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"
March 1994
Number 13
Newsletter of the International Conference on Population and
Development
Cairo, Egypt, 5-13 September 1994
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE'S FINAL SESSION
SET TO NEGOTIATE PROGRAMME OF ACTION
Groundwork for the third and final session of the ICPD Preparatory
Committee (PrepCom III) is nearly complete, as Governments and non-
governmental organizations continue to study and engage in informal
exchanges of views on the draft Programme of Action of the
Conference in preparation for PrepCom negotiations.
The agenda for PrepCom III (4-22 April) is in place, and at
press time a series of three informal, intergovernmental
consultations on the draft Programme had begun.
In the first of these, at UN Headquarters on 22 February, ICPD
Secretary-General Dr. Nafis Sadik provided an overview of the
document; about 20 delegations then commented generally on various
aspects of the draft. The second informal consultation on 10 March
provided information and details on the goals and resource
requirements proposed in the draft Programme.
The 24 March consultation was to focus on principles and on
follow-up to the Conference, including follow-up by the
organizations and bodies of the United Nations system.
WORKING GROUPS TO BE FORMED
Negotiation of the Programme of Action of the Conference will be
the principal focus of PrepCom III. After two or three days of
plenary sessions, it is expected that two Working Groups will be
formed to address specific sections of the document. They will seek
to reach consensus on the wording of each and every part of the
proposed Programme, leaving as little as possible to require
further negotiation at the Conference.
After initial organizational matters, the PrepCom will
consider the ICPD Secretary-General's list of NGOs proposed for
accreditation to the Conference. As Dr. Sadik reported at the first
informal consultation, the Secretariat has received some 300
applications for accreditation from NGOs, in addition to the over
400 that were represented at PrepCom II. A wide variety of NGO
activities will run concurrently with the three-week session (see
page 7).
Next will be a review of Conference preparations. The
Secretary-General has prepared two progress reports. One covers
organizational matters, five ad hoc round tables on ICPD-related
topics, subregional consultations, interagency coordination,
participation of intergovernmental organizations and NGOs,
information activities, financial requirements, funding status,
national preparatory work, and other activities. The second
contains the recommendations of the five regional and five
subregional population conferences held in the past 18 months.
The PrepCom will then receive a report summarizing 20 years of
population programmes and activities by Governments, NGOs and the
international community. This first draft of the "Fourth Review and
Appraisal of the World Population Plan of Action", mandated by the
1974 World Population Conference, will not be negotiated, but
Governments' comments and reactions to it at PrepCom will be taken
into account in revising the report for presentation at the
Conference in September.
The ICPD Secretariat has analysed the first 109 national
reports that have been submitted describing countries' population
situations and related policies and programmes. This analysis forms
the basis of another report to the PrepCom.
In addition, the Preparatory Committee at this session will
determine the provisional agenda of the Conference, and adopt a
report on its activities.
The final Programme of Action will be the most important
outcome of ICPD. The three informal consultations on the draft
Programme were intended to facilitate preparations and otherwise
help set the stage for the crucial negotiations of the draft final
document at PrepCom III. (The draft was released in unofficial form
in February, and officially in all UN languages in March.)
As Dr. Sadik reported at the 22 February informal
consultation, numerous submissions from delegations, NGOs and other
concerned parties were taken into account in preparing the draft
Programme, as were the recommendations of the five regional and
five subregional conferences, the six expert group meetings, the
five round tables and several NGO meetings.
In her overview of the draft document, she discussed its 20-
year objectives, and referred to the progress made over the past 20
years in regard to infant and child mortality, life expectancy,
school enrolment, contraceptive use and poverty alleviation. She
also noted, however, that infant and child mortality rates remained
far too high in many countries, and that maternal mortality rates
in many of them have not come down at all. Neither primary
education, particularly for girls, nor access to family planning
and reproductive health services are yet close to being universal.
The largest number of comments on the draft received by the
Secretariat, particularly from women's groups, she said, were in
regard to gender equity, the empowerment of women, and the changing
roles of women and men.
Goals in regard to stabilizing population growth and fostering
sustainable development can be achieved, Dr. Sadik stated, "only if
we cater to individual needs and rights". There had been a lot of
input into formulation of the draft's broad definition of
reproductive health, she added. The goal of universal access to
family planning and related health services is defined in terms of
meeting unmet needs, she observed.
RESOURCE ESTIMATES
Dr. Sadik also cited the estimates of national resource
requirements given in the draft for four packages of population and
family planning activities in the developing countries and
countries in economic transition. The total annual costs for the
four packages (comprising: family planning; reproductive health
care; prevention of sexually transmitted diseases; and data
collection, analysis and dissemination) are projected to be (in
1993 U.S. dollars) $13.2 billion in 2000, $14.4 billion in 2005,
$16.1 billion in 2010, and $17.0 billion in 2015.
The envisioned international financial assistance portion of
these activities, she noted, is projected to be $4.4 billion in
2000, $4.8 billion in 2005, $5.3 billion in 2010, and $5.7 billion
in 2015. The document's section on international cooperation
stresses partnership with NGOs and private sector.
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For printed or electronic copies of the "ICPD 94" newsletter, in
English, French or Spanish, or further information, please contact:
ICPD Secretariat 220 E. 42nd Street, 22nd floor
New York, N.Y. 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 297-5244/5245
Media contact: (212) 297-5023/5030 or 5279
Fax: (212) 297-5250
E-mail: ryanw@unfpa.org or icpd@igc.apc.org
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