IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 688 

Recognizing 25 years since the 1994 International Conference on Population 

and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt and reaffirming the goals 

and ideals of the ICPD Programme of Action, including comprehensive 

sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 12, 2019 

Ms. FRANKEL (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. 

LAWRENCE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WILD, Mr. 

PAPPAS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. 

TITUS, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 

Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. PETERS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. 

LOWEY, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 

SMITH of Washington, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. KEATING, and Mr. BROWN of Maryland) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing 25 years since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 

Egypt and reaffirming the goals and ideals of the ICPD 

Programme of Action, including comprehensive sexual 

and reproductive health and rights. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 688 IH 

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 (UNFPA) in 1969 

and continues to serve on its Executive Board; 

Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development (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 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 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 but not limited to— 

(1) a global increase in voluntary access to modern 

contraception by 25 percent; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 688 IH 

(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 40 percent 

globally; and 

(4) enhanced access to medical advances such as the 

development of antiretroviral therapies, which 23,300,000 

people living with HIV accessed in 2018, 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) 214,000,000 women worldwide who still have 

unmet contraceptive needs; 

(2) 295,000 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; 

(3) up to 13.2 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; and 

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

or family planning; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 688 IH 

(5)(A) 1,700,000 people who became newly infected 

with HIV in 2018, 54 percent of which are among key 

populations and their sexual partners; and 

(B) 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; 

(6) adolescent girls and young women (ages 15–24) 

who are at a higher risk of becoming infected with HIV 

and 4 out of 5 new infections among adolescents (aged 

15–19) in sub-Saharan Africa are among girls; 

(7) 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 

(8) 35,000,000 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 

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; 

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 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 688 IH 

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

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

that governments should commit themselves to their 

goals and objectives, and called upon all governments to 

give the widest possible dissemination of the Programme 

of Action and seek public support for its goals, objectives, 

and actions: 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 these 

7 goals; 

8 (3) champions the right to bodily autonomy and 

9 self-determination for all, regardless of race, eth10 nicity, religion, income, country of domicile or origin, 

11 migratory or refugee status, sexual orientation or 

12 gender identity, disability, HIV status, marital sta13 tus, age, or socioeconomic status; 

14 (4) recognizes sexual and reproductive health 

15 and rights, including family planning, abortion care, 

16 maternal health, STI and HIV prevention, testing 

17 and treatment, and freedom from gender-based vio18 lence and discrimination, as key to achieving gender 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 688 IH 

1 equity, universal health coverage, sustainable devel2 opment, and economic empowerment; 

3 (5) commits to advocating for and providing 

4 such services and rights to marginalized and key 

5 populations, including men who have sex with men, 

6 transgender people, sex workers, people who are in7 carcerated, people in conflict or humanitarian set8 tings, adolescent girls and young women, and people 

9 who inject drugs; 

10 (6) acknowledges that without a firm, rights11 based approach to development, reproductive health, 

12 and gender equality, it will not be possible to meet 

13 the goals of either the ICPD or the Sustainable De14 velopment Goals; 

15 (7) acknowledges and condemns the recent 

16 backsliding that has occurred globally, particularly 

17 regarding abortion access, that is contrary to evi18 dence-based health practices and established human 

19 rights norms and could set back the progress made 

20 on reducing unsafe abortions; 

21 (8) accepts the responsibility of the United 

22 States, as the largest funder of global health, to en23 courage the goals of ICPD among other countries 

24 and set a global example through United States 

25 funding and policies; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HRES 688 IH 

1 (9) urges the United States Government to 

2 demonstrate its commitment to the vision outlined in 

3 the ICPD Programme of Action by reinstating fund4 ing for UNFPA, the lead United Nations agency fo5 cused on sexual and reproductive health, and by re6 scinding harmful policies, such as the Mexico City 

7 Policy and its multiple expansions; and 

8 (10) encourages the international community to 

9 adopt a bold vision for comprehensive sexual and re10 productive health and rights at the 2019 Nairobi 

11 Summit to mark the 25th anniversary of the ICPD 

12 Programme of Action. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS