Commission on Population and Development

Forty-second Session

8^th Meeting (PM)

COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES SESSION BY ADOPTING

GUIDELINE FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION OVER NEXT FIVE YEARS

 

Members Elect New Bureau for Forty-Third Session, Pick Theme for Forty-Fourth

As it closed its forty-second session this afternoon, the Commission on Population and Development adopted a sweeping guideline for international action over the next five years to achieve the goals and objectives set forth during the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo.

Recognizing reproductive health as a human right, and recalling that in Cairo countries had committed to achieving universal access by 2015, the Commission urged Governments and development partners to improve maternal health, reduce maternal and infant mortality, and prevent and respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by strengthening health systems and ensuring that everyone, particularly those in vulnerable situations, had access to a wide range of health-care services.  That included family planning, prenatal and post-natal care, safe delivery, treatment for fertility and sexually transmitted diseases, sex education and quality services to manage complications arising from abortion.  In countries where abortion was legal, health systems should train and equip service providers to ensure safe access, but not promote it as a method of family planning.

Further by that text, the Commission encouraged Governments to provide financial and technical support to prevent deaths and complications related to pregnancy and childbirth -– still the leading cause of death among women in their child-bearing years in many developing countries.  Reducing maternal mortality not only saved women’s lives, it protected family health, alleviated poverty and improved prospects for future generations.

The Commission called on the international community to help Governments increase funding to reduce the unmet need for family planning, which was far below suggested targets, and ensure that it was included in national budgets.  It also called upon Governments to make it a priority in national development plans and budgets to address the impact of population dynamics on poverty and sustainable development, keeping in mind that universal health-care services and supplies, education and national capacity-building for population and development, as well as technology transfer to developing countries, were essential for achieving the Cairo Programme of Action, the Beijing Platform of Action and the Millennium Development Goals.

Governments were also urged to strengthen technical assistance and training to help develop human resources for health, taking into account the challenges of developing countries in retaining skilled health personnel, according to the text.  In addition, they were urged significantly to scale up efforts to provide comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support programmes for all by 2010, and halt and reverse the epidemic by 2015.  They were called upon to strengthen initiatives to enable women and girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection.

By other terms of the text, the Commission urged Governments to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, including such harmful traditional practices as female genital mutilation, and to work more effectively to achieve gender equality in all areas of family responsibility and reproductive life, as well as politics and decision-making.  The Commission also urged States to enact and strictly enforce laws that set a minimum legal age for marriage and required the full consent of both spouses before a marriage contract could be issued.

Raja Nushirwan Zailan Abidin ( Malaysia) reported on the informal consultation held on the text of the draft resolution titled “The contribution of the Programme of Action of the ICPD [International Conference on Population and Development] to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals”.

The representative of Iran noted that preambular paragraphs 4 and 6 and operative paragraph 27 included a new phrase which did not conform to the agreed “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights” language of the Programme.  The draft referred to “sexual and reproductive health and rights”.  The phrase “sexual rights” was not clear to the Iranian delegation and was therefore difficult to accept.

The phrase “sexual and reproductive health and rights” was then amended to “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights”, after which the Commission adopted the text by consensus.

The representatives of Ireland, Peru, Poland, Comoros, Chile and Saint Lucia stated in their explanation of position that any reference to reproductive rights and sexual and reproductive health services must be read in the context of the Programme of Action and did not constitute promotion or encouragement of abortion. 

Echoing those sentiments were the Permanent Observer of the Holy See and the representative of Malta, both observers without the right to vote, while Saint Lucia’s representative added that operative paragraph 19 did not weaken the right to refuse to participate in abortion procedures or in training for reasons of conscience.

The representative of Comoros said the Secretariat should make texts also available in French, one of the two working languages of the United Nations.

Cuba’s representative expressed serious concern about the negative impact of the financial crisis on development.

Mexico’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said many vulnerable groups still had only limited access to sexual and reproductive health and education and called for guarantees to protect their rights.  The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) should support effective, culturally appropriate measures to reduce the impact of the diseases on vulnerable groups.  Mexico also called on both origin and host countries to initiate policies to govern international migration.

Norway’s representative said his country had had abortion on demand for some time without seeing an increase and had witnessed rapidly declining teenage pregnancies.  The text would contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, especially those related to maternal mortality.

Sweden’s representative expressed a reservation regarding the use of the qualifier “in accordance with” contained in operative paragraph 19 and used in the context of HIV and AIDS, noting that it should not set a precedent for future negotiations.

Syria’s representative said the Commission’s consensus decisions should be in accordance with the broader international consensus.  Member States that were not members of the Commission should be consulted as well.

Colombia’s representative said operative paragraph 27 should be understood within the framework of the principles expressed in General Assembly resolution 47/186, and in the context that humanitarian aid must be provided with the consent of the host country.  The paragraph was not a precedent.

Uganda’s representative, while recognizing that full implementation of the Programme of Action was closely linked to efforts to achieve the Millennium Goals, which his country supported, called on Member States to implement their commitments.

In other action, the Commission adopted the report of its forty-second session (document E/CN.9/2009/L.3), which was introduced by Vice-Chairperson and Rapporteur Ivanka Tasheva ( Bulgaria), as well as the draft provisional agenda for its forty-third session (document E/CN.9/2009/L.2), which contained the text of the draft proposals adopted.  It also decided that the special theme for its forty-fourth session in 2011 should be “Fertility, reproductive health and development” by adopting a draft decision contained in document E/CN.9/2009/L.4.

The Commission took note of the Secretary-General’s reports on world demographic trends (document E/CN.9/2009/6) and on programme implementation and progress of work in the field of population in 2008 (document E/CN.0/2008/7).  It further took note of the draft programme of work of the Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, for the biennium 2010-2011.

Commission Chairperson Elena Zuniga Herrera ( Mexico) said in closing remarks that promoting reproductive rights had a positive impact on women and children, and was an investment in human capital for future generations.  Persisting challenges had affected least developed countries, particularly the most vulnerable sectors of society.  Demographic disparities had contributed to a widening of the gap between rich and poor and to injustice and inequality in terms of human rights.  The Commission’s deliberations illustrated that population issues were an integral part of development, and it was important to boost international cooperation, Government mechanisms and political will to fully implement the Cairo Programme of Action.

Immediately after the conclusion of the forty-second session, the Commission held the first meeting of its forty-third session to elect a new Chairperson and other members of the Bureau.

Prior to the election, Lebanon’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said he was deeply concerned that allowing Daniel Carmona (Israel) to serve as Chairperson for the forty-third session would have a negative impact on its credibility.  Israel still occupied territories in grave violation of the United Nations Charter and resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council and Human Rights Council.  It violated the human rights of the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, the Syrian population in the occupied Syrian Golan, and the Lebanese population in occupied parts of Lebanon.  Israel had a well-documented, appalling record of violations of the rights of civilian populations under occupation and of contempt for international humanitarian and human rights law.  Israel did not have the minimum impartiality required to be Chairperson.

The representatives of Iran, Syria and Qatar also opposed Israel’s candidacy on similar grounds, while the Observer for Palestine said the merits of a candidate for the Chair should be in accordance with the values for which the Commission and the United Nations stood.

Israel’s representative disagreed with that assessment, saying he intended to contribute to the Commission’s work in a most professional and impartial manner.  The challenge to Israel’s nomination was surprising since it had been established practice in the United Nations to respect nominations by regional groups.  Failure to support its candidacy would send the wrong message and set a dangerous precedent.  Israel reassured the Arab Group that it had a lot to bring to the Commission, and that its chairing of the Commission would not have a negative impact on its work or credibility.

Spain’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Western European and Other States Group, supported Mr. Carmona’s candidacy, saying he had the competence and professionalism to do the job.  The candidacy should not be subject to political considerations, and members should respect candidates endorsed by regional groups.

The representatives of the United States and Canada also supported Mr. Carmona’s candidacy on similar grounds, saying that Israel had the requisite expertise and skills in population and development issues.

In a similar vein, the representative of the Czech Republic, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it was unacceptable to challenge candidates already endorsed by other regional groups, while Switzerland’s representative said that such political disputes were not directly relevant to the Organization’s work and credibility in the social and economic fields.

The Commission then elected Mr. Carmona ( Israel) as Chairperson by a vote of 28 in favour to 9 against, with 1 abstention; and Shoji Miagawa ( Japan), Agnieszka Klausa ( Poland) and Eduardo Rios-Neto ( Brazil) as Vice-Chairpersons, by acclamation.

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For information media • not an official record