PRESS BRIEFING ON CONCLUSION OF WORK OF AD HOC COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S SPECIAL SESSION ON CAIRO OUTCOME

Press Briefing

PRESS BRIEFING ON CONCLUSION OF WORK OF AD HOC COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S SPECIAL SESSION ON CAIRO OUTCOME

The way to avoid abortions was to provide access to family planning contraceptive methods and to enable women actually to use those services, Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said at a Headquarters press briefing this morning.

She said the document to be submitted to the General Assembly special session to review implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) had reiterated that abortion should not be promoted as a method of family planning. But in all circumstances of unsafe abortion, women's health must be protected. Where abortion was legal, health service systems and health providers must be trained and equipped to provide safe and accessible services.

As in Cairo five years ago, she said, there had been a long debate on that issue and on the consequences of illegal or unsafe abortion. The recognition of abortion as a health problem was sinking in everywhere. All gender issues were being addressed more openly, although the debate was between those who did not want those issues raised and those who felt that women's health was as important as that of anyone else. However, such sensitive issues as female genital mutilation, violence, rape and incest were now being publicly discussed, even at the Head of State level.

Dr. Sadik said that besides gender issues, including the rights of the girl child, two other major areas in which progress had been made were the question of the reproductive health and sexual health rights of adolescents and the issue of resources.

On resources, she said that although a maternal mortality reduction initiative had existed for the last 10 years, not much had been accomplished. The UNFPA, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank were working on a new set of approaches to address that issue. A new practical strategy was to be launched in October and the need for resources was therefore paramount. It should be pointed out to the international donor community that all it was being asked for was $5.7 billion, a sum she described as "peanuts, peanuts, peanuts". Already, about $2.2 billion was available and it was not difficult to raise the remainder in one year.

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Chairman of the special session's Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole, who was also present, said that last night's consensus adoption of the "Cairo+5" final document had dispelled a mood of

dismay prevailing in the international community. Member States, non- governmental organizations, delegations and agencies now believed there was a continuing commitment to population issues. That commitment had survived all the controversies and contentious issues as well as the lack of resources.

He said that the review process had taken into account new developments since Cairo and articulated new ways to implement the Programme of Action. The programme and partnership parts of the document would energize and guide population programmes, not only at the New York level, but also in the field. Since Cairo, the developing countries had made remarkable commitments in terms of policies, reallocation of budgetary resources and developing the institutional mechanisms to implement the Programme of Action.

Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, also present at the press conference, said this century had been one of demographic revolution. It had seen the world's highest-ever recorded growth rate in the late 1960s, the highest increases in life expectancy as well as decreases in mortality. The revolution had taken place at a time when humankind had had the biggest opportunity to make an impact.

Recalling Dr. Sadik's reference to resources and "peanuts", he said the $5.7 billion referred to worked out to approximately 3 cents a day per person on earth -- less than the price of peanuts.

Asked how objections from conservative countries and the Holy See had been overcome, Mr. Chowdhury said that the more the people were involved in the articulation of a case, the more they were able to see the views of other Member States as being just as important as their own particular view.

Another journalist asked if the panel was convinced that the Holy See as well as Catholic and Muslim countries that had been in opposition were now wholeheartedly in support of the entire document. Had there been winners and losers?

Mr. Chowdhury replied that Argentina and Nicaragua had expressed reservations. The Holy See had made a general statement. Informal statements regarding different issues were to be expected, but they were likely to be much fewer than those made in Cairo.

Dr. Sadik said the Holy See and the United States would make statements in the plenary. It was interesting that Syria, the Sudan and Libya had joined last night's consensus.

Mr. Chamie said some of the lowest fertility levels were in Catholic countries while Muslim countries were demonstrating rapid decreases in fertility. There was therefore a difference between the statements of

Press Briefing on Ad Hoc Committee - 3 - 2 July 1999

countries and the decisions actually being made by couples and individuals in the field.

In which areas could Mr. Chowdhury say the final document had moved forward in a practical way? another journalist asked.

Mr. Chowdhury said the first area concerned the issues of gender equality/equity, women's empowerment and the girl child. The other two were HIV/AIDS and partnerships between civil society and the private sector with the international community. Youth issues had come out more strongly than in Cairo, but it was a pity that a paragraph urging the allocation of 20 per cent of resources to youth could not be agreed upon.

Was the $5.7 billion referred to by Dr. Sadik annual funding? another correspondent asked.

She said it had been agreed in Cairo that $17 billion should be spent annually on reproductive health, family planning and data systems programmes by the year 2000. Of that, $11.3 billion was to come from developing countries and $5.7 billion annually from the donor countries. At the moment, an estimated two-thirds of the developing country requirement was forthcoming, but less than half from the donor community.

Where was the money going? the same journalist asked.

Dr. Sadik said it would go to developing countries for specific programmes. The estimates were based on individual country estimates.

Several United States congressmen had objected to language used in the debate on adolescent sexuality, another correspondent noted. Was there concern that those objections would affect efforts towards United States refunding of UNFPA?

Dr. Sadik replied that United States Ambassador Peter Burleigh had attended the Preparatory Committee in order to show that the congressmen's view was not that of the United States Administration. Yesterday, a bill in the United States Senate had been approved by a vote of 97 to 2 in favour of refunding UNFPA. Committees both in the House of Representatives and the Senate had included amounts for the agency next year.

* *** *