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"
International Conference on Population and Development
Cairo, Egypt 5-13 September 1994
ICPD Secretariat, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA
Tel: (212) 297-5244 or 5245; fax: (212) 297-5250
Press inquiries: (212) 297-5023, 297-5030 or 297-5279
E-mail: ryanw@unfpa.org
PRESS RELEASE
30 November 1994
GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE FOCUSES ON RESOURCES, MONITORING
MECHANISMS NEEDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ICPD PROGRAMME OF ACTION
Speakers Hail Conference's Emphasis on Empowering Women and Its
Holistic Approach to Reproductive Health and Family Planning
Implementing the Programme of Action adopted at the International
Conference on Population and Development requires a major
mobilization of resources and effective mechanisms for monitoring
follow-up actions, speakers stressed in a 17-18 November UN
General Assembly debate.
The Assembly's three plenary meetings devoted to the report
of the Conference (A/CONF.171/13) are the focus of the November
issue of "ICPD 94", the monthly Conference newsletter. Speakers
from 46 countries, some representing groups of States, addressed
the meetings.
Following directly from this debate, the General Assembly's
Second Committee (dealing with development matters) has begun
negotiating a draft resolution, sponsored by Algeria for the
Group of 77 and China, and Indonesia for the Non-Aligned
Movement, on follow-up to ICPD.
Also covered in this issue of "ICPD 94" are:
+ A 4 November statement by Dr. Nafis Sadik, Secretary-General
of ICPD and Executive Director of the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA), outlining national and international ICPD follow-up
efforts.
+ The "Synthesis of National Reports on Population and
Development" recently issued by the United Nations in all six
official languages. This analysis of the 167 national surveys
prepared for ICPD offers valuable information on global
experiences, issues and trends.
+ The ICPD Secretariat's analysis of non-governmental
organization (NGO) involvement in the Conference. A total of
1,254 NGOs based in 138 countries were accredited to ICPD. Their
representatives were active participants in Cairo and throughout
the ICPD process.
* * *
The focus of the General Assembly debate was the report of the
ICPD, released by the United Nations this month in Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The ICPD
Secretariat has distributed thousands of copies of the report,
which includes the Programme of Action, to UN field and public
information offices and non-governmental organizations.
Statements made at the opening and closing sessions of ICPD are
published in an addendum to the report (A/CONF.171/13/Add.1).
ICPD requested that the General Assembly review the roles of
intergovernmental bodies and UN system organs concerned with
population and development to ensure effective implementation of
the Programme of Action and system-wide coordination of related
efforts.
Many who spoke in the two-day plenary hailed ICPD's emphasis
on the empowerment of women and on a comprehensive approach to
reproductive health including family planning. Most focused on
follow-up to ICPD, particularly resource allocation and
institutional mechanisms for supporting and monitoring
implementation of the Programme of Action.
Speaking for the Group of 77 and China, Algeria called for a
concerted international mobilization to meet ICPD goals in regard
to maternal, infant and child mortality, and access to education.
New and additional resources from donor countries will be needed
to implement the Programme of Action in developing countries, the
speaker stressed.
Germany, on behalf of the European Union, said the UN
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) should be the principal
mechanism for monitoring ICPD follow-up. Along with others,
Germany called for strengthened cooperation between UNFPA and the
UN Population Division.
Several speakers said that ECOSOC's Population Commission
should be changed from an expert body to an intergovernmental
mechanism and its mandate broadened to encompass monitoring of
implementation of the Programme of Action; some suggested that
its membership should be substantially increased to ensure
transparency.
Other speakers addressed various topics, including the need
to integrate population and development efforts, and the
importance of South-South cooperation. Some reviewed their
countries' experience with population policies and programmes, or
spoke about national plans for implementing the Programme of
Action. Six countries called for a global conference on
international migration.
* * *
"ICPD 94" will be published through December 1994. It is
available in English, French and Spanish from the ICPD
Secretariat, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017, USA; tel:
(212) 297-5244 or 5245; fax: (212) 297-5250. The newsletter is
also in electronic form on several computer networks (for
information, send e-mail to: ryanw@unfpa.org).
PRESS INQUIRIES: (212) 297-5279, 297-5023 or 297-5030.
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