Summary report, 31 October 1993

ICPD Activities Update

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Although the next session of the Preparatory Committee for theInternational Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) willnot take place until April 1994, there is much to report on the eveof the General Assembly's debate and review of ICPD activities. Inpreparation for the General Assembly debate, which is scheduled tobegin on Thursday, 4 November 1993, this special issue of theEarth Negotiations Bulletin will highlight activities thathave taken place since the conclusion of PrepCom II last May andsummarize the Secretariat's annotated outline of the final documentof the Conference, which is expected to serve as the basis for theGeneral Assembly's discussions.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ICPD

The ICPD was called for by the United Nations Economic and SocialCouncil (ECOSOC) in 1989. The Government of Egypt will host theConference in Cairo from 5-13 September 1994. Dr. Nafis Sadik, theExecutive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),is the Secretary-General of the Conference.

The Preparatory Committee had its first substantive session in NewYork from 4-8 March 1991. This session further defined theobjectives and themes of the Conference, identified groups ofpriority issues, and proposed convening expert group meetings,regional population conferences and two additional sessions of thePrepCom. The PrepCom identified the following six clusters ofpriority issues: population, environment and development;population policies and programmes; population and women; familyplanning, health and family well-being; population growth anddemographic structure; and population distribution and migration.These clusters were addressed by a series of expert group meetingsorganized by the Population Division of the UN Department ofEconomic and Social Development in consultation with UNFPA. Thesemeetings are summarized in document E/CONF.84/ PC/12, "Synthesis ofExpert Group Meetings." Another source of input to the Conferencepreparations was a series of regional population conferences thatwere held in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean,and the Middle East.

The second session of the Preparatory Committee was held in NewYork from 10-21 May 1993. The overriding objective was to reachagreement on the form and substance of the final document to beadopted in Cairo. Delegates agreed on a set of population anddevelopment issues to be discussed and elaborated a draft structurefor the final document. There was support for adoption of a new,free-standing document that will include action-orientedrecommendations to effectively address population and developmentchallenges into the next decade. Delegates also reached consensuson the inclusion of a number of issues in this document, includingthe relationship among population, environment, sustained growthand economic development; the empowerment of women; populationageing; health and mortality; population distribution, urbanizationand internal migration; international migration; and thepartnership between governments, NGOs and the private sector. (Seethe Chair's summary on the conceptual framework (E/CONF.84/PC/L.9)for more details.) At the conclusion of the session, delegatescalled on the Secretariat to prepare the draft plan of action thatwill be the basis for negotiations at PrepCom III. The Secretariatwas asked to prepare an annotated outline by the 48th session ofthe General Assembly and to produce the first draft of the finaldocument by February 1994. (For more information see the report ofthe Preparatory Committee (E/1993/69) and Earth NegotiationsBulletin Vol. 6 No. 11.)

JULY - SEPTEMBER 1993 HIGHLIGHTS

The ICPD was one of the issues addressed at the 1993 ECOSOCsubstantive session, held in Geneva from 28 June - 30 July. ECOSOCresolution 1993/76, adopted 30 July 1993, included the following:

Recommends that the ICPD Preparatory Committee become a subsidiary body of the General Assembly (a change from its status as a subsidiary body of ECOSOC);

Requests the ICPD Secretary-General to prepare by February 1994 the first draft of the final substantive document of the Conference, taking into account the views expressed by participants during PrepCom II and the 48th session of the General Assembly;

Decides to extend PrepCom III by one week (the three-week session will be from 4-22 April 1994);

Decides to convene two days of pre-Conference consultations in Cairo (3-4 September 1994);

Invites all Member States and organizations to support the trust funds established to assist developing countries in preparing for the Conference;

Requests the UN Secretary-General to promote the objectives and activities of the Conference; and

Requests the UN and ICPD Secretaries-General to include in the report of the Conference to the 48th session of the General Assembly an annotated outline of the final document of the Conference.

This ECOSOC resolution is being submitted to the General Assemblyfor its consideration.

1993 ECOSOC SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

The ICPD was one of the issues addressed at the 1993 ECOSOCsubstantive session, held in Geneva from 28 June - 30 July. ECOSOCresolution 1993/76, adopted 30 July 1993, included the following:

Recommends that the ICPD Preparatory Committee become a subsidiary body of the General Assembly (a change from its status as a subsidiary body of ECOSOC);

Requests the ICPD Secretary-General to prepare by February 1994 the first draft of the final substantive document of the Conference, taking into account the views expressed by participants during PrepCom II and the 48th session of the General Assembly;

Decides to extend PrepCom III by one week (the three-week session will be from 4-22 April 1994);

Decides to convene two days of pre-Conference consultations in Cairo (3-4 September 1994);

Invites all Member States and organizations to support the trust funds established to assist developing countries in preparing for the Conference;

Requests the UN Secretary-General to promote the objectives and activities of the Conference; and

Requests the UN and ICPD Secretaries-General to include in the report of the Conference to the 48th session of the General Assembly an annotated outline of the final document of the Conference.

This ECOSOC resolution is being submitted to the General Assemblyfor its consideration.

ROUNDTABLE ON WOMEN'S PERSPECTIVES ON FAMILY PLANNING, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

A number of governments raised the need for further dialogue onsome of the most critical issues to be discussed at the 1994Conference. As a result, the ICPD Secretary-General is convening aseries of five roundtable discussions, in cooperation withGovernments that have offered to host the meetings. The first ofthese roundtables addressed Women's Perspectives on FamilyPlanning, Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights in Ottawa,Canada from 26-27 August 1993. The meeting, sponsored by UNFPA andthe Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), focused onfour areas of concern: women, human rights and reproductive rights;contraceptive research and development -- a woman-centeredapproach; family planning service delivery; and men and familyplanning -- their roles, responsibilities and concerns. There were25 participants from both developed and developing countries. Theparticipants at the roundtable made the following recommendationsto the ICPD and policy makers everywhere:

Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other human rights conventions that guarantee women their rights;

Increasing attention on the neglected tragedy of maternal mortality in developing countries;

Recognition and removal of the barriers to women's ability to exercise their rights;

Allocation of resources and development of programmes to improve the sexual and reproductive health of disadvantaged women;

Increased support for research on improving existing and developing new contraceptive technology;

Recognition that unsafe abortion is a major and neglected public health concern. Governments are urged to frame their laws and policies on the basis of a commitment to women's health, rather than on criminal codes and other punitive measures;

Development of appropriate standards for reproductive health services;

Stopping the practice of genital mutilation and protecting the right of women and girls to be free from such unnecessary and dangerous procedures;

Recognition of gender-specific needs and risks of the young and adolescent population;

Ensuring that culture and tradition do not justify practices or procedures that stunt the development of girls and women, jeopardize their health, limit their freedom or threaten their security;

Development of and support for research, education and service programmes for men and boys that stress male responsibility for their sexual behavior;

Formulation of policies and development of programmes that promote the status and well-being of the girl child, including the elimination of the root causes of son preference and the practice of sex-selective abortion; and

Development of social and educational programmes that instill in the boy child behavioral norms and values consistent with gender equality, healthy sexuality and responsible parenthood.

ROUNDTABLE ON POPULATION POLICIES, PROGRAMMES AND HIV/AIDS

The second roundtable took place in Berlin, Germany from 28September - 1 October 1993 and focused on population policies,programmes and HIV/AIDS. Approximately 40 technical experts andrepresentatives from developing countries and selected developedcountries, NGOs and UN agencies attended the meeting. The purposeof the meeting was to examine the short- and medium-termdemographic impact of the AIDS epidemic and to explore theimplication of AIDS on population and development policies and onmaternal and child health and family planning programmes.

The report of this meeting will not be distributed until lateOctober, however, indications are that the report will concentrateon findings, policy statements and conclusions that will be used asinputs for the ICPD final document.

CONFERENCE ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE MAGHREB COUNTRIES

The Conference on Population and Development in the MaghrebCountries was held in Tunis from 7-10 July 1993. The Conferencefocused on the challenge faced by the Maghreb countries (Algeria,Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) with regard to growingpopulations, increasing needs and scarce resources. The Conferenceadopted a Plan of Action that recognizes the different demographicsituations in each of the Maghreb countries, but also stressesissues common to all five, including an increased labor force andthe resulting pressures toward migration, high fertility rates, theneed to widen the range of economic opportunity, and the importanceof women in the development process. The Plan is based onprinciples adopted by the regional conferences for the Arabcountries and for Africa held in preparation for ICPD PrepCom II.The Amman Declaration emphasized the role and status of women aswell as the role of NGOs. The Dakar/Ngor Declaration on population,family and sustainable development asserted the primary importanceof the family and the responsibility of governments to improve thequality of life for each person.

MINISTERIAL MEETING ON POPULATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE PACIFIC

Ministers and senior officials from Pacific Island States andTerritories met in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 9-10 September 1993 toidentify key population and development issues of concern to theregion and, on the basis of this, formulate policy positions to beused during preparations for, at, and in the follow-up to the ICPD.Ministers and representatives of Australia, Cook Islands, FederatedStates of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia,New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of MarshallIslands, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu andWestern Samoa adopted the Port Vila Declaration on Population andSustainable Development at the conclusion of the meeting. The PortVila Declaration is modeled on the outline for the Cairo Documentand focusses on the unique attributes of the Pacific region asreflected in: the central role of custom and tradition; the strongaffinity of the people with the land; vulnerability to naturaldisasters; and the unique challenges faced as a consequence ofhistory and geography, including widespread dispersal across thelargest ocean in the world.

TEHRAN REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON FAMILY PLANNING

The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, incooperation with UNFPA, hosted the Regional Conference on FamilyPlanning from 11-15 September in Tehran. The purpose of theConference was to: (a) identify maternal and child health andfamily planning programme needs, particularly in programmes intransition from abortion to contraception and family planning, and(b) promote regional cooperation between six former SovietRepublics and Asian countries with mature family planningprogrammes.

During the Conference, participants were briefed on a variety ofavailable contraceptive methods, management of family planningprogrammes and on existing collaborative structures. The Governmentof Iran announced its decision to establish a regional centre totrain health officials in the former Soviet Republics in variousaspects of maternal and child health and family planning services,as well as other population related fields. UNFPA pledged to supplycontraceptives to these six countries and to organize training offamily planning service providers.

Representatives from the following countries attended theConference: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, India,Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrghistan, Malaysia, Pakistan, SriLanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.Family Health International, the International Planned ParenthoodFederation, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) and UNFPA also attended.

NATIONAL REPORTS ON POPULATION

ICPD Secretary-General Nafis Sadik requested that all Governmentsprepare a National Report on Population for the Conference. Thereports should highlight the population situation, policies andprogrammes unique to each country and should focus on the lessonslearned and the constraints encountered in the implementation ofpopulation programmes. Governments were supposed to submit theirreports to the ICPD Secretariat by 30 September 1993. As of thatdate, the following 18 countries had submitted their reports:Burundi, Central African Republic, Cook Islands, Ecuador, Fiji,Kiribati, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Micronesia, Niger, Niue, PapuaNew Guinea, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, andVanuatu.

NGO ACTIVITIES

The NGO Steering Committee for the ICPD has been busy working ontwo fronts: preparation for PrepCom III and preparation for the NGOForum, which will run concurrently with the 1994 Conference inCairo. With regard to PrepCom III preparations, the SteeringCommittee has recently sent out a copy of the Secretariat'sannotated outline for the final document to all of the NGOs on itsdatabase. This will enable NGOs to read the outline and submittheir comments to the Secretariat by the end of November. TheSteering Committee is also working to ensure that all interestedNGOs receive copies of the PrepCom III documentation as soon as itbecomes available.

