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"
April 1994
Number 14
Newsletter of the International Conference on Population and
Development
Cairo, Egypt, 5-13 September 1994
THIRD PREPCOM CONSOLIDATES BROADER APPROACH TO POPULATION,
DEVELOPMENT
Nearly all countries now agree that the provision of family
planning should be part of a broader approach that aims to meet
overall reproductive health care needs, particularly of women.
Recognition of this concept was a principal outcome of PrepCom III,
the third and final session of the Preparatory Committee for the
International Conference on Population and Development, which
closed in New York on 22 April.
Among the other major achievements of the momentous three-week
session was a strengthened recognition that population concerns
must be an indispensable part of national and international efforts
to achieve equitable, sustainable development.
Delegations from over 160 countries took part in PrepCom III,
which was also attended by an estimated 1,200 representatives from
over 500 non-governmental organizations, and was the focus of
unprecedented media attention. The central activity was the
negotiation of a detailed draft Programme of Action which is to be
finalized and adopted in Cairo in September; delegates approved
about 85 per cent of the final wording.
The participating Governments agreed on the urgency of
empowering women and eliminating all forms of gender bias; on the
need to integrate population concerns into all development policies
and programmes; and on the importance of basing population
programmes on meeting people's needs rather than demographic
targets.
Non-governmental organizations were involved in the PrepCom to
an unprecedented degree. The draft Programme calls for a
partnership of Governments and NGOs in population and development
efforts. NGO representatives closely followed the negotiations and
used numerous mechanisms to continue to make their views known (in
many cases, NGOs were represented on national delegations); a
women's caucus was particularly active. The PrepCom approved a list
of 937 NGOs for accreditation to ICPD.
The presence of so many experts and activists in the fields of
population, reproductive health, women's rights and the environment
also created opportunities for a rich variety of panel discussions,
workshops and informal exchanges of information relevant to the
many topics being negotiated.
Press interest in the PrepCom was also unusually high.
Following her opening day press conference, Dr. Sadik had a number
of interviews with television, radio and print journalists, as did
Preparatory Committee Chairman Dr. Fred Sai, ICPD Executive
Coordinator Jyoti Shankar Singh and other individuals prominent in
the ICPD process.
Despite considerable agreement with the draft Programme of
Action prepared by the Conference Secretariat, consensus was not
reached on a few key issues. The proposal to address unsafe
abortion as a major public health concern proved particularly
controversial; the Holy See and several countries opposed wording
they said might imply endorsement of legalized abortion. Many other
delegations supported the approach proposed in the draft document.
In the absence of unanimous agreement, references to "reproductive
health", "fertility regulation", "family planning" and even "safe
motherhood" were put in square brackets, meaning there will be
further negotiation on these terms in Cairo.
More discussion will also be required on proposals to offer
reproductive health information, counselling and services to
adolescents; on a set of 20-year proposed goals in health,
education and availability of family planning information and
services; and on estimates of the resources needed to provide
comprehensive reproductive health services world-wide.
The PrepCom opened in New York on 4 April with statements by
the Conference Secretary-General, Dr. Nafis Sadik, and a wide range
of government delegations, intergovernmental agencies and non-
governmental organizations on their expectations for ICPD and its
follow-up. Over 100 speakers addressed the two-and-a-half day
opening plenary.
In her remarks introducing the draft, Dr. Sadik highlighted
several major themes which flow throughout the document: the
critical importance of integrating population concerns into all
aspects of development; the centrality of the individual, and
recognition of individual rights, needs and responsibilities;
concern for the quality of life of all persons throughout their
entire life cycle; informed choice, particularly in regard to
reproductive health and family planning; and the interdependence of
actions at the local, national and international levels.
In view of the limited time available, Dr. Sadik urged
delegations to focus on strengthening the draft's specific
proposals for action. "The clarity, realism and achievability of
these actions are central to the lasting utility of the final
document, and to the success of the Conference and its follow-up."
The draft document included detailed cost estimates for
proposed population and reproductive health activities, Dr. Sadik
noted. "Each of these is backed by very specific data." Cost
estimates for other social and economic activities were felt to be
unnecessary because they had already been addressed by Agenda 21
and by other international conferences and agencies. She went on to
review the draft's various chapters.
In addition to Dr. Sadik, introductory statements were made by
Preparatory Committee Chairman Dr. Fred Sai and Jean-Claude
Milleron, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social
Information and Policy Analysis.
In speeches over the next two and a half days, scores of
national delegations, NGOs and international agencies outlined
their views on the draft Programme of Action and the main issues to
be addressed in Cairo. Some delegations spoke on behalf of groups
of countries. Algeria, speaking for the Group of 77 and China, for
example, called for more emphasis on the alleviation of poverty --
a theme repeated by a number of other developing countries. Greece,
speaking for the European Union, called for universal access to
good quality reproductive health services, including family
planning, and said that population policies should be neither
coercive nor discriminatory.
The Committee then quickly got down to the business of
considering the draft Programme of Action. The ICPD Secretariat
prepared the draft Programme -- including 20-year goals, proposed
actions, and estimates of resource requirements -- based on input
from Governments and others at PrepCom II, regional and subregional
conferences, the forty-eighth UN General Assembly, meetings of
experts, and numerous written submissions.
Most of the negotiation took place in two Working Groups --
chaired, respectively, by Ambassadors Nicholaas H. Biegman of the
Netherlands and Lionel Alexander Hurst of Antigua and Barbuda. In
a "first reading" of the draft Programme, delegations proposed
hundreds of amendments in substance or wording of the draft
Programme's 14 action-oriented chapters.
The Conference Secretariat then synthesized these proposals in
revised drafts of each chapter for further negotiations. These took
place mostly in informal but open Working Group sessions; a few
closed meetings were held to draft compromise language on various
points in the document.
Finally, the chair of each Working Group presented amended
versions of each chapter to a two-day plenary which attempted to
reach consensus on the wording that remained in brackets.
Chapters 1 and 2 (Preamble and Principles) were considered in
a Committee of the Whole. In response to various proposed
amendments, revised drafts of these chapters were prepared by the
Chairman. Because of time constraints, discussion and approval of
the final wording of each were deferred to Cairo; informal
consultations will continue in the meantime.
In a 25 April news conference summing up the achievements of
PrepCom III, Dr. Sadik stressed, "We have been talking about giving
girls a good education, and women better health and real choices."
She observed that the input of delegations and NGOs had
significantly strengthened Chapter 4 on the empowerment of women.
Emphasizing that the overwhelming majority of delegates had
accepted a holistic approach to reproductive health care that
includes family planning, Dr. Sadik said those suggesting that the
World Health Organization's definitions of reproductive health and
fertility regulation might include "abortion on demand" were
mistaken.
"Neither the United Nations nor the Programme of Action
proposes legalizing abortion," she stated. "Rather, the Programme
of Action brings to the world's attention the health consequences
of unsafe abortion," which causes an estimated 250,000 maternal
deaths each year. She said it was likely that compromise language
would be developed on abortion prior to ICPD, making it clear that
addressing the issue in the reproductive health context must be
undertaken within national laws and legislative processes.
"The delegates at Cairo will have a comprehensive and
precedent-setting document before them. Women's reproductive health
and adolescent pregnancy are on the table and will have to be dealt
with," Dr. Sadik declared. "Facing these issues and setting a
course of action will include coming to grips with realities long
denied." She voiced optimism that the Cairo Conference would adopt
the draft Programme of Action with few modifications, and that the
final document "will serve as a liberating force for women
throughout the world and as one of the cornerstones of the social
and economic planning for the 21st century."
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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
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