COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES DEBATE ON NATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN POPULATION MATTERS

Press Release
POP/763

COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES DEBATE ON NATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN POPULATION MATTERS

Europe was experiencing declining birth rates and rapid growth of its ageing population, requiring a community response to create a framework for older people that would help them live active lives, the Commission on Population and Development was told this morning as it concluded its general debate on national experiences in population matters.

The representative of Austria said her country had promoted the idea of voluntary work for the elderly and had created model “citizen’s centres for voluntary work”. Those centres would act as community-exchange places or bulletin boards where persons who sought volunteer work could meet with employers. The centres would be equipped with computers and Internet access aimed at familiarizing older persons with new technologies and information systems.

On the topic of reproductive health, the Mexican Government felt that its people would not be free if reproduction was considered an "accident of nature", that country's representative told the Commission. Thus, the national population policies had emphasized the importance of reproductive rights, including the equal right of men and women to freely choose the number of children and their spacing. Countrywide, contraceptive use had increased dramatically, in recent years, as had the number of prenatal visits and modern deliveries.

Thanks to the 1994 Cairo Conference, decision makers in the Dominican Republic now clearly understood that reproductive health was a significant factor in the condition of the family, that country's representative said. The promotion of reproductive health improved the quality of both women's and men's lives and promoted sustainable development. Sexual and reproductive health programmes had specifically targeted young people, and family planning programmes had been geared to the poorest women.

The representative of Haiti expressed dismay at the obstacles to Haitian women's development caused by historical and deeply rooted gender inequality. Maternal and infant mortality rates were high, and women were also victims of high illiteracy and limited access to health and educational services. They had been exposed to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease, and they still had limited access to employment. Moreover, women’s wages had not allowed them to meet their material needs, a dramatic reality given the number of single households headed by women. An innovative action plan, however, was positively affecting women's status in Haiti.

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With the conclusion of the general debate today, the Commission had also concluded its five-year programme of work, during which it had considered the following topics: reproductive rights and health; international migration and development; health and mortality; population, growth, structure and distribution and development; and, at the current session, population, gender and development.

The Director of the Population Division, Joseph Chamie, recalled the decision made in 1999 that the theme for next year's session would be: population, environment and development. The Bureau had recommended the following topics for 2002 and 2003: reproductive rights and reproductive health; and population and socio-economic differentials within and among countries. It had also recommended that, in 2004, the Commission should focus solely on the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the 1994 Cairo Programme of Action. Events to mark that milestone could include a global conference and special sessions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission. A technical session of experts was also recommended. Those events should be "innovative" and should encompass new issues and actions in the population and development field.

The United States representative said he supported the special themes for the Commission's thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth sessions, respectively: reproductive rights and reproductive health; and population and socio-economic differentials within and among countries. Regarding the 10-year review of the Cairo Programme of Action, a final decision should be made at next year's session, in order to give delegations time to further consider the results of the forthcoming five-year reviews of the women's and social development Conferences.

In other business this morning, Alica Wetheimer-Baletic (Croatia) was elected Vice-Chairperson. It was announced that Easton Williams (Jamaica), Vice- Chairperson, had agreed to serve also as Rapporteur.

Statements were also made by the representatives of the Philippines, Lesotho, Tunisia, Malawi and Norway.

The Commission on Population and Development will meet again at 3 p.m. today to consider implementation by the Population Division of its 1999 and future work programmes.

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Commission Work Programme

The Commission on Population and Development met this morning to conclude its general debate on national experience in population matters: population, gender and development. Members were then expected to consider the work of the Commission during the next five years. Elections to complete the Bureau were also anticipated. (For background, see Press Release POP/758 of 24 March.)

Statements

TOMAS M. OSIAS (Philippines) said that the past decade had been one of profound change in his country. The increasing pace of globalization and its effects on the economy had resulted in profound changes to the way the Philippines approached its development efforts. Indeed, globalization had made his country more appreciative than ever of the problems of population and development.

He went on to say that the Philippines was especially fortunate that its constitution called for economic development efforts aimed at strengthening a society based on democratic values and “people empowerment”. That commitment had been further strengthened through the Government’s recent adoption of a “pro-poor” agenda, which recognized that sustainable development could not succeed without the empowerment of the least advantaged sectors of society. To that end, the Philippines had enacted laws and programmes that would provide credit, training and employment opportunities for women. The country had also embarked on an extensive effort to reduce illiteracy.

The Philippines also realized that sustainable development must be based on a continuing decentralized population programme that had a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. He said that such a programme must be gender sensitive and emphasize male participation in fertility management. The Philippines population programme, therefore, took into account not only the demographic dimension, but also other critical areas, such as maternal and child health care, reduction of the incidence of teenage pregnancy, prevention of abortion and preservation of reproductive health. The Government was also fostering societal norms that would allow for more frank discussions between parents and children about reproductive health concerns.

He went on to say that discussions on fertility management must take notice of the question of migration. Like many other countries, a significant portion of the Philippines’ population was employed overseas, particularly in fields where the dangers of abuse were greatest. Of particular concern was the fact that a large number of those employed outside the country were women hired for manual labor. The international community must address the special concerns of those women, particularly with respect to the protection of their rights.

JEAN ANDRE (Haiti) said that at the special session last year it was recommended that the gender aspects of demographic trends be taken into account. The Secretary-General's report on world population monitoring had shown the depth of the problems and the extent of the work required to confront them. That was especially true in Haiti, where deep historical cultural roots of gender inequality had seriously impeded women's development. Women had also been victims of high illiteracy rates and limited access to health and educational services. They had been exposed to HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease, and they still had limited access to employment. Marriage and migrant conditions had also been unhelpful.

Moreover, he said, women's income had not allowed women to meet their material needs, a dramatic reality given the number of single households headed by women. Maternal and infant mortality rates were high. Despite such conditions, there had been no systematic studies on violence against women. The International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and the Fourth World Conferences on Women (Beijing, 1995) had given rise to the adoption by his Government of a series of measures to confront the situation. The Ministry for Women's Rights had drawn up a post-Beijing plan of action, which pivoted on a number of basic strategies: the fight against female poverty; access to all levels of knowledge and power; protection against all kinds of abuse and violence; and legal action to guarantee respect for women's human rights.

He said his Government's action plan had positively affected women's status in Haiti, and improved their quality of life. Progress had been made in the areas of health, education, and the problems of youth. The health ministry had just drawn up a plan to strengthen health and reproductive services, with the medium- and long-term objective of reducing maternal mortality and increasing contraceptive use. The ministry had implemented a programme for population, reproduction and the advancement of family life. It had also launched a programme of health education, including reproductive health and the prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease. The education ministry had recently launched an educational programme aimed at reducing the drop-out rate of school children.

PERCY M. MANGOAELA (Lesotho) said that although his country had committed itself to the removal of all discriminatory laws, progress in that area had been very slow. The Law Reform Commission established in 1993 had only become operational in 1997. Even then, no laws improving women's status had been enacted since the Beijing Conference. Thus, Basotho women still faced all the hardships of their legal minority status. Although women were generally more educated than their male counterparts, very few women in Lesotho held decision-making positions, either in civil service or in the private sector. At the family level, most women were the de facto heads of households, because the men migrated to work in the South African mining industry.

Nevertheless, he said, women did not have the power to make important decisions, including those relating to their reproductive health. For example, the prenatal cultural environment had put the Basotho women at the health risk of too early, too closely spaced and too late pregnancies. The maternal mortality rate was presently estimated at more than 282 per 100,000 births, and the total fertility rate was 4.1 children per woman. In an effort to tackle some of those problems, the Government had strengthened the institutional framework for addressing gender issues by establishing a Ministry of Environment, Gender and Youth Affairs to advocate legal reform aimed at improving women's status. The Government had also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and had completed its reporting process in that regard.

A number of non-governmental organizations were offering counseling services to women and children victims of rape, as well as other forms of violence and abuse, he said. Those organizations had also organized a Rape Alliance Day, which had been celebrated by a peaceful march to the office of the Minister of Justice and Human Rights. Their petition had called for, among other measures: the speedy disposal of rape cases in the courts; treatment of rape victims with dignity and respect; denial of the right to bail in rape cases; and imposition of tougher sentences for the perpetrators. Recognizing that the reproductive health of adolescents had been largely ignored, the Government had initiated efforts to reverse that trend. It had also intensified efforts to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

SAID BEN MUSTAPHA (Tunisia) said that his country had long been aware of the link between the promotion of women’s rights and societal development. Indeed, women were a catalyst for development, through the education of future generations and the continual struggle against ignorance. The integration of gender concerns into development plans was essential.

He went on to say that Tunisia had carried out several actions in that regard. Legislative reforms had been adopted to address the issue of discrimination against women. A Personal Status Code had also been put in place to ensure mutual respect for women in family life and marital affairs. Tunisia also continued its struggle against poverty, particularly in rural areas.

He said that the Government had also enacted a national health objective to increase women’s access to quality health care. That objective facilitated access to reproductive health care programmes and health care centres. It also encouraged prenatal monitoring and family planning to decrease infant and maternal mortality.

The integration of women’s rights was vital in development efforts, he said. That approach had had positive effects on the people and economy of Tunisia. The global approach to women’s rights, which would guarantee them equal access and participation in all levels of society, had been very successful and women were now equal partners in building a better Tunisia.

ANGELA DE LEON NAVARRO (Dominican Republic) said the formulation of a national programme, following the Cairo Conference, had placed women at the centre of development policies and addressed new, basic challenges and ways of meeting them. Thanks to Cairo, decision makers now clearly understood that reproductive health was a significant factor in the condition of the family. Its promotion improved the quality of women's and men's lives and promoted sustainable development. Cairo had also shown that incorporating the gender perspective into national development efforts was an essential component of sustainable programmes. Based on those criteria, her country could demonstrate achievements in the areas of population, gender and development.

Since 1996, her Government had mobilized a plan to reduce maternal and infant mortality, she said. According to preliminary evaluations by the Public Health Secretariat, maternal and infant mortality had fallen during the period. The Secretariat for Health and Public Assistance had developed programmes to include the gender perspective in its services. Thanks to the technical and financial assistance of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), programmes had been launched to prevent cervical, uterine and breast cancer, sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS. Family planning had also improved. The programmes had especially targeted the country's poorest women. In addition, sexual and reproductive health programmes had been designed for young people.

Continuing, she said that her Government had established more than 30 special care centres for adolescents, including sexual and reproductive health services. Significant achievements had been made at the community level in sexual education and services for the young, thanks to the harmonized actions between the Government and non-governmental organizations. Nearly all of the country's reproductive health programmes had been governed by the same norms, and those services had been restructured in the framework of overall reform and modernization of the health sector.

In recent years, she said, the phenomenon of gender-based violence had been addressed in its proper dimension. There now was a law punishing perpetrators of such violence. In order to implement it, special police units and a special department in the judiciary had been established. Violence-prevention networks had also been created, as well as care centres for mistreated women. Men had also been included in educational campaigns on reproductive health. Training procedures were being developed in the population and health fields, and agrarian reform had permitted people to own the land they worked. Political parties were now obliged to include women in at least 33 per cent of elected posts. In the educational sphere, women's matriculation at all levels had increased, and a gender component had been included in curriculums and textbooks.

RICHARD PENDAME, Director of Clinical and Population Services of Malawi, said that the comprehensive national population policy his country had adopted in 1994 was aimed at improving the standard of living for Malawi’s citizens. The central feature of that policy ensured that population growth remained manageable and sustainable, while maintaining the rights of individuals to decide for themselves on family size. Some of the strategies adopted to achieve that goal were: reducing unwanted and mistimed pregnancies through better access to family services; ensuring reproductive rights through accessibility to health services; and improving the status of youth in all spheres of development. While there had been some success with the plan, full implementation had been hampered by lack of trained personnel and inadequate funding.

He went on to say that the struggle to achieve gender sensitivity at all levels and ensure the equal status for women in a traditional society like that of Malawi was a daunting task. Nevertheless, there was unwavering commitment to the empowerment of women and the elimination of gender discrimination in his country. Malawi’s new Constitution of 1995, which guaranteed human rights for all citizens, gave women the right to full and equal protection under the law. Legal reforms had also been introduced to amend laws that would allow gender-discriminatory practices.

In consultation with non-governmental organizations and traditional leaders, the Government had also formulated a National Platform of Action in 1997. He said that the Platform called for the integration of gender perspectives in all policies and programmes. It focused on four priority areas: poverty alleviation and empowerment; the girl child; violence against women; and peace and governance.

Finally, he requested the international community to address the need to mobilize resources for such goals as poverty reduction, human resource development and education, to enable developing countries to tackle population, gender and development issues and to achieve the goals and objectives of the Cairo Programme of Action.

EVELINE HONIGSPERGER, Director, Centre of Policy for Older Persons and Population Policy, Federal Ministry of Environment, Youth and Family Affairs of Austria, said that population development in Austria was characterized by declining birth rates and an increase in the number of older persons. At the present time, life expectancy had risen to 74.9 years for men and 81.1 years for women. Projections for the near future pointed towards a consistent trend in that direction. Therefore, that country considered it a community responsibility to create a framework for older people that would help them realize their potential.

She went on to give a few examples of how Austria had responded to the challenges of an ageing society. Since about 80 per cent of older persons received long-term care from their families, provisions that supported those family caregivers had been deemed essential. Austrians in need of nursing care also received long-term allowances based on their specific requirements.

She said her country also promoted the idea of voluntary work for the elderly and had created model “citizen’s centres for voluntary work” to contribute towards implementing that goal. Those centres would act as a community-exchange place or bulletin board, where persons who sought volunteer work could meet with employers. The centres would be equipped with computers and Internet access aimed at familiarizing older persons with new technologies and information systems.

HELGE BRUNBORG (Norway) said that his country was one of the few developed countries not projected to experience fertility decline over the next 50 years. That was primarily due to Norway’s relatively high fertility. Therefore, over the past decade, the fertility rate had remained basically at the level of replacement.

He went on to say that, while the reasons for Norway’s high fertility rate were not fully known, it was generally believed that the country’s “family friendly” policies might have played a part. Citing examples of those policies, he drew the Commission’s attention to the possible effects of public policy on fertility levels and on female employment. In Norway, such policies, aimed at both men and women, included: one year of parental leave -- with pay –- after each birth, at least one month of which had to be taken by the father; arrangements for reduced or flexible work hours for parents; and child allowances.

RODOLFO TUIRAN (Mexico) said his Government felt that people could not be free if reproduction was imposed as an "accident of nature". Thus, population policies had attached particular importance to reproductive rights, including the equal right of men and women to freely choose the number of children and their spacing. Those were normative instruments for programmes and policies, and also the crux of its women- and population-related policies. In order to fully promote women's status, the Government, in 1996, created a national programme to serve as a concrete response to women's needs. It was attempting to integrate gender equality in all of its programmes, with a particular emphasis on the elimination of discriminatory access to education. Now, 92 per cent of school-aged girls were attending primary schools, and their enrolment in secondary schools had also recently increased.

Financial aid programmes to support the poorest families had been strengthened, he added. In the area of health, special attention had been given to women, particularly to reproductive health. It was estimated that between 1994 and 1999, the prevalence of contraceptive use had increased 100 per cent, and the number of prenatal consultations and modern deliveries had also increased. Women had also been deemed the "protagonists" in the fight against poverty, since nearly 7 million Mexican women had been identified as the country's poorest.

Further, he said much progress had been made and resources had been mobilized to end violence against women, including civil code reforms that severely punished such abuse. The electoral code had also been modified to included women in decision-making and political life. Now, two Mexican women were leading the two

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main political parties, while one of them also held a federal government position. The Government was determined to promote women's full potential.

The Commission Chairman then invited members to begin consideration of the work of the Commission during the next five-year period.

JOSEPH CHAMIE, Director of the Population Division, introduced the topic. He reviewed the series of global conferences on population, and said the "watershed" came in 1974 with the World Population Conference in Bucharest. There, a World Population Plan of Action had been adopted by consensus. In 1979, the first review and appraisal had been conducted, and five years later the Plan was reaffirmed at a Conference in Mexico City, and recommendations for its implementation were adopted. In 1989, the international community undertook a third review. The fourth review, held at Cairo in 1994, had resulted in the adoption of a Programme of Action. Last year, the General Assembly held a fifth review and appraisal of the World Population Plan and a first five-year review of the Cairo Programme of Action.

Since Cairo, he said, the Commission had been revitalized and expanded, and began meeting annually. At its twenty-eighth session, it adopted a five-year programme, now concluded. The programme had covered the following topics: reproductive rights and health; international migration and development; health and mortality; population, growth, structure and distribution, and development; and, at the current session, population, gender and development.

Continuing, he recalled the 1999 decision that the Commission, in 2001, would consider population, environment and development. It was now looking forward to special themes for the years beyond 2001. The Bureau had investigated possible topics at its meeting last June, and had recommended the following topics for 2002 and 2003; respectively; reproductive rights and reproductive health; and population and socio-economic differentials within and among countries. Those topics were now being discussed in the working group.

He recalled the Bureau's recommendation that, in 2004, the focus should be on the next quinquennial review and appraisal, with no special theme, thereby permitting the Commission to focus on the 10-year review and appraisal. The Bureau had also considered options for events in 2004 to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Action Programme. Those proposals included a global conference and special sessions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission. A technical session of experts was also recommended. The Bureau had emphasized that the events in 2004 should be "innovative" and should encompass new issues and actions in the population and development field.

PETER O. WAY, Senior Research Analyst, International Programme Center, Census Bureau of the United States, said that his delegation supported the recommended special themes contained in document E/CN.9/2000/CRP.1 for the Commission’s thirty- fifth and thirty-sixth sessions -– specifically “reproductive rights and reproductive health” and “population and socio-economic differentials within and among countries”. It was not only appropriate, but essential that the Commission review once every five years how the Cairo Conference addressed the issues of reproductive rights and reproductive health, since that Conference had established a new international consensus on that issue.

His delegation had given serious consideration to the options put forth in document E/CN.9/2000/CRP.1 regarding the 10-year review of the Cairo Programme of Action. While he supported that idea, he suggested that a final decision on the

issue be made at next year’s session. That approach would allow delegations to further digest the process for key actions called for in the Cairo +5 review, while taking into consideration the processes and results of both Beijing +5 and Copenhagen +5.

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