III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 734 

Recognizing 30 years since the International Conference on Population and 

Development in Cairo, Egypt, and reaffirming the goals and ideals of 

the International Conference on Population and Development Programme 

of Action, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and 

rights. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 13, 2024 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. DUCKWORTH) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing 30 years since the International Conference on 

Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, and reaffirming the goals and ideals of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of 

Action, 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 preamble 

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

on the Executive Board of the UNFPA; 


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

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, Egypt, 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 


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(4) enhanced access to medical advances, such as 

the development of antiretroviral therapies, which 

29,800,000 people living with human immunodeficiency 

virus (HIV) accessed in 2022, contributing to 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) the 218,000,000 women globally who have unmet 

contraceptive needs; 

(2) the 287,000 women who 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; 

(3) the approximately 11 percent of maternal deaths 

that can be attributed to unsafe abortion; 

(4) the more than 1,000,000 sexually transmitted 

infections (STIs) that are— 

(A) acquired globally 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 to 

middle income countries need but do not receive 

treatment for 1 of the 4 major curable STIs— 

chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis; 

and 

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

or family planning; 


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(5) the reduction in maternal mortality that has 

stalled in 133 countries and increase in maternal mortality in 17 countries from 2016 to 2020; 

(6) the individuals living with HIV or at risk of HIV 

transmission, including the— 

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

among key populations, and their sexual partners, 

whose 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 individuals; and 

(B) adolescent girls and young women (ages 15 

to 24), who are at a higher risk of becoming infected 

with HIV and who account for 4 out of 5 new infections among all adolescents (aged 15 to 19) in subSaharan Africa; 

(7) the 35 percent of women globally 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 

(8) the 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 preVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Jun 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR734.IS SR734

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vention 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 of the 

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; 

Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action calls for the right 

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

capability to reproduce, and the freedom to decide if, 

when, and how often to do so; 

Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action calls 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, 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 United Nations General Assembly— 

(1) endorsed the ICPD Programme of Action in 

1995; 

(2) affirmed that governments should commit themselves to the goals and objectives of the Programme of 

Action; and 

(3) 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; 


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Whereas 400 youth delegates from 60 countries, including 

the United States— 

(1) met for the ICPD30 Global Youth Dialogue in 

Cotonou, Benin, on April 4 to 5, 2024, to reaffirm the 

pivotal and active role young people have played globally 

in promoting, protecting, and delivering the ICPD Programme of Action and through the resulting Cotonou 

Youth Action Agenda; and 

(2) called on all United Nations Member States, 

duty bearers, and stakeholders to implement, resource, 

and institutionalize global commitments that provide 

youth-centered, accessible, safe, gender-responsive, quality sexual and reproductive health services, and supplies 

within universal health coverage programs, including 

menstrual health management, the full range of modern 

contraceptives, comprehensive abortion care services, HIV 

services, and self-managed 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 to 12, 2024, for the 

eighth International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the 

Implementation (in this preamble 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; 


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Whereas, in the 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 of individuals from fundamental sexual and reproductive health and rights; 

Whereas the inability of the international community to reach 

the most marginalized individuals globally is largely due 

to unwillingness to confront the legacies of gender inequality, racial discrimination, and misinformation that 

underlie health systems; 

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, 

and that seeking to achieve such 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 Programme of Action and delivers sexual 

and reproductive health and rights for all through rhetoric and action on programs, policy, and funding: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the notable progress made in 

3 achieving the goals set in 1994 at the International 

4 Conference on Population and Development (re5 ferred to in this resolution as the ‘‘ICPD’’) and the 


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1 follow up and outcomes of subsequent review con2 ferences; 

3 (2) recommits to the achievement of the goals 

4 of the ICPD; 

5 (3) champions the right to bodily autonomy and 

6 self-determination for all people; 

7 (4) recognizes that sexual and reproductive 

8 health and rights, including safe abortion, are 

9 human rights, and that sexual and reproductive 

10 health and rights are a precondition for the em11 powerment of women, gender equality, and the well12 being and prosperity of all people; 

13 (5) commits to advocating for and providing 

14 comprehensive and factual information and a full 

15 range of sexual and reproductive health care services 

16 that are accessible, affordable, acceptable, of good 

17 quality, and convenient to all individuals; 

18 (6) acknowledges that without a clear commit19 ment to a human rights-based approach to develop20 ment, reproductive health, and gender equality, 

21 meeting the goals of either the ICPD or the Sustain22 able Development Goals will not be possible; 

23 (7) acknowledges and condemns the recent 

24 backsliding that— 


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1 (A) has occurred domestically and the 

2 egregious impact such backsliding has had glob3 ally, particularly regarding abortion access and 

4 the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community; and 

5 (B) is contrary to evidence-based health 

6 practices and established human rights norms 

7 and could set back the progress made on reduc8 ing unsafe abortions, reducing maternal mor9 tality, and reducing stigma against treatment 

10 for the human immunodeficiency virus and ac11 quired immunodeficiency syndrome; 

12 (8) accepts the responsibility of the United 

13 States, as the largest funder of global health, to up14 hold the goals of ICPD and set a global example 

15 through United States funding and policies, which 

16 affirmatively advance Federal development commit17 ments and the realization of human rights; 

18 (9) supports the urgent need to scale up fund19 ing for bilateral international family planning and 

20 reproductive health programs and the United States 

21 contribution to United Nations Population Fund, 

22 which have been flat funded for 14 years, and to 

23 permanently end harmful policies like the global gag 

24 rule and Helms Amendment, which undermine glob25 al access to comprehensive health care information 


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1 and services and the ability to achieve the vision laid 

2 out in the ICPD Programme of Action; 

3 (10) opposes and condemns reproductive coer4 cion in all forms, consistent with the ICPD Pro5 gramme of Action, including— 

6 (A) the use of incentives or disincentives to 

7 lower or raise fertility; 

8 (B) the use of incentives or targets for the 

9 uptake of specific contraceptive methods; 

10 (C) withholding of information on repro11 ductive health options; and 

12 (D) forced abortion, forced sterilization, 

13 and forced pregnancy; and 

14 (11) calls on the Administration of President 

15 Joseph R. Biden, Jr., to fully implement the Na16 tional Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, in17 cluding the strategic priority to ‘‘Protect, Improve, 

18 and Expand Access to Health Care, including Sexual 

19 and Reproductive Health Care’’. 

Æ 


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