The NGO Steering Committee recently completed a trip to Cairo tomake plans for the NGO Forum. The Forum will be held in the IndoorSports Stadium, which is close to the Cairo InternationalConference Centre where the ICPD will be held. So far, over 200NGOs have written to the Steering Committee with programme ideasthat they would like to see or present in Cairo. Actualon-the-ground Cairo plans are still being developed and will bediscussed by Steering Committee members and staff during a visit toCairo in early 1994. The NGO Steering Committee will be issuing areport with information on transport, accommodations, and visas.

ANNOTATED OUTLINE OF THE CAIRO DOCUMENT

At PrepCom II, the Secretariat was requested to prepare anannotated outline of the final document of the Conference andsubmit it for consideration at the 48th session of the GeneralAssembly. This annotated outline is based on the draft structure ofthe final document approved at PrepCom II. The first draft of thefinal document based on the annotated outline will be the focus ofnegotiations at PrepCom III. The following is a summary of theannotated outline, as contained in document A/48/430/Add.1.

PART I: PREAMBLE AND PRINCIPLES

The preamble will convey the vision and purposeof the ICPD and define the context of the proposed actionprogramme. It will cover the following elements: brief survey ofpresent population dynamics, bringing out the interaction betweenpopulation, sustained economic growth and sustainable development;overview of experience gained in the field of population policiesand programmes during the past 20 years; presentation of theobjectives and general goals; introduction to the set of actionsnecessary to achieve these objectives; indication of the resourcesand efforts required for implementation of the action programme;and reference to relevant intergovernmental instruments relating topopulation, economic and social development and sustainability.

I. PREAMBLE:

II. PRINCIPLES:

This section will provide the guidingphilosophy in the area of population and development. Theprinciples will build as much as possible on agreed internationalinstruments and will be organized around the following majortopics: human rights and population; the responsibility of societyfor human development, reproductive health and family planning;sustainable development and population; and partnership inpopulation.

PART II: CHOICES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The eight chapters in Part II and the seven chapters in Part III ofthe annotated outline are structured as follows: an introductoryparagraph and then, for each section within the chapter,sub-sections titled "Basis for action," "Objectives," and "Selectedtopics for recommendations." The following summaries highlight thesub-section on selected topics for recommendations.

III. THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN POPULATION, SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Selected topics for recommendations include theneed to foster sustained economic growth in developing countries byall appropriate means, including reduction of trade barriers, debtrelief, investment in sustainable job-creating projects andpromotion of relevant technologies. Other topics are theformulation of long-term policies and programmes thatsimultaneously address population growth, alleviate poverty andreduce social inequality in both rural and urban settings; andensuring that policies and programmes are responsive to the needsof the poor in all countries, particularly in health, education,training and family planning.

A. Population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development:

B. Population, socio-economic development and poverty alleviation:

Selected topics for recommendations include:making the alleviation of poverty, the achievement of equitablesocial and economic relations, and the provision of basicinfrastructure and social welfare services key components ofsocio-economic development and central factors for harmonizingdemographic trends with sustainable development. Other topicsinclude giving high priority to investments and expenditures tofacilitate access to education, training and credit to all deprivedsectors of society, and giving high priority to economic policiesthat increase opportunities to participate in the formal laborforce.

C. Population and the environment:

Selected topics forrecommendations include: formulation of enforceable measures topromote greater harmony between population, resources, environmentand development; identification of critically endangered areassubject to acute population pressures; formulation of actionsneeded to alleviate pressures on the environment; and findingdurable solutions to problems related to environmentally displacedpersons.

IV. GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

Recommendationscould address: women's participation in the political process;promotion of women's economic security, right to inherit, own landand have access to credit; achieving balanced representation ofboth sexes in population and development programmes; and combattingviolence against women and girls.

A. Empowerment and the status of women:

B. Male responsibilities and participation:

Topics includethe full and active participation of men in all areas of family andcommunity responsibilities.

