Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development: Third Council Meeting

Good morning.

I would like to thank the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development and its President, the Honourable Marjatta Vehkaoja, for organizing this meeting. I would also like to thank our Portuguese hosts for their warmth and hospitality. Special gratitude goes to the Honourable Martins de Cruz, Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Honourable José Cesário, Secretary of State; and the Honourable Joao Bosco da Mota Amaral, President of the Portuguese National Assembly. Last but not least, I thank all of you for attending this important meeting.

On behalf of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, I would like to congratulate the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development for yet another successful year.

As you may know, 2002 was a particularly challenging year for all of us.

We continued to face a very difficult environment surrounding population funding and official development assistance. In fact, globally, population funding declined from the previous year.

There were even efforts by some to weaken the international agreement that guides us in our work: the Programme of Action that was adopted by the world’s governments at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Despite all of these setbacks, however, we were able to join forces and win a major political victory. This was made by possible by the strengthened partnership with our friends, in particular with parliamentarians. In this regard, I would like to thank the members of the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development for defending the ICPD Programme of Action at all relevant United Nations meetings, including the Children’s Summit in New York, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference in Bangkok.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express sincere gratitude for the Forum’s active involvement in last November’s International Parliamentarians’ Conference in Ottawa. The level of interest and support generated in Ottawa by parliamentarians from all regions of the world was truly remarkable. It sent a clear message that parliamentarians of the world want to save women’s lives and they see this particular goal not as a political decision, but as a decision of life or death.

I would like to thank European parliamentarians for taking the lead in mainstreaming the Conference’s two main themes, which were resource mobilization and creating an enabling environment to implement the ICPD Programme of Action. It is this kind of partnership and commitment that is needed to achieve the goal of universal access to reproductive health services by the year 2015. It is this kind of commitment that is needed to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality. And it is this kind of partnership that is needed to provide universal access to education, particularly for girls.

My colleague, Harumi Kodama, has developed an email LISTSERV, as promised, that reports to you periodically on the themes of creating an enabling environment and securing funding by governments and parliamentarians as they pursue the Ottawa commitment. So far, she has issued three reports.

The ICPD goals are not merely noble objectives; they are measures of success and fundamental requirements for economic development. We now have strong solid evidence that investing in reproductive health and gender equality not only saves lives and improves individual health, but also helps families and nations escape from poverty.

As Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stated last December: "The Millennium Development Goals, particularly the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, cannot be achieved if questions of population and reproductive health are not squarely addressed. And this means stronger efforts to promote women's rights and greater investment in education and health, including reproductive health and family planning."

In 2003 and onward, we hope that the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development will continue to push our common agenda forward in Europe and other regions. The leadership of European Parliamentarians and Ministers is essential. UNFPA, for its part, will make every effort to provide the support you have come to expect, and to actively build on such partnerships.

Distinguished representatives,

As we approach the mid-point of the 20-year Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, we have much to be proud of.

Many countries have been able to translate the commitments they made in Cairo into policies and programmes to transform the lives of their peoples, especially women. Issues that were once taboo, such as female genital cutting and domestic violence, are now openly debated and squarely addressed.

Dozens of countries have taken policy measures, passed laws or changed institutions to promote reproductive health and reproductive rights. Many countries have taken significant measures to improve gender equality, including laws to protect rights in employment and inheritance, laws to ban harmful traditional practices, tougher laws on gender violence and trafficking, and the creation or strengthening of government offices for women’s rights.

But, even though much progress has been achieved, much more remains to be done.

Today, half of all people live in poverty on less than $2 a day. Today, only one in five people worldwide has access to HIV prevention information and services. Today, some 350 million couples lack access to a full range of safe and affordable contraceptives. And today, complications of pregnancy and childbirth remain leading causes of death and disability for women in the developing world.

How many more women will have to die before we make these issues a development priority? And how many more people will become infected with HIV/AIDS before we devote the resources and expertise to stop this disease from spreading?

We are halfway along the timeline established in Cairo, but I have to say: We are far from where we should be.

We can see this most clearly when we examine the goals that are quickly approaching—goals that were set for the year 2005. In just two years, governments agreed that 90 per cent of all young people aged 15 to 24 should have access to the information, education and services needed to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection. Yet today, 7,000 young people continue to be infected each and every day, and many know nothing about HIV and how the virus is transmitted.

In just two years, governments agreed that the unmet need for family planning should be cut in half. But an estimated 120 million couples would be using family planning today if they had access to these vital services.

We should not underestimate the power of family planning, which alone can prevent a quarter of infant deaths by spacing births at least three years apart. Family planning can prevent at least one in five maternal deaths by allowing women to delay motherhood, and avoid unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Also, family planning programmes can help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections by providing condoms and counselling.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, there are one billion young people who are entering, or have already entered, their reproductive years. They need information and services that will give them the life skills to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.

Today, global population continues to grow by 77 million people a year, and almost all of this growth is taking place in the developing world. For many poor countries, population growth remains a critical concern. Although there is talk of a birth dearth here in Europe—and there is no doubt that a shrinking, ageing population is a valid concern which must be addressed—we must look beyond the borders of Europe to grasp the full demographic picture. Some of the poorest places on Earth will experience a doubling or tripling of their populations in the next 50 years. The population of Africa, for instance, will increase from 850 million today to 1.8 billion by mid-century. The population of Yemen will increase fourfold by 2050. This pressure is one factor that is contributing to deforestation, water and food shortages. It is also undermining efforts to provide citizens with adequate health care, education and jobs.

Of course, sustainable development is a global concern. And it is closely linked to patterns of production and consumption. All nations, including industrial countries, must increase their efforts to protect our fragile environment and the natural resources on which we all depend. This requires long-term thinking and long-term investment.

ICPD – Main concepts

The ICPD Programme of Action offers a roadmap to sustainable development. It is based on meeting human needs and respecting human rights. One of the most basic rights is the right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so. All individuals have the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.

Yet, these basic rights are violated on a massive and systematic scale. And it is women, men, and children who are suffering. We must also acknowledge that the impact extends beyond individuals and their families. The violation of these basic rights has a direct impact on savings at the household and national levels. It has a negative impact on economic growth and also on protection of the environment and our natural resources. Population and reproductive health are cross-cutting issues that affect human well-being and the health of our planet.

The ICPD Programme of Action expanded family planning to the broader concept of reproductive health. Reproductive health services include prenatal and post-natal care, safe delivery, post-abortion care, and the prevention and treatment of infertility and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.

The Cairo Conference agreed that advancing gender equality and equity, the empowerment of women, eliminating all kinds of violence against women, and ensuring women's ability to control their own fertility are cornerstones of population and development-related programmes.

The Cairo Conference agreed that governments should spend $17 billion a year, by the year 2000, on population and reproductive health. One third was to come from developed countries, and two thirds from developing countries.

Although UNFPA is still not funded at the same level of the post-Cairo years, we are moving towards the $300 million mark slowly but surely. Thanks to the increased contributions during 2002 of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the Fund managed to obtain $260 million in regular resources last year and another increase is expected for this year. We are hopeful that the major nations of the Group of Eight (G-8) will strive to live up to their responsibilities and commit to contribution increases in the near future. We are thinking of France, Italy, and Canada—but most of all the United States. We are also hopeful that Spain and Portugal will increase contributions.

Let me give you one concrete reason why your contributions are essential.

Today, over 100 countries rely on UNFPA for contraceptives, condoms and other reproductive health supplies. But, we are not able to meet their growing needs. Last year, UNFPA received emergency requests from 55 countries, over and above our regular resources, for commodities totalling $150 million and we only had $24 million to spend—one sixth of what was requested. This is an urgent problem that demands an urgent response. Today, only 42 per cent of those at high risk of HIV infection have access to condoms. It is unconscionable in this era of unprecedented wealth, that a three-cent condom is not available to save people’s lives. And it is appalling that half a million women continue to die every year, one a minute, from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Every year, an estimated 20 million women suffer life-long injuries and disabilities due to lack of reproductive and maternal health services. This is a global crisis that demands a global response.

Together, we must step up efforts in these critical areas. We must scale up proven interventions.

Whether global population will reach 9 billion by the year 2050, or 11 billion, will largely depend on the actions that are taken, or not taken, over the next decade. Whether the AIDS epidemic will continue to spread depends on the actions we take together.

We must continue support for population and development programmes in line with the ICPD goals. Quality reproductive health programmes must be maintained and expanded to meet growing needs. We estimate that the demand for family planning services alone will increase by 40 per cent by the year 2015.

As parliamentarians, you are close to the people. Please continue to use that unique status to advance their knowledge of the work you are trying to do for the global community. Your work is morally the right thing to do, and it has a pragmatic purpose as well. Advancing international population and development goals is critical to social and economic development, security, and environmental and resource protection. It is also a matter of advancing fundamental human rights.

I wish us all good luck in pursuing these noble causes.

Thank you.