POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION HEARS SPEAKERS DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CAIRO PROGRAMME OF ACTION
Press Release
POP/712
POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION HEARS SPEAKERS DESCRIBE EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT CAIRO PROGRAMME OF ACTION
19990322 Efforts by Governments to implement the goals of the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1995) were described this afternoon as the Commission on Population and Development continued its deliberations.The representative of Niger described the deterioration of a population confronted by difficult land conditions and a demography worn from the negative effects of economic difficulties. He said nearly 10 million people were concentrated in the one-quarter of the country's territory where agricultural productivity was possible. Only nine per cent of men and six per cent of women could read and write, and 63 per cent were living below the poverty line. Nearly half the poor were women, who were the key to the food industry. Although more than half of Niger's agricultural output was in their hands, they were often excluded from decision-making processes relating to development.
The representative of Ukraine said the general social and economic situation of his country had impeded the development of basic demographic trends. Social instability and a decline in living standards had contributed to an annual population decrease over the last five years of 400,000; birth rates were falling against a background of a high death rate. The HIV/AIDS infection had posed the most serious threat to the population's health, with young people comprising the majority of those infected. An increased incidence of venereal disease, affecting even newly born babies, had also hindered reproduction.
The Canadian representative drew the Commission's attention to the link between population growth and the swelling pool of potential migrants. The migration issue had enormous potential for changing human lives. International migration, therefore, must continue to be featured prominently in the future work of the Commission, through detailed analysis of the complex relationships between migration and issues of population, sustainable development, health and mortality, reproductive health and rights, and the empowerment of women.
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Fostering a deeper understanding of better management of migration was a key concern of the International Organization for Migration, a representative of that group said. In 1997, it had launched a policy-oriented project aimed at building global consensus on the elements of migration management. The initial research had triggered two international meetings so far, where countries of origin, destination and transit discussed their concerns. Such activities were important contributions to international discussion of current migration issues.
Population was one factor in a complex equation that could spell the difference between greater prosperity for all in a more equitable world, or increased poverty, environmental degradation and politico-social tensions of all kinds, a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said. Population growth was one of the major and most pressing challenges facing humanity. Population policies must be integrated into a sustainable human development strategy that included protection of the environment, the promotion of economic well-being and the furthering of social progress, including the advancement of women.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Japan, Norway, Jamaica, Pakistan, Sweden, India, South Africa, and Mozambique. A representative of International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres also spoke.
Also this afternoon, the Commission elected Simon B. Arap Bullut (Kenya), as Vice Chairman-cum-Rapporteur.
Moreover, the Commission took up its programme of work for the next quinquennium. Director of the Population Division Joseph Chamie and Raj Karim (Malaysia), Chairman of the thirty-first session of the Commission, presented proposed themes for future sessions, possible expert meetings and reports that would be before the Commission in the next five years.
Statements in that regard were made by the representatives of the Russian Federation and India.
The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow to continue its deliberations.
Commission Work Programme
The Commission on Population and Development met this afternoon to continue its review of follow-up actions to the recommendations of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo. (For background, see Press Release POP/709 issued 18 March.)
Statements
HITOSHI HONDA, Ambassador of the Multilateral Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, said that, due to increased longevity and declining fertility below the replacement level, it was expected that the Japanese population would become progressively smaller and older. Long-term low fertility was bringing about a particularly acute decline in the proportion of the working age population, leading to a shrinking of the labour force. In light of those trends, the Japanese population was tackling two vital issues: ensuring that it had an adequate working population in the long run; and ensuring that Japanese society provided adequate support to its elderly citizens.
In order to secure a sufficient working population, he said, it was essential to realize a society in which men and women could participate on an equal basis. Based on that assumption, in 1996 Japan formulated a gender equality plan that set four basic targets, which included achieving gender equality in the workplace, family and community. In order to achieve equal treatment for women and men in the area of employment, Japan had strengthened its equal employment opportunity laws and improved childcare leave systems. Beyond those efforts, his country had also discussed measures to provide more employment for the elderly, such as through raising the retirement age.
