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GENERAL ASSEMBLY HIGHLIGHTS:

@HEAD2.5 = DEBATE ON ICPD PREPARATIONS : 4-5 NOVEMBER 1993

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was considered by the 48th session of the UN General Assembly on 4-5 November 1993. The discussions took place in the Second Committee, which had before it a number of documents including the Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 47/167 and ECOSOC resolution 1991/93 (A/48/430) and the annotated outline of the final document of the Conference (A/48/430/Add.1). The annotated outline was the focus of many statements during the Second Committee debate. ICPD Secretary-General Dr. Nafis Sadik encouraged delegates to use their statements to the Second Committee to give an assessment of the annotated outline.

During the discussion, delegates raised a number of key points. These were summarized by Dr. Sadik in her closing statement as follows:

  • The centrality of population issues must be maintained in the Cairo document;
  • Part II (Choices and Responsibilities) and Part III (Means of Implementation) must be more in line with one another;
  • The recommendations should be action-oriented, clear and concise;
  • There should be an emphasis on implementable activities, not just recommendations;
  • The rights of the individual must be central to the document;
  • The chapter on the empowerment of women must be strengthened;
  • The document should give more attention to sexuality and the family planning needs of youth and adolescents;
  • The 20-year goals should not establish demographic targets and quotas, but should relate more to education and access to family planning information;
  • The Secretariat should provide information on the costs of various proposals;
  • Means of implementation should be given a high priority;
  • The chapter on follow-up to the Conference is inadequate;
  • The issues of consumption and lifestyles should be given more attention;
  • The perspective and needs of countries in transition should be reflected in the document;
  • The section on indigenous peoples needs strengthening; and
  • The role of NGOs should be spelled out more carefully.
The ICPD Secretariat will be using these statements, as well as any written comments and reactions to the annotated outline, to assist it in its next major task -- the preparation of the full text of the draft final document. This draft will be completed in January and will be the focus of discussions at the third session of the ICPD Preparatory Committee, to be held from 4-22 April 1994.

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