Mr. President,
Issues of population encompass the most basic concerns of human existence.
It is the birth, death and migration of individuals that form the essential
components of demographic dynamics. For whole societies, these basic
events produce rates of population increase or decrease, and form the
age structure of population and the geographic pattern of human settlements.
These patterns have their influence on the social, economic, political
and environmental issues that are central to the realization of the goal
of sustainable development.
To address these concerns in a comprehensive manner, the world convened
an International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo
in 1994. The Conference adopted a Programme of Action which addresses
the full range of population issues as they relate to economic and social
development. The POA identified qualitative and quantitative goals in
a number of key areas, including universal access to the knowledge and
means for achieving reproductive health; goals regarding education, especially
for girls; gender equity and equality; mortality and health, stressing
infant, child and maternal mortality; and combating the emerging epidemic
of HIV and AIDS. Above all, the POA emphasized the need for resources
that would be required to meet the goals.
The POA is not just a set of goals. It lays forth a road map of practical
policy and programmatic actions, the ways to reach each goal with specified
time-bound targets. After ten years, there is a need to review the progress
made so far and identify the areas that require further work.
The world population reached 6.4 billion persons in 2004. The current
average annual growth rate of population is 1.3 percent, significantly
lower than the rate of 1.7 percent in the period for 1975 to 1990. However,
in less developed countries the rate is higher than average at 1.6 percent.
Although there has been significant gain in universal reduction of fertility,
the progress is uneven.
While 100 out of 192 countries have met the POA goal of a life expectancy
at birth greater than 70 years in 2000-2005, 36 countries, mainly in
Africa, remain with life expectancies at birth lower than 50 years. Progress
is by no means uniform, as many countries have witnessed a stagnation
of mortality improvement if not a decline in life expectancy. The causes
are related to socio-economic transformations, the re-emergence of diseases
such as malaria, tuberculosis and cholera, and the impact of HIV/AIDS
epidemic.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to expand throughout the world, erasing
decades of social and economic progress and having a devastating impact
on population in terms of increased morbidity and mortality. For some
countries, the demographic impact of AIDS is enormous. This has serious
consequences for their development prospects, as they are losing their
productive human resources.
Mr. President,
Since the ICDP in 1994, migration has become a major issue of concern
for the international community. As of mid 2000, approximately 175 million
persons resided in countries other than where they were born. The POA
accorded particular importance to the basic rights of migrants. The POA
encouraged more cooperation and dialogue between countries of origin
and countries of destination in order to maximize the benefits of international
migration. Unfortunately, recent developments to curb immigration have
also included violations of the basic rights of migrants.
In this respect, the programme of action, adopted at Cairothe International
Conference on Population and Development stipulates in para 10-29, the
following:
"The problems of refugees and displaced persons arising from forced
migration, including their right to repatriation, should be settled in
accordance with the relevant principles of the Charter of the United
Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international
instruments and relevant United Nations resolutions".
The Group of 77 would like to call for a comprehensive arrangement to
address all aspects of the issue of international migration. The Group
looks forward to the High Level Dialogue on this issue in 2006 and hopes
that it would help in forging greater global consensus on issue pertaining
to international migration and protecting the rights of all migrants.
Mr. President,
In the key areas of reproductive health, many countries have established
reproductive health programmes, including family planning, expanded access
to them and improved their quality. Nevertheless, millions still lack
access to the means of achieving reproductive health.
The POA also called for an increased national capacity to enhance primary
health care and maternal and child health delivery networks. Many countries
have made progress in this regard but the pace is slow and there is a
need to give new impetus.
Infant and child mortality rates have improved but 62 developing countries,
accounting for 35 percent of the world population will not meet the goal
of an infant mortality rate between 50 deaths per 1,000 live births by
2000-2005. There are still gaps in the implementation of the POA with
dire implications for the realization of the development goals, particularly
the MDGs.
The Programme of Action recommended time-bound targets on resource mobilization
- 17 billion dollars by the year 2000 and 18.5 billion by 2005. Despite
a steady but slow increase in resources for population in the last 10
years, the target of mobilizing 17 billion was not met. Similarly, attaining
the target of 18.5 by 2005 remains a challenge for the entire world.
Resource gaps are especially large in poor countries, and the least
developed countries entirely depend on ODA. Unless new, additional and
sustained resources are provided to developing countries, it is unlikely
that most of the goals and targets of the POA will be met. Instead, there
will be a worsening of the population and reproductive health situation
in many poor countries. The need to reach the internationally agreed
target of 0.7 percent of GDP for ODA and to fulfill the commitments made
at Monterrey is most urgent.
The group believes that this year's review should lead to a renewed
commitment to the goals of the POA. This issue should also receive high
priority at the 2005 High Level event to be held next year, as the MDGs
cannot be achieved without the full implementation of the conference
goals.
The members of the Group remain committed to these goals and will make
every effort to achieve these objectives on time. We hope the international
community extend its full support in their endeavours to achieve these
goals.
Thank your, Mr. President.
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