PROGRAMME OF ACTION CHAPTER SUMMARIES

PROGRAMME OF ACTION CHAPTER SUMMARIES

The impact of this Conference will be measured by the strength of the specific commitments made here and the consequent actions to fulfill then, as part of a new global partnership among all the world's countries and peoples, based on a sense of our shared but differentiated responsibility for each other and for our planetary home.

The ICPD Programme of Action comprises 16 chapters and stretches to 118 pages. Here, the main points of each chapter are summarized in turn.

CHAPTER 1
Preamble
The Preamble places the International Conference on Population and Development in its historic context existing international policies on population and development issues; the series of other world conferences addressing linked issues; the state of the world that the ICPD addresses; and the immediate, midterm, and long-term challenges ahead. It stresses the linkages among the goals in the Programme of Action and the need for concerted effort to achieve them. It warns that, while the cost estimates for action may seem large at first glance, they pale in contrast to present-day, overall development spending or military expenditures.
CHAPTER II
Principles
Chapter II sets out fifteen principles which guide the Programme of Action and its implementation. It states that everyone is entitled to fundamental rights which must be respected by population and development policies and programs, while fully respecting the various religious and ethical values and cultural back grounds of a country's people. The Principles include the following:

Everyone is entitled to the rights and freedoms contained in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and everyone has the right to development and a right to the means to realize their potential, including a decent standard of living;

Women's rights are human rights and women have the right to fully and equally participate in society;

Sustainable development is essential to the well-being of individuals; unsustainable patterns of consumption and production patterns should be changed, and poverty eradicated;

Everyone has the right to a good standard of health and education;

Children's rights should be protected as well as the family in its many forms in order to support individuals and strengthen society; and

All countries have common, but differentiated responsibilities on the path toward sustainable development and sustainable economic growth.

The implementation of the recommendations contained in the Programme of Action is the sovereign right of each country, consistent with national laws and values and the cultural backgrounds of its people, and in conformity with universally recognized international human rights.

CHAPTER III
Interrelationships Between Population,
Sustained Economic Growth
and Sustainable Development
Chapter III outlines the linkages between the activities and needs of growing numbers of people, and the finite capacity of natural resources and the environment to support such activities. It asserts that changes in consumption and production patterns will allow better, more equitable use of resources, while stabilizing population growth will free resources to eradicate poverty. In this context, population programs, rather than standing alone, must be integral to development strategies that address the widening poverty gap between and within countries and the growing number of people living in poverty. To this end, a supportive economic environment must be created through measures such as debt relief, fairer terms of trade, new and additional financial resources for human development, and more people-centered structural adjustment policies. Because women are the poorest of the poor in developed and developing countries, the chapter asserts that these policies must consider their needs. Women's empowerment is key to improving the duality of life for all.
CHAPTER IV
Gender Equality, Equity and Empowerment of Women
Chapter IV, addressing the imbalanced relations between women and men, elaborates on the need to empower women, protect the girl child, and achieve gender equity in all spheres of life. Gender equality and equity are recognized as ends in themselves, and also as essential elements of sustainable development. As such, women's decision-making roles must be enhanced; women should receive the education necessary to meet their basic needs and exercise their basic rights; their economic self-reliance should be promoted; and their right to own property and their right to inheritance should be confirmed and extended. They should be protected from all forms of discrimination, violence, abuse, harassment, and exploitation. The girl child should be protected from discrimination, including sex-selection before birth, higher mortality after birth, lack of education, and poor nutrition. The value of the girl child to society must be increased and the legal age of marriage raised.
Recognizing that men must also be involved, this chapter devotes an entire section to asserting that men should assume more responsibility, not only for family planning, but for their own sexual and reproductive behavior, family income, children's education, and the well being of their partners and children. This section further states that violence against women must be eliminated.
CHAPTER V
The Family, Its Roles, Rights, Composition, and Structure
Chapter V recognizes that the family, in all its forms, is the basic unit of society and that population and development policies should promote the family in all its diversity. It pays particular attention to single-parent families and to families in which parents or caregivers are working. It argues that social policy must be geared to support vulnerable families, including the poor, those with elderly and disabled members, refugees and displaced persons, and those whose members suffer from AIDS and other terminal diseases, domestic violence and child abuse.
CHAPTER VI
Population Growth and Structure
Chapter VI states that countries where demographic growth outstrips economic growth face special challenges in ensuring quality of life based on human rights and sustainable development. In particular, development policies must ensure that young people are well cared for and their rights protected. These policies should provide opportunities for education and employment for their own merit, not only as a means to encourage later marriage and lower fertility. The chapter recognizes other groups with special needs. As the number of elderly people increases, policies should guarantee their self-reliance and health and social care and support, whether from family or society. The special situations of the world's indigenous peoples is also highlighted, and the Programme of Action requires that development and population programs be socially, culturally, and ecologically appropriate. Finally, the basic rights of disabled persons are recognized with stress on equal opportunity to ensure dignity and self-reliance.
CHAPTER VII
Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health
Chapter Vll states that all couples and individuals have the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. This means that all couples and individuals have the reproductive right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and that all decisions concerning reproduction should be made free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Reproductive health care includes counselling, information, education, communication, and services for family planning; all stages of pregnancy and delivery; prevention and treatment of infertility; abortion (as specified in paragraph 8.25) and management of the consequences of unsafe abortion; prevention and treatment of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); human sexuality; and parenting.
This chapter recognizes that improvements should be made in the quality of care offered by family planning programs, including information on the widest range of safe and effective methods for regulation of fertility which are not against the law; information on side effects; safe, affordable, and accessible services; and follow-up care and access to other reproductive health services either on site or through referrals. The impact of STDs and HIV/AIDS on health, in particular women's health, is recognized as an important concern to be addressed through diagnosis and treatment in reproductive health services. Adolescent sexual and reproductive health needs are a key concern addressed in a separate section of the chapter, which states that adolescents should be able to receive confidential information, counseling, and services, while respecting the rights, duties, and responsibilities of parents.
CHAPTER VIII
Health, Morbidity and Mortality
By recommitting itself to the provision of basic health care to all, the international community should increase the health and life span of individuals and improve the quality of life of all people. Women, as the primary custodians of family health, should be better empowered to protect their own health. The disparities in child health and survival between and within countries should be reduced, including the excessive and preventable mortality of girl children. Reproductive health and child health services should be better integrated and should include safe motherhood programs. There should be a rapid, substantial reduction in maternal mortality and morbidity, with greater emphasis placed on maternal health within the primary health care system. Unsafe abortion is a major public health issue and a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity which needs to be addressed. The spread and impact of HIV/AIDS also should be reduced and HlV/AlDS-related information, counseling, and services integrated into reproductive health care. In particular, women should be educated on how to protect themselves. Quality of medical care for those with HIV/ AIDS should be improved and better support systems for patient's families developed.
CHAPTER IX
Population Distribution, urbanization and Internal Migration
While respecting human rights, including the right to development, countries need to establish balanced and sustainable population distribution. This means regional development strategies that consider population flows and the sustainable development of urban and rural areas, with particular attention to environmentally fragile areas. Urban planning should be more participatory and better integrate migrants, improving migrant income-earning capabilities, particularly for women and women-headed households. Attention should be paid to the financing of basic infrastructure and services, especially to improve the situation of the poor. Strategies to deal with internal migration and displacement should deal with the root causes of displacement. Disaster preparedness and other strategies should consider the situations of women, and policies to return and resettle the displaced should protect human rights.
CHAPTER X
International Migration
Whether dealing, with documented or undocumented migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, or displaced persons, the root causes of their migration or displacement should be the focus of policies and programs. The rights of all individuals who migrate or are displaced, women and children in particular, should be protected, including from their sponsors. Migrants should be integrated socially and economically, their civil and political rights protected, and their cultural and other values respected. There should be an end to trafficking in migrants, and the system of asylum should be protected. All migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons should receive basic education and health services. Environmental threats and degradation must be accepted as causes of migration. Governments also should recognize the vital importance of family renunciation for migrants and displaced persons.
CHATER XI
Population, Development and Education
Re commitment by the international community to universal access to education, nonformal education, literacy classes, and improved curricula can promote awareness of the relationships among population, sustainable development, health, and gender equity. Keeping adolescents and girl children in school should be a priority. Pregnant adolescents should be able to continue their education. Education policies should give attention to the future skill needs of the labor force, gender sensitivity, reproductive choices and responsibilities, and awareness of STDs and HIV/AIDS.
Increased public awareness of the linkages between population and development should help create a climate for personal responsibility and change, enhance the ability of couples and individuals to exercise their rights, and create the political will necessary to act on these issues.
CHAPTER XII
Technology, Research and Development
National capacity for demographic data collection, analysis, and dissemination should be increased, and data should be classified by age, sex, ethnicity, and geographical groupings. Research should take into account the needs of the community, adhere to legal and ethical standards, and consult and involve local communities and their institutions. This chapter points out the specific need for research on the social and labor force status of women. It states that priority should be attached to reproductive health research, specifically the factors that affect: reproductive and sexual health, to extending reproductive choice, and to ensuring the quality, safety and health aspects of methods of regulation of fertility. Attention also should be paid to the development of male and female barrier methods, microbicides and virucides, regulation of men's fertility, sex and gender roles, discrimination and violence, female genital mutilation, and sexual behavior and mores.
CHAPTER XIII
National Action
Chapter XIII discusses how each country should incorporate population concerns into national development and planning strategies and involve more people, from all sectors of society, in shaping development decisions. Each country will need to ensure that there is a sufficient reservoir of trained management and personnel, both men and women. Financial and human resources for the implementation of the Programme of Action are to be found mostly at the national level. Resources should be mobilized not only for population programs as defined in the Programme of Action but also for socio-economic development that will improve the quality of life for all and foster respect for individual human rights. It is estimated that the cost of implementing programs in the area of reproductive health -- including family planning, maternal and child health, and prevention of transmission of STDs -- will be US $17 billion in the year 2000 for the developing world and countries with economies in transition. Two thirds of these costs should be met by national sources, with the greater share of concessional additional financial resources going to the least developed countries. Additional resources will be needed to strengthen primary health care systems, HIV/AIDS programs, child survival programs, emergency obstetrical care, education and empowerment of women and girls, environmental improvement, employment opportunities, and the wider range of development needs.
CHAPTER XIV
International Cooperation
Chapter XIV states that the international community's first responsibility is to create an enabling economic environment for the implementation of the Programme of Action that will allow for the development of people-centered national population and development strategies. The transfer of appropriate technology and the development of know-how at the national level are priorities. There should be better coordination of national priorities with donors, and shared responsibilities should be clarified at the national level. The chapter estimates that, in addition to meeting the target of 0.7% of GNP for overseas development assistance (ODA), comple mentary resources of approximately US $5.7 billion will be needed in the year 2000 to implement and support national level commitments in the Programme of Action. Financing should be better coordinated and targeted. Funds should be directed to the least developed countries, should complement national strategies, and support underserved social sectors. Countries with economies in transition will need short term assistance. South-South cooperation could be stimulated.
CHAPTER XV
Partnership with the Non-Government Sector
Chapter XV calls for greater cooperation among all levels of government and the full range of NGOs in the discussion, design, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of programs relating to population, development, and environment. In particular, the role of women's organizations must be recognized and strengthened. NGOs also should have access to the information and documentation needed to increase transparency of decision-making and accountability. NGOs should participate in delegations to relevant forums and meetings. Partnership between government and the private sector also should be strengthened, particularly regarding production and distribution of high quality reproductive health care and family planning commodities and contraceptives, making them accessible and afford able to low-income sectors of the population.
CHAPTER XVI
Follow-up to the Conference
This chapter calls for the creation of national follow-up mechanisms, which I would include the participation of NGOs and community groups, media, academia, and parliamentarians. National capacity to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Programme of Action should be strengthened. National databases should be established to help achieve the goals articulated in the Programme of Action. National reports should be provided on a regular basis and, where compatible, should be prepared in the context of the national reporting on implementation of Agenda 21 (the recommendations of the Earth Summit). At the subregional and regional level, the UN can play an important role in coordinating activities regarded as an integral part of the follow-up of other global conferences on development including, for example, the World Summit for Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women. At the international level, the UN General Assembly should agree on a regular review of ICPD implementation and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) should play a role in systemic coordination of reporting on implementation. ECOSOC also should consider the roles of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Population Division, and all agencies of the UN should review strategies for implementing the Programme of Action.

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