C. The girl child:

Selected topics include: access by girlsand women to education and improvement of the quality and relevanceof their education; elimination of gender stereotyping in schoolcurricula and in the media; and enforcement of minimum legal age atmarriage.

V. THE FAMILY, ITS ROLES, COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE

Selectedtopics for recommendations include: provision of means (socialservices, kindergartens, part-time jobs, flexible schedules, etc.)to facilitate compatibility between professional and parentalroles; and elimination of all forms of coercion and discriminationin policies and practices related to marriage and child-bearing.

A. Diversity of family structures and composition:

B. Socio-economic support to the family:

Topics forrecommendations include: assistance to families that manifestspecific problems (domestic violence, drug and alcohol dependence,sexual and child abuse, neglect, etc.), have specialresponsibilities (handicapped members, care of dependent elderly,etc.), or are in a particular vulnerable position (war, drought,famine, racial and ethnic violence, economic deprivation, etc.).

VI. POPULATION GROWTH AND STRUCTURE

A. Diversity of fertility, mortality and population growthrates: The objective in this section is to reduce thedisparities in regional fertility and mortality levels and achieveearly stabilization of the world population. The recommendationsinclude action required to accelerate this demographic transition.

B. Children and youth:

The objective in this section is topromote to the fullest extent the well-being of all children andyouth in line with the relevant commitments made at the WorldSummit for Children.

C. Ageing populations:

The selected topics forrecommendations include the need to ensure that long-termsocio-economic planning takes into account the needs of elderlypersons in the population.

D. Disabled persons:

The selected topics for recommendationsinclude recognition of the needs of disabled persons concerningsexual and reproductive health, family planning services, andelimination of the specific forms of discrimination with regard tomigration, reproductive rights, and household and family formation.

E. Indigenous people:

Topics for recommendations includerecognizing the distinct perspective of indigenous people onaspects of population and development and addressing their specificneeds.

VII. REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FAMILY PLANNING

Selected topics for recommendationinclude ensuring that reproductive health services for men andwomen of all ages have a client-centered approach, arecost-effective, follow high standards of quality and includematernity care, family planning, prevention and treatment ofinfertility, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and referral ofsexually transmitted diseases including HIV infection and AIDS, andeducation and information on sexuality and responsible parenthood.Other recommendations include: full involvement of women in theformation and implementation of reproductive health programmes; andreview of the legal and regulatory barriers to reproductive heath,such as early or enforced marriages, illegality of abortion,maternity leave regulations and access to reproductive healthservices.

A. Reproductive health:

B. Family planning:

Topics for recommendations include:ensuring easily accessible and available high quality familyplanning counseling and services; removal of unnecessary andinappropriate legal, medical and regulatory barriers to access tofamily planning while continuing to ensure safety; makinginformation, services and supplies available to unreachedpopulations; and ensuring sufficient and continuous supply ofcontraceptive commodities and strengthening of logistics systems.

C. Human sexuality and gender relations:

Topics forrecommendations include: fostering acceptance among men and womenof the importance of equal rights in sexual relationships throughsex education and counseling for boys and girls in and beyond theformal school system; and promotion of responsible and safesexuality and parenthood.

D. Adolescents:

Topics for recommendations include:recognition of the special needs of adolescents and the programmesrequired to meet those needs, including education programmes in theareas of family planning, family life, reproductive and sexualhealth, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and AIDS; andreproductive health services including family planning services,specially designed to meet the needs of adolescents.

VIII. HEALTH AND MORTALITY

A. Maternal morbidity and mortality: Topics for recommendationsinclude: increasing the provision of maternity services in thecontext of primary health care; improving those services byincluding safe-motherhood education, nutrition programmes, familyplanning, prenatal and postnatal care and delivery assistance byadequately trained birth attendants; and addressing the problem ofmaternal deaths and complications resulting from unsafe abortion.

B. Infant and child mortality:

Topics for recommendationsinclude: promotion of comprehensive mother and child healthservices; greater immunization coverage; prevention and managementof childhood diseases; and proper nutrition counseling.

C. Sexually transmitted diseases and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome:

Selected topics for recommendations includestrengthening programmes that minimize sexually transmitteddiseases and HIV infection through the promotion of safe andresponsible sex and the provision of sexual health education aswell as preventive, diagnostic and curative treatment to inhibitthe transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

D. Primary health care and the health-care sector:

Selectedtopics for recommendation include: securing improved access toprimary health care services, with increased attention to theprevention of ill-health caused by environmental degradation; andpromotion of changes in lifestyle patterns that are conducive tobetter health.

IX. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, URBANIZATION AND INTERNAL MIGRATION

Selected topics for recommendation include:promotion of strategies that simultaneously encourage the growth ofsmall or medium-sized urban centres and the sustainable developmentof rural areas; and reducing the risks of environmental degradationby developing appropriate strategies to address the problemsemanating from the expansion of human settlements in areas withfragile ecosystems.

A. Population distribution, natural resources and the environment:

B. Population distribution policies and sustainable development strategies:

Topics for recommendations include paying explicitattention to the spatial impact of macroeconomic and other policiesthat have implications for population distribution.

C. Population growth in large agglomerations:

Topics forrecommendations include securing the revenue necessary for localauthorities to improve urban infrastructure, safeguard theenvironment and provide urban services through measures such asdecentralization of expenditure, tax-raising rights, and adoptionof equitable cost-recovery schemes.

D. Displaced persons:

Topics include measures that can betaken by the international community to assure adequate protectionand assistance to internally displaced persons, especially to thosewho are not able to return to their normal place of residence inthe short term.

X. INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION

Topics forrecommendations include: assessing the effects of the economic,trade and development cooperation policies of countries of originand destination on international migration; and realizing the fullpotential of return migration as a channel for the transfer oftechnology and know-how to the migrants' countries of origin.

A. International migration and development:

B. Documented migrants:

Topics for recommendations include:ensuring equality of opportunity for documented migrants in linewith the rights established in the Convention on the Rights of AllMigrant Workers and Members of their Families; paying attention tothe formulation of appropriate strategies to combat racism andxenophobia; facilitating the naturalization of documented migrantswho already have the right of long-term residence; and extendingcivil and political rights to long-term foreign residents.

C. Undocumented migrants:

Topics for recommendations includeadoption of effective sanctions against those who organizeundocumented migration and those who exploit undocumented migrants.

D. Refugees:

Topics for recommendations include: combattingthe root causes of refugee movements by fostering conflictresolution, the promotion of peace, the respect of human rights,the alleviation of poverty, democratization, good governance andthe prevention of environmental degradation; ensuring the adequateprotection and assistance of refugees in first countries of asylum;and supporting the voluntary repatriation of refugees and provisionof reintegration assistance.

PART III. MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION

Topics for recommendations includecreating and maintaining awareness of population issues in a largevariety of groups, including opinion leaders and policy makers.

XI. POPULATION INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

Topics for recommendations includecreating and maintaining awareness of population issues in a largevariety of groups, including opinion leaders and policy makers.

A. Public awareness:

Topics for recommendations includecreating and maintaining awareness of population issues in a largevariety of groups, including opinion leaders and policy makers.

B. Information, education and communication:

Recommendationscould include: adoption of comprehensive planning strategies; andmaking high-quality population education available to all schoolchildren, paying explicit attention to human rights, population andenvironment, gender relationships, responsible reproductivebehavior, reproductive health and sexuality, and the consequentialchoices and responsibilities.

XII. CAPACITY BUILDING

Topics for recommendationsinclude strengthening strategic management approaches in public andprivate population and development programmes, including thedevelopment of management information systems.

A. Management of programmes:

Topics for recommendationsinclude strengthening strategic management approaches in public andprivate population and development programmes, including thedevelopment of management information systems.

B. Education and training of policy makers, managers and other personnel:

Topics for recommendations include promotingcoordinated educational and training activities and advisoryservices related to population programmes.

