Daily report for 14 April 1994

WORKING GROUP I

XII. TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

A. Basic Data Collection and Analysis: In 12.6bis(a), Zambiaaffirmed the importance of training programmes. In 12.6bis(b)(international migration data), Brazil emphasized inclusion ofdeveloping countries. Turkey wanted inclusion of demographics inreference to such data.

B. Reproductive Health Research: In 12.9 (new technologies),the Holy See objected to the recommendation of barrier methods andproposed "appropriate methods" instead. The Philippines, supportedby Cuba and Canada, suggested inclusion of microbicides andviricides in relation to barrier methods. Mali said that emphasisshould be placed on sexually transmitted diseases and added theterm "/AIDS" after "HIV." He also requested that the reference topregnancy in the last line be deleted. In 12.10 (special research),India suggested that special research should be undertaken onfactors inhibiting male participation in family planning. ThePhilippines, supported by Canada, Nepal and the Pacific IslandCountries, requested inclusion of appropriate technologies. In12.11 (public and private partnership), Estonia, supported byAlbania, Poland and the EU, suggested inclusion of countries witheconomies in transition. The Pacific Island countries wanted toensure that all legal and ethical standards are met. The EUsupported inclusion of least developed countries, but requesteddeletion of the reference to knowledge-sharing. The Philippines,Kenya, Vietnam, and India wanted inclusion of the term. Estoniaoffered "sharing of experience" as a compromise. Pakistan said thatdeveloped countries must be committed to assisting developingcountries in carrying out their programmes. The Chair offered"knowledge, experience and technical expertise" as compromisewording.

In 12.13 (unsafe abortion), Argentina, supported by Peru andHonduras, called for research on abortion and the related therisks. Peru, supported by Cuba, asked that research be applied toall forms of abortion. In 12.13bis (periodical abstinence), Norway,supported by the EU and the US, called for enhanced research onnatural fertility regulation methods. In 12.16 (interlinkages),India added poverty alleviation to the interlinkages. The PacificIsland countries included indigenous practices in developmentissues. In 12.18 (policy-oriented research), Pakistan, supported byBangladesh, said that the focus should not be limited to criticallyendangered areas. India felt that the paragraph was balanced, whileBrazil thought it was too narrow in focus. In 12.22 (causes ofdifferentials), Honduras wanted inclusion of research oncontraceptive and IUD-related deaths. Burundi added reference toinfant as well as maternal morbidity in the last line. The Chairreminded delegates that paragraphs 12.8(a) (achievement ofuniversal reproductive and sexual health), 12.9 (research toimprove and develop new contraceptive methods), 12.10(contraceptives for men), and 12.13 (abortion research) have notyet been fully accepted and remain bracketed.

III. INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POPULATION, SUSTAINED ECONOMICGROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The G-77 and China expressed their concerns that the Chair's drafttext did not sufficiently reflect their proposed amendments, manyof which actually were based on agreed text, such as Agenda 21. TheG-77 called for a general discussion on the overall substance ofthe text with comments to be transmitted to the Secretariat forredrafting. The EU preferred a more specific paragraph-by-paragraphreview. The Chair noted that over 175 interventions had been madefor Chapter III and emphasized the impossibility of fullyincorporating all these interventions into the draft text.

The Chair proposed that delegates focus first on the objectivessection, with discussion to proceed on the actions, followed by thebasis for action. The Chair added that unresolved concerns could beaddressed in informal consultations after the completion of theafternoon session.

In 3.4 (objective for Section A), India and Nigeria proposedlanguage referring to "the alleviation of poverty and for sustainedeconomic growth to improve the quality of life in the context ofsustainable development." Brazil suggested reference to the "goalof meeting the needs of present generations and improving thequality of life without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs." After lengthy discussion,delegates tentatively agreed to divide the paragraph in two. Thefirst objective refers to the "goal of meeting the needs of presentgenerations and improving the quality of life without compromisingthe ability of future generations to meet their needs." The secondobjective refers to "integration of population factors indevelopment planning and resource allocation at all levels and inall regions." Since the proposed text was not fully accepted, theChair asked delegates to work out compromise language in time forFriday morning's session.

In 3.13 (objective for Section B), the G-77 added human developmenttogether with sustained economic growth and poverty eradication asthe context within which population policies are to be formulated.The G-77 called for deletion of the second sentence, which refersto the importance of eliminating social and economic discriminationagainst women. Several developing countries, including Colombia,India, and Iran expressed their firm support for the deletion ofthis reference. Australia and the US called for its retention.Delegates agreed to divide the objective section in two. The firstobjective takes into account the G-77 proposal to refer to adequateinstead of appropriate population policies, as well as the EU'sreference to human rights. The second objective is based on the USproposal to include children and women as the poorest of the poor,as well as the Swiss and Nordic proposal to take into accounteconomic development and the sound balance between population andresource availability. Agreement could not be reached on theproposed deletion of the reference to discrimination against women.The Chair called for informal consultations to resolve the matterwithin the following 18 hours.

WORKING GROUP II

V. THE FAMILY, ITS ROLES, COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE

B. Socio-Economic Support for the Family: In 5.7(objective), delegates agreed to focus on families and the changingneeds of their individual members, rather than adopt the singularconcept of "the family." A section was added on elderly anddisabled members. In 5.9 (innovative ways to assist families),delegates agreed, subject to the objection by the Holy See, tobracket "families in its various forms." Pakistan, India andBangladesh objected to the word "excessive" before "dowry payment",since the institution of the dowry may pose problems to families.Bolivia added AIDS and incest as potential problems for somefamilies. In 5.11 (assistance for family solidarity), Norwayincluded efforts to unify family members who are war victims.

CHAPTER VI. POPULATION GROWTH AND STRUCTURE

A. Fertility, Mortality and Population Growth Rates: In 6.3(objectives), India, supported by Honduras, Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba,and China, argued that population growth is not the only obstacleto sustainable development. An integrated approach to populationand development should include the adverse effects of conspicuousconsumption. The EU, supported by Japan, Australia and the US,agreed to the inclusion of consumption. Nicaragua, Honduras, Braziland Switzerland objected to the goal of population stabilization,since many countries experience declining population. In 6.4 (stepsto accelerate demographic transition from high to low fertility),delegates agreed to bracket "reproductive health and familyplanning." Delegates also agreed to delete the sentence regardinginternational support since the issue has been dealt withelsewhere. Agreement was reached to focus on population transitioninstead of stabilization, with a separate sub-paragraph ondepopulating countries. In 6.5 (relation between high fertility andmortality), it was agreed to leave and expand the list of high riskpregnancies. Delegates agreed with Bolivia's suggestion to move thereference to rural development to 6.4 and to delete the section oncommunication, despite Morocco's objections.

B. Children and Youth: In 6.7(b) (meeting the special needsof adolescents), Sweden emphasized the importance of preparingchildren and adolescents to participate in political life. In6.7(c) (reasons to keep children in school), Nicaragua, Bolivia,Bangladesh, and Sweden remarked that children and adolescentsshould remain in school to develop their full potential, and notjust to prevent undesirable early marriages as stated in the text.

In 6.10 (efforts to eliminate child marriages and union), Indonesiaobjected to the word "unions" since it is not reflected in allsocieties. The EU and Latin American delegations objected. In6.10bis (measures to alleviate suffering of child victims of war),it was agreed to include victims of other forms of disaster aswell. In 6.12 (services), the Pacific Islands emphasized the rightto privacy when accessing health services. The Holy See andNicaragua did not disagree with the issue of confidentiality, butinsisted on the addition of the phrase "with due regard to parentalrights and responsibilities." Namibia, Finland, Bolivia, Brazil,and Botswana objected, arguing that it contradicted fundamentalhuman right. Delegates agreed to accept Cuba's suggestion toinclude "sexual" before "reproductive health" with brackets to beplaced around both terms.

C. The Elderly: Brazil requested specific reference to theneeds of elderly women in 6.14 (objectives). Delegates agreed toadd an objective to provide a social support system for formal andinformal families to care for the elderly within the family. In6.17 (safety networks), Botswana suggested that governments shouldprovide social services to the elderly. The US, Switzerland, andAustralia requested the addition of a section on women and notedthe importance of housing and long term care for the elderly. TheChair agreed to add reference to the need for social supportsystems and nets, developed through collaboration betweengovernment, private sector, and NGOs.

D. Indigenous People: Australia requested the addition ofbrackets around [s] in "people." The Holy See and Bolivia supportedthe name as it stands. Delegates agreed to retain the bracketed "s"pending the outcome of the working group on indigenous populationson the same question. Canada wanted to address primary health carein 6.22 (governments address needs of indigenous) Guatemala,joined by Ecuador, wanted to recognize the culture and spiritualityof indigenous populations. The Chair was willing to incorporateboth changes.

E. Disabled Persons: Delegates agreed to the addition of areference to the goal of improving the dignity and promotion ofself reliance among the disabled. Based on the Secretariat'ssuggestion, the Chair will add health care to the forms ofdiscrimination in 6.27 (needs of the disabled). Switzerland, theUS, and Australia wanted to remove "international migration" in6.27, arguing that national laws in certain cases may not beconducive to such a requirement. Sweden and the Cameroon requestedits retention. The Chair will bracket [international migration],which will be discussed again in Chapter X. Pakistan noted thatthere is no mention as to which party is to be held responsible forthe actions to be undertaken in these paragraphs. He requested thatgovernments be specified as the responsible bodies.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

WORKING GROUP I: Working Group I will commence its session thismorning with a review of the text on paragraphs 3.4 and 3.13 thatwere to have been resolved in informal sessions last night. Theywill then complete the second reading on Chapter III(Interrelationships between Population, Sustained Economic Growthand Sustainable Development) and then move on to Chapters XIII(National Action), XIV (International Cooperation) and XV(Partnership with the Non-Governmental Sector). An eveningsession is planned for tonight to continue work on these chapters.Since all chapters must be submitted for translation by Mondayevening, the second reading of the entire text must be completedMonday afternoon.

WORKING GROUP II: The Working Group will commence its secondreading of Chapter VII (Reproductive Rights, Sexual andReproductive Health and Family Planning) in the morning and ChapterVIII (Health, Morbidity and Mortality) in the afternoon. An eveningsession is also expected. An informal group will meet to discussobjective 6.3 (reduction of high rates of population growth) inRoom 6 at 3 pm today.

PRESS BRIEFING/NGO FORUM: EarthAction will host an informalpress briefing on the state-of-play of negotiations today at 11:00am in Press Conference Room 226 as well as a Forum for NGOs todiscuss media and NGO strategies in preparation for Cairo. TheForum will be held at 1:00 pm in the DHL Lounge, 12th Floor of theUN Church Center.