HELGE BRUNBORG (Norway) said the report on demographic trends said that fertility had started to decline in the 1990s for Nordic states. However, that was not the case for Norway, where fertility had increased due to family- friendly policies. On the categorizing of countries, he said there could be more interesting ways of grouping least and less developed countries. A medium-developed category could be used. Because of the need for accurate data on population, there should be greater efforts to support the taking of censuses in countries around the world. States could also be encouraged to conduct continual censuses, which provided more essential information than censuses conducted every 10 years.
EASTON WILLIAMS (Jamaica) suggested some minor changes to the proposed programme of work of the Commission in the years 2001 to 2003, as follows: for the year 2001, the inclusion of the word "dynamics" after the word "population"; the inclusion of the word "development", so that the phrase would read "population, environment and development" for 2002; and the
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inclusion of "with special focus on adolescence and youth and HIV/AIDS" for 2003.
He said that following a revision of the population policy, Jamaica had developed national policies and programmes of action on children, youth and senior citizens. A special programme was designed to address reproductive health in young people.
GHULAM SAMDANI (Pakistan) said the session was extraordinarily significant because it would turn into the preparatory committee for the Assembly's review, and his delegation would cooperate fully to make the upcoming special session a success.
He said he wished to correct a table on page 7 of the report of the Secretary-General on world population monitoring (document E/CN.9/199/2). Pakistan's 1998 population was shown as 148 million. That was based on old estimates. Pakistan's population in 1998 was 130.5 million.
Turning to his country's demographic profile, he said Pakistan was the seventh most populous country in the world and the fourth largest country in Asia. Given the annual growth rate, Pakistan's population would reach 214 million by the year 2020, and would continue to grow, even after 2030. In fact, it would take almost 60 to 70 years from now to stabilize Pakistan's population -- an alarming fact. Several disadvantages had hampered implementation of the Cairo Conference agenda, including a lack of adequate resources, and social and cultural rigidities.
He said that the recent population decline in Pakistan was attributed to changes in marriage patterns and marital fertility. Fertility had declined significantly in the 1990s, owing to some extent to less demographic pressure, which in past decades had impeded the country's socio-economic development. Currently, it faced severe resource constraints at a time when resources were most urgently required. The Cairo recommendations had introduced a new paradigm, thereby heralding a new era of population growth and development. His country had fully embraced the new paradigm and had formulated population policy based on the needs of its people, as well as on sustaining the political commitment and mobilizing broad-based support. At the same time, the policy was consistent with the religious, social and cultural values of the Pakistani people.
Indeed, he continued, his country had adopted the principles of Cairo, and had undertaken some bold initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life for every Pakistani by providing high quality reproductive health and family planning services. It also created an enabling environment in order to bring about social and demographic change, particularly in the status of women. Collaborative efforts had been undertaken through a broad range of
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stakeholders, and the population policy had underscored that population and development were the responsibility of all citizens.
He said that substantial progress had been made in reproductive health, including family planning. The fertility rate had fallen and the use of contraception had risen. Reproductive health indicators, however, still required considerable improvement to match international standards. During the post-conference period, several new initiatives had been tested, including the integration of reproductive health services into health delivery systems, enhancing access to a full range of reliable family planning methods, and efforts to address maternal mortality and prevent HIV/AIDS.
The most "burning" issue concerning Pakistan's implementation of Cairo's goals was the lack of available resources, he said. Implementation was "a tall order", covering a wide range of new areas and requiring resources beyond the capacity of developing countries, including Pakistan. In 1994, all participants had agreed that greater assistance was needed, but the international community had seriously lagged behind the its funding commitments. It would, therefore, be difficult for Pakistan to maintain the required pace.
It would be unfortunate if the recent breakthroughs achieved in his country in the area of reproductive health were allowed to diminish, he said. A substantial increase in donor support was imperative to sustain Pakistan's efforts at implementing the goals of the Cairo Conference. Although Pakistan was on the right track, its ultimate success depended on its ability to operate in a favourable environment.
BERTIL EGERO (Sweden) said that United Nations population monitoring was of utmost importance for many bodies, governmental and non-governmental, that dealt with population figures. Thus, the classification of countries needed to be altered. Currently, States were classified as less developed and more developed. However, a number of less developed countries had bypassed some of the more developed in economic growth. The impact of population had kept development down in many of those countries. More differentiation was needed than simply less and more developed.
Y. N. CHATURVEDI, Secretary of the Department of Family Welfare of India, said that it was clear that, while the developing countries had met nearly 78 per cent of the commitments undertaken by them for mobilizing domestic resources, the commitment of external assistance appeared to be lagging at less than half that figure. The special session of the General Assembly in June must provide the necessary impetus and generate political will for meeting those resource mobilization commitments. The official development assistance (ODA) levels were at an historic low and it appeared that the increases in external funding for population activities, which had occurred directly following the Cairo Conference, had ended.
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As a democratic country, India was devoted to social improvement and to increasing social sector spending, he said. The total expenditure in the current budget on social services exceeded 23 per cent. However, it continued to see the 20:20 Initiative as a voluntary initiative among interested donor recipient countries, and not as a prescriptive formulation or even as the most important factor in additional resource mobilization.
ROBERT PAIVA, International Organization of Migration, said the Cairo Conference goal of fostering a deeper understanding of how migration could be better managed to the mutual benefit of all concerned was one of his organization's key activities. In 1997, it launched a policy-oriented project entitled "New International Regime for Orderly Movements of People", whose purpose was to build international consensus on the elements of migration management. With financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Governments of Sweden and the Netherlands, the initial research had triggered two international meetings so far, where countries of origin, destination and transit discussed their concerns. Such activities were important contributions to the international discussion of current migration issues and concerns. Their output should also strengthen the increasing number of regional consultation processes.
SALLY ANDREWS (Canada) said that in many countries, particularly in sub- Saharan Africa, high rates of population growth, compounded by poverty, continued to concern Governments, which were attempting to improve the standard of living of their people. Issues of population growth, structure and distribution also presented challenges to sustainable development, as the cumulative impact of growing populations and rapid urbanization -- particularly when combined with increases in industrial output, elevated consumption of scarce resources, and production of waste and pollution growth -- was increasingly recognized as a factor in environmental degradation.
Likewise, population growth could be an important factor in population redistribution, either through migration or urban growth, she said. While population growth swelled the pool of potential migrants, the pressure it exerted on resources often triggered migration. In some parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, population growth through natural increase, rather than rural-to-urban migration, was the major source of urban growth.
Beyond population growth and distribution, an equally critical factor for future population trends was changing age structures, she said. The largest generation ever of adolescents was creating unprecedented demands for education, employment and other opportunities. At the same time in sub- Saharan Africa, and to a growing extent in Asia, HIV/AIDS was threatening the health and future of young generations, which were experiencing the greatest burden of disease. Those young people constituted the working age population on which the rest of society depended. Those factors justified a particular focus on the young in terms of health education and prevention.
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She said that the Commission's emphasis on ageing populations as dynamic and positive was welcome. Her country attached considerable importance to the concept of active ageing and the need to enhance society's understanding of the needs and contributions of older persons. Domestically, within the context of the 1999 International Year of Older Persons, Canada was emphasizing the importance of inter-generational dialogue.
The theme of international migration was an integral part of any discussion of population and development, she said. Her delegation agreed with some of the views on future policy directions reached by the concluding panel at the 1998 Technical Symposium on International Migration and Development. In particular, it endorsed the panel's emphasis of the importance of international cooperation based on an appropriate balance of the concerns of the various parties and the usefulness of regional efforts to harmonize migration and asylum policies.
The migration issue had enormous potential for changing human lives, she went on. Her country, therefore, urged that international migration continue to be accorded prominence in the future work of the Commission, through detailed analysis of the complex relationships between migration and other issues such as population, sustainable development, health and mortality, reproductive health and rights, and the empowerment of women. At the same time, other aspects related to migration deserved the serious attention of the Commission, including the protection of migrants' human rights, with special attention to the needs of women and children, the reduction of undocumented migration, and the sharing of best practices with regard to the integration of documented migrants.
OLEKSII HOLUBOV (Ukraine) said the general social and economic situation of Ukraine, and particularly the consequences of last year's financial crisis, continued to negatively impact the development of basic demographic trends. Those negative processes had an impact on population reduction, and also led to social instability and a common decline in living standards. As of 1 January, Ukraine's population was 50.1 million. Over the last five years, the annual decline in population was, on average, 0.4 million. One reason for the decrease was the falling birth rate against a background of a high death rate.
One reason for the growth in morbidity and mortality was the change that had taken place in social and economic relationships, he said. Increased social differentiation had also had its impact on human behaviour and attitudes towards health. It was also worth mentioning a high rate of occupational morbidity, injuries and the population disability. The most serious threat to the health of the population came from HIV/AIDS infection. The majority of those infected were young people. Ukraine had also experienced a growth of venereal diseases as well as venereal infections of the newly born. Such diseases had a serious effect on reproduction.
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LUCI ABRAHMS (South Africa) said her country had made significant strides in implementing the Plan of Action of the Cairo Conference. Population trends had been driven by a population policy geared toward the achievement of sustainable development. The greatest challenge facing South Africa had been the lack of up-to-date and accurate population data. The first truly national census was taken in 1996. The South African population was mainly young and of working age. Therefore, population policies addressed backlogs in employment, housing and health and they called for integrated efforts to create jobs and improve the economy.
She added that South Africa was one of the most unequal societies in the world. Measures have been taken to remove barriers to women's full participation in society. Another serious concern for her country was the HIV/AIDS infection rate, which was one of the highest in the world. Many of those infected were women and children. The Government recognized AIDS, not only as a health threat, but as a social concern.
FERNANDO CHIMAR (Mozambique) said that for the sake of common understanding of issues of great concern for humanity, his delegation would highlight the importance of the Secretary-General's report on world demographic trends (document E/CN.9/1999/5), in particular, paragraphs 40, 41 and 42.
He said his country had been developing programmes, within its limited resources, to confront the disease of the century -- AIDS -- which had taken a devastating toll on its population. To undertake the long-range programme needed to eliminate or prevent the disease, it was essential to widely disseminate information on prevention. His delegation would appreciate the inclusion by the Secretariat in future reports of information on the AIDS epidemic worldwide. The information provided had assessed the effects of AIDS on population growth and life expectancy in the so-called "hardest-hit" countries.
GUSTAVO LOPEZ OSPINA, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that five years after the Cairo Conference, his organization was still convinced that population growth was one of the major and most pressing challenges facing the human community at the present time. The world recognized that population was one factor in a complex equation that could spell the difference between greater prosperity for all in a more equitable world, or increased poverty, environmental degradation and politico-social tensions of all kinds. Population policies must therefore form part of an integrated sustainable human development strategy that included protection of the environment, the promotion of economic well-being and the furthering of social progress, including enhancement of the status of women.
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OUSMANE TANDINA (Niger) said that the subject of today's meeting was a matter of extreme concern to Niger, in western Africa, where there were no seaports, very poor soil, old fashioned agricultural methods, and a demography which showed the deleterious effects of the economic situation. The country's one and a half million square kilometres was largely desert, with nearly 10 million people concentrated in only one-quarter of the territory. Some seven million people lived in approximately 300,000 square kilometres. The rate of growth in the southern or agricultural part of the country was 3.2 per cent per year. There was a very high population density in the south compared with the desert of the north.
He said that Niger's grave economic situation had been compounded by demographic growth and a deterioration of social services, and improvements in health had been very slow. According to recent statistics, the number of children attending school was very low, as was the percentage of those who could read and write. In 1996, only nine per cent of men and six per cent of women could read and write, which underscored the urgent need for a public awareness campaign. In light of the difficult economic situation, the majority of the population, or 63 per cent, were living below the poverty line. Nearly half were women, who were the key to the food industry. Although more than half the country's agricultural output was in the hands of women, they were often excluded from decision-making processes relating to development.
Many children were left on their own, often abandoned in the streets, marking the phenomenon known as "urban drift", he said. The population was concentrated in the cities, and even the population's most basic needs were not being met. With pervasive problems of health and education, it was difficult to improve people's lives. The Government was not "simply standing back and watching all this happen"; it had developed sectoral programmes, and population and health policies. It was basically implementing its national policy, and since 1994, private sector had emerged. Civil society, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and trade unions had become active, with women's NGOs working very closely with Islamic associations.
He said that more than 95 per cent of the people of Niger were Muslim. In social and cultural matters, they were therefore very influenced by Islam. The idea was to foster an awareness of the relationship between demography and social and economic indices, and to persuade people of the importance of long- term planning for implementing reforms.
Ms. LUBIN, International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres, said non-governmental organizations could play a larger role in helping migrants settle and find work and housing. NGOs around the world were a key provider in social services. They would like to be more involved at the national and international level in helping migrants. They were community based and they knew what the needs were at the grass-roots level.
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Response to Statements
LARRY HELIGMAN, Assistant Director of the Population Division, on a question regarding education, said it was an important factor that would play a key role in the General Assembly's special session on population and development. On the topic of ageing, he said that an increasingly older population also was a key factor in population study. However, it was age distribution more than just an older population that should be considered. Efforts were made to try to look at the entire age structure and the effects of changing age structures on development. A number of countries presented corrected information on population figures, which would be helpful in future reports. On the question of classifying the less and more developed States, he said that some believed those terms were becoming outdated. However, others had stressed in the past the importance of comparing less and more developed regions. That issue will be discussed further in the Division.
MOHAMMED NIZAMUDDIN, Director of the Technical and Policy Division of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on resources for population services, said there was a need to examine how to increase resource flows and that would be a key question when the Commission meets as the Preparatory Committee for the special session. On the 20/20 initiative, he said that there had been an agreement that States would make efforts to implement it, but it was not a binding commitment. The ICDP+5 process would, hopefully, help mobilize greater resources from the donor community because many countries needed those resources in order to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.
CATHERINE PIERCE, Deputy Director of the Technical and Policy Division of UNFPA, on the root causes of migration, said that migration was one of the cross-cutting issues that lent itself to coordinated follow-up to all the major United Nations conferences and would be discussed more in the future. On the technical symposium in The Hague, she said there was general agreement on the following: that there was a need for more data to formulate policy and effect public debate; and there was a need to focus on the positive role that could be played by non-governmental groups to help migrants overcome economic, social and cultural marginalization.
HANIA ZLOTNIK, Chief of the Population Estimates and Projections Section of the Population Division, on mortality projections, said many countries had very little or no direct information on adult mortality. That was why a manual was being created by the Division to produce estimates of mortality.
Statements on Work of Commission in Next Quinquennium
The Commission then took up the agenda item on the work of the Commission on Population and Development in the next quinquennium. Director of the Population Division, JOSEPH CHAMIE, and RAJ KARIM (Malaysia), Chairman
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of the thirty-first session of the Commission, presented proposed themes for future sessions, possible expert meetings and reports that would be before the Commission in the next five years.
DZINA SBARSKAYA (Russian Federation) said that all materials prepared by the Secretariat for future sessions must take into account regional differences. Various processes were taking place at different speeds in different regions. There should be a greater understanding of transition economies when future documents were drawn up.
In response, Mr. CHAMIE said the Division was happy to recognize national and regional differences in its reports and the situation of economies in transition was particularly important. The Division would continue to differentiate regions and subregion around the globe.
Ms. CHATURVEDI, Secretary of the Department of Family Welfare of India, said there had been very little time to examine the issue of morbidity and its relation to population. That was an unexplored and uncharted area and considerable international cooperation was needed to collect accurate data in that regard. Also, five years was too short a period to take stock of what had been done in the area of population. Reports before the Commission should take due consideration of that.
Mr. CHAMIE said that measuring demographic trends in a five-year period was very precarious, and that would be reflected in further discussions leading up to the special session. On morbidity rates, he said data on morbidity and cause of death was problematic. Efforts would be made to come up with better data in that regard.
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