ICPD Program of Action Extended

By Contributor | January 4, 2011

The General Assembly passed a resolution at the end of last month extending the International Conference on Population and Development’s Programme of Action beyond the year 2014. UNFPA hailed the resolution’s passage as a sign of the continued importance of the ICPD’s Programme of Action. Executive deputy director Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid recently reflected on the meaning of the decision in a UNFPA press release:

“With the world approaching a population of 7 billion, some 215 million women still facing unmet need for family planning, and demographic changes, such as ageing, urbanization and migration, affecting prospects for sustainable development…the United Nations Member States have again acknowledged the importance of fully implementing the ICPD agenda to improve the lives of people around the world.”

UNFPA’s resounding welcome of the resolution belies the terse informal negotiations that preceded its adoption, as developing nations fought to maintain a reference to the sovereign right of each country to implement the ICPD’s recommendations with full respect for the religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of its peoples. This reference was ultimately stricken from the final text.

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