C. Institutional development:

Topics for recommendationsinclude ensuring sustained commitment by both donor and nationalauthorities to all aspects of institution-building and maintenance.

XIII. TECHNOLOGY, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Selected topics forrecommendations include improving the quality of basic data onvital processes and national sub-populations, taking gender intoaccount and making those data accessible and available on a timelybasis.

A. Basic data collection and analysis:

B. Biomedical research:

Topics for recommendations include:promoting research on fertility regulation; seeking the involvementof private industry and drug-regulatory agencies as partners inbiomedical research; and promoting research on unsafe abortion andother aspects of reproductive health.

C. Social and economic research and development:

Topics forrecommendations include promotion of research on the broad field ofinterrelations between population, environment and development, andensuring that the population programme and policy research agendahas a balance of theoretical, operational and methodological work.

XIV. NATIONAL ACTION

Selected topicsfor recommendations include increasing the political commitment ofGovernments to formulate, implement and evaluate their nationalpopulation programmes and strengthening their capacity to enlistthe cooperation of the private sector, NGOs, academia, the massmedia and other influential groups, and to foster the grassrootsparticipation of programme beneficiaries.

A. National policies and plans of action:

B. Resource allocation:

Recommendations could includeintensifying efforts to generate domestic resources to support allcategories of population programme activities, with increasedattention to selective use of user fees, social marketing,cost-sharing and other forms of cost-recovery.

XV. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

A. Modalities: Selected topics for recommendations includecoordination of international organizations and donor nations toencourage use of multilateral and bilateral mechanisms, includingtechnical back-stopping, to guarantee consistency and continuity ofsupport to programmes, based on the analysis of the impact andcost-effectiveness of such mechanisms and in line withcomprehensive national development strategies.

B. Resource mobilization:

Topics for recommendations includemechanisms for the international community to establishguidelines/recommendations for assistance levels as proportions ofgross domestic product and overseas development assistance, on thebasis of updated estimates for resource requirements consistentwith the scale of efforts needed to achieve the goals adopted bythe Conference, and taking into consideration constraints createdby economic reform and structural adjustment programmes.

XVI. PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL GROUPS, INCLUDING NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS

Selected topics for recommendations include: creating suitablemechanisms and frameworks to enhance the role of non-governmentalorganizations in the field of population; promoting the effectiveuse of the experience and resources of the private sector toachieve population and development goals; and ensuring theparticipation of local communities in the formulation andimplementation of population policies and programmes.

XVII. FOLLOW-UP

A. Implementation: Recommendations could include ensuring theintegration of population concerns in governmental,non-governmental and international development efforts throughappropriate arrangements.

B. Monitoring and review:

Selected topics forrecommendations include establishing accurate and timely mechanismsfor assessing the progress made in achieving the goals andobjectives of the action programme.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The ICPD will be considered by the current session of the GeneralAssembly under agenda item 96. At present, a one-day debate isscheduled in the Second Committee for 4 November 1993. The GeneralAssembly will have before it two primary documents: the Report ofthe Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assemblyresolution 47/176 and ECOSOC resolution 1991/93 (A/48/430) and theAnnotated outline of the final document of the Conference(A/48/430/Add.1). Second Committee delegates are responsible fornegotiating a resolution that will likely endorse ECOSOC resolution1993/76, elevate the status of the ICPD Preparatory Committee to asubsidiary body of the General Assembly, and determine the 1994budgetary implications for the Preparatory Committee and theConference.

It is expected that the Annotated Outline will be the focus ofstatements during the Second Committee debate. The ICPDSecretary-General is encouraging delegations to use theirstatements to give an assessment of the annotated outline,particularly its internal logic, consistency and priorities. TheICPD Secretariat is also expecting to receive written comments andreactions to the document that will assist it in its next majortask -- the preparation of the full text of the draft finaldocument. This draft is expected to be completed in February andwill be the major document to be discussed and finalized during PrepCom III in April.

Participants

National governments: US
Non-state coalitions: NGOs