IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1299 

Reaffirming the goals and ideals of the 1994 International Conference on 

Population and Development Programme of Action in Cairo, Egypt, 

including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2024 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, and Ms. 

MENG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the goals and ideals of the 1994 International 

Conference on Population and Development Programme 

of Action in Cairo, Egypt, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

Whereas the United States played a central role in the creation of the United Nations in 1945 following World War 

II to promote international cooperation; 

Whereas the United States encouraged the establishment of 

the United Nations Population Fund (in this resolution 

referred to as ‘‘UNFPA’’) in 1969 and continues to serve 

on the Executive Board of the UNFPA; 

Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘ICPD’’), 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 1299 IH 

which was attended by officials from the Executive Office 

of the President, Congress, and United States civil society and private sector organizations, was convened by the 

UNFPA and the Population Division of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information 

and Policy Analysis in Cairo from September 5 to September 13, 1994, for the purpose of addressing critical 

issues regarding population, development, and human 

rights; 

Whereas the resulting ICPD Programme of Action, to which 

the United States is a signatory, asserts that the focus 

of development policy must be the human rights and dignity of individuals and the improvement of individual 

lives, measured by progress in addressing inequalities; 

Whereas civil society played an indispensable role in shaping 

and executing the ICPD Programme of Action and continues to do so today; 

Whereas, since the adoption of the ICPD Programme of Action in 1994, significant progress has been made towards 

universal access to sexual and reproductive health and 

rights, including— 

(1) a global increase in voluntary access to modern 

contraception by 25 percent; 

(2) a decline in the number of deaths due to unsafe 

abortion from 69,000 in 1990 to 22,800 in 2014, due to 

liberalization of abortion laws and increased access to 

safe, and effective methods of abortion across the globe; 

(3) a decrease in maternal deaths by 34 percent 

globally; and 

(4) enhanced access to medical advances such as the 

development of antiretroviral therapies, which 29,800,000 

people living with HIV accessed in 2022, contributing to 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 1299 IH 

significant decreases in HIV acquisition and transmission; 

Whereas gaps and challenges in achieving the goals of the 

ICPD Programme of Action remain as progress has been 

unequal and fragmented and new challenges have 

emerged, such as— 

(1) 218,000,000 women worldwide who still have 

unmet contraceptive needs; 

(2) 287,000 women who still die annually from complications during pregnancy and childbirth globally, nearly all of which are preventable and 1 out of 4 of which 

could be prevented by access to contraception. The reduction in maternal mortality has stalled in 133 countries 

and there was an increase in maternal mortality in 17 

countries from 2016-2020; 

(3) up to 11 percent of maternal deaths that can be 

attributed to unsafe abortion; 

(4) more than 1,000,000 STIs that are— 

(A) acquired worldwide every day because access to education about STIs and STI testing is not 

universally available due to a lack of trained personnel, comprehensive sexual education, laboratory 

capacity, and medicines; 

(B) too often untreated, as an estimated 

133,000,000 women of reproductive age in low-middle income countries need but do not receive treatment for 1 of the 4 major curable STIs, chlamydia, 

gonorrhea, syphilis, or trichomoniasis; and 

(C) exacerbated by the separation of STI services from other services, such as primary health care 

or family planning; 

(5) People living with HIV or at risk of HIV transmission, including the— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 1299 IH 

(A) 1,700,000 people who became newly infected with HIV in 2022, 54 percent of which are 

among key populations and their sexual partners 

where the risk of acquiring HIV is 22 times higher 

among men who have sex with men, 22 times higher 

among people who inject drugs, 21 times higher for 

sex workers, and 12 times higher for transgender 

people; and 

(B) adolescent girls and young women (ages 

15–24) who are at a higher risk of becoming infected with HIV and who account for 4 out of 5 new 

infections among adolescents (aged 15–19) in subSaharan Africa; 

(6) 35 percent of women worldwide who have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence, or sexual violence by a non-partner at some 

point in their lives, a vulnerability that may increase as 

a result of characteristics such as sexual orientation, disability status, HIV status, and pregnancy, or contextual 

factors, such as humanitarian crises and conflict; and 

(7) 48,000,000 women and girls of reproductive age 

who are in need of humanitarian assistance; 

Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action and other international human rights standards recognize that access to 

evidence-based, comprehensive sexual and reproductive 

health care, including abortion, is an essential human 

right, and that ending gender-based violence and the prevention and treatment of HIV are key priorities to advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all 

people, and attaining the ICPD Programme of Action 

milestones and the Sustainable Development Goals; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 1299 IH 

Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action called for the right 

of all people to have a satisfying and safe sex life and 

that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so; 

Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action called for the right 

of all people to be informed and to have access to safe, 

effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family 

planning of their choice, free of coercion, violence, misinformation, and discrimination; 

Whereas the ICPD called on governments to commit themselves at the highest political level to achieving the goals 

and objectives of the Programme of Action and to take 

a leading role in coordinating the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of follow-up actions; 

Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations endorsed the ICPD Programme of Action in 1995, affirmed 

that governments should commit themselves to the goals 

and objectives of the Programme of Action, and called 

upon all governments to give the widest possible dissemination of the Programme of Action and seek public support for the goals, objectives, and actions of the Programme of Action; 

