What the Consensus Means for Policies and Programs
Consensus on the ICPD Programme of Action provides the foundation for practical progress toward a number of interrelated sustainable development objectives, which are set out in each chapter of the Programme of Action. Implementation of the Programme, however, requires that:
- population agencies move beyond family planning as their main (if not their only) program mechanism and collaborate much more closely with health and development agencies;
- development sectors integrate population-related and human rights concerns into their policies and programs; and
- communities and their governments come to terms with imbalances in power and opportunities between men and women, and controversial and even taboo issues, such as sexuality and unwanted pregnancies.
To address such concerns and to achieve the overall objectives of the Programme of Action, governments will need to foster participatory processes that give leadership and responsibility to communities and NGOs. All concerned must ensure that women and the women's movement have opportunities and resources to assert their knowledge and leadership on behalf of themselves, their families, and their communities.
The people outside these walls would never have a voice at a conference like this if it weren't for women's groups and other NGOs.BRIGID INDER
Pacific Island Association of NGOs
"The Legacy of the Women's Caucus"
ICPD Watch, 9/7/95
You see village women at this conference who were at those meetings holding their heads high, because they know they've had an impact on their future.DR. ADEPEJU OLUKOYA, COORDINATOR
Women's Health Organization of Nigeria
"Lost in Translation: How to 'Empower Women' in Chinese"
Wall Street Journal, 9/13/94
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