Daily report for 12 September 1994

MAIN COMMITTEE

The Main Committee completed its work Monday night at 7:00 pm.After several failed attempts in the morning, the meeting gotstarted at 3:00 pm. Then, moving at breakneck speed, back andforth from informal to formal meetings, the Main Committeesucceeded in adopting ad referendum the entireProgramme of Action.

VII. REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: Inthe morning, Vice Chair Nicolaas Biegman convened an informalsession of the Main Committee to distribute the revised textof Chapter VII. He then adjourned the session for 20 minutesto give delegates time to review the text. Biegman informeddelegates that the working group chaired by Hernando Clavijo(Colombia) had agreed on text with the exception of twosections in brackets. Since the working group was supposed toremove all brackets, he asked Clavijo to reconvene his groupand reach consensus in an hour. This was not the case, and theworking group continued to meet through the lunch break, whileother delegates and observers waited in the corridors andChefren Hall.

At 3:00 pm, Biegman reconvened the informal session of theMain Committee to address Chapter VII. Clavijo introduced oralamendments to the paragraphs that had been discussed duringthe morning's consultations.

In paragraphs 7.1 and 7.3(b), the phrase "methods of fertilityregulation of their choice" was replaced by "methods of theirchoice for regulation of fertility." In paragraph 7.2,reference to "security of the person and physical integrity ofthe human body" was deleted and the sentence now reads: "Italso includes the right of all to make decisions concerningreproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence, asexpressed in human rights documents." In 7.15, the secondsentence now reads: "To this end, Governments should secureconformity to human rights, and to ethical and professionalstandards in the delivery of family planning and relatedreproductive health services aimed at ensuring responsible,voluntary and informed consent, also regarding serviceprovision."

In paragraph 7.32, the second sentence has been amended:"Equal relationships between men and women in matters ofsexual relations and reproduction, including full respectfor the physical integrity of the human body, requiremutual respect and willingness to accept responsibility forthe consequences of sexual behavior." In paragraph 7.45, thephrase "including contraceptive services" was deleted from thesentence on sexually active adolescents.

Before the informal meeting was adjourned, Ecuador said thatwithout a clear definition of the right to life from themoment of conception, all other rights are meaningless.Pakistan said their concerns have been addressed in this text.Egypt asked for confirmation that the definitions in thischapter apply throughout the text. The Chair assured her thatthis was the case.

A few minutes later, Amb. Biegman convened a formal session,where Chapter VII was adopted ad referendum. Argentina,the Holy See, Malta and Nicaragua announced their intention toexpress reservations on various paragraphs in Plenary onTuesday.

Jordan and Syria expressed concern about the use of the term"individuals" in paragraph 7.2. Jordan and Libya also saidthat they would interpret this paragraph in accordance withIslamic Law. Egypt noted that this chapter is guided by theprinciples in Chapter II, especially the chapeau. Althoughthis chapter contains words and concepts that reveal certaintendencies in Western and Eastern cultures, Egypt'sunderstanding of the text will be based on its own national,religious and cultural values. Sweden, on behalf of the NordicStates, said that although this text is not ideal, it wasnegotiated in good faith and the difficult and delicatecompromise represents a good balance. The chapter, whenimplemented, will give men, women and children a stronginstrument for leading a richer and healthier life.

XIII. NATIONAL ACTION: Dr. Fred Sai took over as Chair.Germany, on behalf of the EU, introduced the changes toChapter XIII. An additional provision in paragraph 13.15specifies that the costs mentioned here are "estimatesprepared by experts, based on experience to date, of the fourcomponents referred to above. These estimates should bereviewed and updated on the basis of the comprehensiveapproach reflected in paragraph 13.14 of this Programme ofAction, particularly with respect to the costs of implementingreproductive health service delivery."

After a few requests for clarification, the chapter wasadopted ad referendum. The Holy See said that it couldnot join the agreement on sub-paragraph 13.14(c), which callsfor "expanded condom distribution." Zimbabwe said that itcould not endorse this sub-paragraph either, since expandedcondom distribution seemed to call for the distribution ofexpanded -- and therefore used -- condoms. After the Chairregained his composure, he suggested an alternative: "expandeddistribution of condoms."

X. INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION: Protracted discussions bymore than 30 delegations in the working group chaired bySoliman Awaad (Egypt) agreed on new text for paragraph 10.12on family reunification: "Consistent with Article 10 of theConvention on the Rights of the Child and all otheruniversally recognized human rights instruments, allGovernments, particularly those of receiving countries, mustrecognize the vital importance of family reunification andpromote its integration into their national legislation inorder to ensure the protection of the unity of the families ofdocumented migrants." Egypt said there was strong support inthe working group for a global conference on internationalmigration and development and that the report of theconference should note this support. Belize added the word"relevant" after "all other" and this was accepted.

II. PRINCIPLES: The changes to Chapter II were read outby the Secretary. Discussion ensued on the followingprinciples.

Principle 5: At his own initiative, the Chair added languageat the beginning of this principle similar to that found inthe chapeau: Each nation has the right to develop andimplement policies within the context of its national laws andin conformity with international human rights. Algeriaprotested and argued that in the course of the Friends of theChair's negotiations, the participants had agreed that thislanguage would be dropped. The EU responded that this languagewas slightly different from that found in the chapeau andshould be retained. The Holy See agreed with the EU and saidthat they favored even stronger language to strengthen theconcept of human rights. It was finally agreed to drop thefirst sentence and the paragraph now starts with"Population-related goals and policies...."

Principle 8: Iran said that the phrase "sexual and" should bedeleted, based on what was agreed in Chapters VII and VIII.Sweden, supported by the EU, said their understanding was thatthe text would read: "States should take measures...includingthose related to reproductive healthcare, including familyplanning and sexual health. These programmes...." Iran and theUS said that they had alternative language and it was agreedthat the issue would be dealt with in a meeting to harmonizelanguage that the Chair would convene at 6:00 pm.

Principle 11: The Chair took the initiative to delete the partof this paragraph that refers to the sale of organs, as therewas nothing else in the Programme of Action on this matter andit is dealt with in other UN instruments. Cuba disagreedstrongly and argued that the traffic in children's organs hasincreased, is terrible and repugnant, and leads to the murderof children. The Chair responded that he agreed with thosepoints, but he had deleted the phrase for the sake ofconsistency in the document. The Chair agreed to restore thereference to traffic in children's organs.

I. PREAMBLE: The Secretary read out further revisionsto the text that had been distributed last week. In paragraph1.9 (resources), brackets were deleted and it now reads: "Inorder to do so, adequate mobilization of resources at thenational and international level will be required, as well asnew and additional resources to the developing countries fromall available funding mechanisms, including multilateral,bilateral and private sources. Financial resources are alsorequired to strengthen the capacity of national, regional,sub-regional and international institutions to implement thisProgramme of Action."

Algeria sought a clarification on paragraph 1.17(implementation of policies), but the Chair said that thiswill be addressed when this chapter is harmonized with ChapterII. In paragraph 1.18 (objectives), the brackets were deletedand text now reads: "provision of universal access toreproductive health services, including family planning andsexual health."

V. THE FAMILY, ITS ROLES, RIGHTS, COMPOSITION ANDSTRUCTURE: Amb. Lionel Hurst then took the Chair. TheSecretary introduced the changes to Chapter V. In paragraph5.1, the first sentence refers to the various "forms" of thefamily that exist in different social, cultural, legal andpolitical systems. Paraguay said that this language should beharmonized with Principle 9 of Chapter II.

In paragraph 5.5, a new first sentence calls on Governments totake effective action to eliminate all forms of coercion anddiscrimination in policies and practices. In addition, thereference to practices related to "marriage, other unions andthe family" was deleted. Nigeria said that the language shouldspecify that these measures apply to the family members. TheChair agreed that the text is not perfect, but reflects aconsensus, and he urged the delegate to withdraw his proposal.

XIV. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: The Secretary read outthe agreed text for paragraph 14.3(f): "To ensure that allpopulation and development programmes, with full respect forthe various religious and ethical values and culturalbackgrounds of each country's people, adhere to basic humanrights recognized by the international community and recalledin the present Programme of Action." Algeria pointed out thatthe word "ensure" should be replaced by "urge." TheSecretariat confirmed Algeria's point. During the formalsession later in the afternoon, India asked the Secretary toread out the changes to paragraph 14.17. The paragraph nowreads: "Innovative financing, including new ways of generatingpublic and private financing resources, including variousforms of debt relief, should be explored."

XV. PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NON-GOVERN- MENTAL SECTOR: TheSecretary announced that wording would be harmonized withChapter II and that there were no other amendments.

The Main Committee then adopted all sixteen chapters of theProgramme of Action ad referendum and transmitted themto the Plenary for final action. Without further ado, the MainCommittee adjourned.

IN THE CORRIDORS

There was much confusion in and out of the corridors as theMain Committee bounced back and forth between formal andinformal sessions all afternoon. Many participants andobservers questioned this seemingly strange procedure,particularly the media who were constantly invited into theroom and then ejected once again, depending on the status ofthe session. Others wondered why each chapter had to beadopted twice.

According to UN procedure, the results of informal-informalconsultations must be first presented to the informal meetingof the Main Committee, where the text is discussed by theCommittee as a whole. Then, after any additional amendments orclarifications have been made, the informal session can agreeto forward the text to the formal session. Only the formalsession of the Main Committee can officially adopt the textand forward it on to the Plenary of the Conference. In manyconferences, the Main Committee concludes its informalconsideration of the text at least a session before it meetsformally to adopt the text. However, in this case, since manyof the informal-informal consultations did not conclude untilminutes before the relevant text had to be adopted by the MainCommittee, there was no other alternative but to play thisgame of procedural ping-pong.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY

PLENARY: The final session of the Plenary is expectedto meet this morning at 11:00 am. The Plenary will have anumber of items of business to attend to, including: adoptionof the Programme of Action, as transmitted from the MainCommittee; adoption of a resolution thanking the host country;adoption of a resolution transmitting the Programme of Actionand the report of the Conference to the 49th session of the UNGeneral Assembly; and adoption of the report of theConference. After adopting the Programme of Action, a numberof delegations are expected to take the floor to express theirreservations on certain paragraphs. Closing remarks areexpected from ICPD Secretary- General Nafis Sadik, EgyptianPrime Minister Atef Sedky, and Egyptian Minister of Populationand Family Welfare, Maher Mahran. Final statements are alsoexpected from the Chairs of the regional and interest groupsbefore the International Conference on Population andDevelopment is gavelled to a close.