Preparation for ICPD 1994 was held in Port of
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from 2-3 December. Sponsors were UNFPA
and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition to commenting on a draft of the Latin America and
the Caribbean Plan of Action which the countries of the region are
developing as their collective contribution to the 1994 Conference,
the meeting prepared a draft Port of Spain Declaration on
Population and Sustainable Development. This will be finalized and
adopted as a subregional statement at a meeting of the Caribbean
countries and territories in March 1994.