Whereas 400 youth delegates from 60 countries, including 

the United States, met for the ICPD30 Global Youth 

Dialogue in Cotonou, Benin on April 4–5, 2024, to reaffirm the pivotal and active role young people in every corner of the world have played in promoting, protecting and 

delivering the ICPD Programme of Action and through 

the resulting Cotonou Youth Action Agenda, called on all 

United Nations Member States, duty bearers, and stakeholders to implement, resource and institutionalize global 

commitments which provide youth-centered, accessible, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 1299 IH 

safe, gender-responsive, quality sexual and reproductive 

health services and supplies within universal health coverage programmes, including menstrual health management, the full range of modern contraceptives, comprehensive abortion care services, HIV services, and selfmanaged care; 

Whereas Members of Parliament from all regions of the 

world, with presence from the House of Representatives, 

met in Oslo, Norway, on April 10–12, 2024, for the 

eighth International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the 

Implementation (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘IPCI’’) 

of the International Conference on Population and Development and through the resulting Oslo Statement of 

Commitment, members expressed deep concern about the 

global backlash against the sexual and reproductive 

health and rights agenda that has been observed in multiple countries, including the lack of agency for women 

and girls, which deepens social inequalities and undermines human rights, democracy, gender equality, and the 

collective efforts to build more inclusive and resilient societies; 

Whereas in its 2024 State of the World Population Report, 

UNFPA reviewed progress in achieving the ICPD Programme of Action, indicating that significant progress 

has been made, but entrenched inequalities deprive millions from fundamental sexual and reproductive health 

and rights; 

Whereas the inability of the world to reach the most 

marginalized is largely due to unwillingness to confront 

the legacies of gender inequality, racial discrimination, 

and misinformation that underlie health systems; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•HRES 1299 IH 

Whereas the United States government, in its Statement at 

UN Commission on Population and Development’s 57th 

Annual Session on April 30, 2024, affirmed that reproductive rights are central to an inclusive, thriving society, 

that seeking to achieve these rights unequivocally transforms the lives of women and girls, in all of their diversity, around the world, for the better; and 

Whereas the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, 

Rights and Justice calls on the United States government 

to mark the 30th anniversary of ICPD with a high level 

event that recommits the United States government to 

the ICPD Program of Action and delivers sexual and reproductive health and rights for all through both rhetoric 

and action on programs, policy, and funding: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commends the notable progress made in 

3 achieving the goals set in 1994 at the ICPD and the 

4 follow up and outcomes of subsequent review con5 ferences; 

6 (2) recommits to the achievement of the goals; 

7 (3) champions the right to bodily autonomy and 

8 self-determination for all; 

9 (4) recognizes that sexual and reproductive 

10 health and rights, including safe abortion, are 

11 human rights, and that sexual and reproductive 

12 health and rights are a precondition for the emVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jun 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1299.IH HR1299

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•HRES 1299 IH 

1 powerment of women, gender equality, and the well2 being and prosperity of all people; 

3 (5) commits to advocating for and providing 

4 comprehensive and factual information and a full 

5 range of sexual and reproductive health care services 

6 which are accessible, affordable, acceptable, of good 

7 quality and convenient to all users; 

8 (6) acknowledges that without a clear commit9 ment to a human rights-based approach to develop10 ment, reproductive health, and gender equality, it 

11 will not be possible to meet the goals of either the 

12 ICPD or the Sustainable Development Goals; 

13 (7) acknowledges and condemns the recent 

14 backsliding that— 

15 (A) has occurred domestically and the 

16 egregious impact it has had globally, particu17 larly regarding abortion access and the rights of 

18 the LGBTQIA+ community; and 

19 (B) is contrary to evidence-based health 

20 practices and established human rights norms 

21 and could set back the progress made on reduc22 ing unsafe abortions, reducing maternal mor23 tality, and reducing stigma against treatment 

24 for HIV/AIDS; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•HRES 1299 IH 

1 (8) accepts the responsibility of the United 

2 States, as the largest funder of global health, to up3 hold the goals of ICPD and set a global example 

4 through United States funding and policies, which 

5 affirmatively advance Federal development commit6 ments and the realization of human rights; 

7 (9) supports the urgent need to scale up fund8 ing for bilateral international family planning and 

9 reproductive health programs and the United States 

10 contribution to UNFPA, which have been flat fund11 ed for 14 years, and to permanently end harmful 

12 policies like the global gag rule and Helms Amend13 ment, which undermine global access to comprehen14 sive health care information and services and the 

15 ability to achieve the vision laid out in the ICPD 

16 Programme of Action; 

17 (10) opposes and condemns reproductive coer18 cion in all forms, consistent with the 1994 ICPD 

19 Programme of Action, including— 

20 (A) the use of incentives or disincentives to 

21 lower or raise fertility; 

22 (B) the use of incentives or targets for up23 take of specific contraceptive methods; 

24 (C) withholding of information on repro25 ductive health options; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•HRES 1299 IH 

1 (D) forced abortion, forced sterilization, 

2 and forced pregnancy; and 

3 (11) calls on the administration to fully imple4 ment the National Strategy on Gender Equity and 

5 Equality, including the strategic priority to ‘‘Protect, 

6 Improve, and Expand Access to Health Care, includ7 ing Sexual and Reproductive Health Care’’. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS