IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 261 
Expressing commitment to the objectives of the Program of Action of the 
International Conference on Population and Development. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2011 
Ms. LEE of California submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing commitment to the objectives of the Program 
of Action of the International Conference on Population 
and Development. 
Whereas the International Conference on Population and De-
velopment was convened by the United Nations Popu-
lation Fund and the Population Division of the United 
Nations Department for Economic and Social Informa-
tion and Policy Analysis in Cairo from September 5 to 
September 13, 1994, for the purpose of addressing crit-
ical issues regarding population, development, and human 
rights; 
Whereas the International Conference on Population and De-
velopment built upon earlier initiatives aimed at address-
ing development and population growth, including the 
World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achieve-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:32 May 11, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
•HRES 261 IH 
ments of the United Nations Decade for Women in 1985, 
the World Summit for Children in 1990, the Inter-
national Conference on Nutrition in 1992, and the World 
Conference on Human Rights in 1993; 
Whereas at the time of its convening, the International Con-
ference on Population and Development was the largest 
intergovernmental conference ever organized, with rep-
resentatives from over 10,000 concerned groups and 179 
governments, including the United States; 
Whereas the conferees of the International Conference on 
Population and Development adopted a new approach to 
sustainable development, focusing on women’s rights, the 
links between population growth and development, and 
expanded access to education and health services; 
Whereas the International Conference on Population and De-
velopment was guided by Fifteen Principles, foremost of 
which was the fact that all human beings are born free 
and equal in dignity and rights; 
Whereas the Fifteen Principles of the International Con-
ference on Population and Development furthermore in-
cluded the recognition that the family is the basic unit 
of society and as such should be strengthened and the 
recommendation that all States and families should give 
the highest priority to children; 
Whereas the International Conference on Population and De-
velopment resulted in the drafting and adoption by accla-
mation of a 20-year Program of Action referred to as the 
Cairo Consensus, the goals of which included sustained 
economic growth in the context of sustainable develop-
ment, universal access to education, gender equity and 
equality, the reduction of infant, child, and maternal 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:32 May 11, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
•HRES 261 IH 
mortality, and universal access to reproductive health 
services; 
Whereas the Program of Action of the International Con-
ference on Population and Development provided a stra-
tegic underpinning for the development and adoption of 
the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted at the 
Millennium Summit in 2000; 
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Population and 
Development has acknowledged that without a firm com-
mitment to population, reproductive health, and gender 
issues, it will not be possible to meet the goals of either 
the International Conference on Population and Develop-
ment or the Millennium Development Goals; 
Whereas substantial progress has been made in the 15 years 
since the adoption of the Cairo Consensus, including but 
not limited to improvements in gender equity, decreases 
in the world rates of poverty, infant and child mortality, 
and maternal mortality, and improvements in access to 
primary education, safe water, and health and family 
planning services; 
Whereas, despite this progress, many of the goals of the 
Cairo Consensus remain unmet; 
Whereas 1,000,000,000 people still live in abject poverty; 
Whereas each year half a million women die of causes related 
to pregnancy and childbirth; 
Whereas each year 4,000,000 infants die in their first month 
of life; 
Whereas a disproportionate number of the world’s impover-
ished and illiterate are women; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:32 May 11, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS
•HRES 261 IH 
Whereas it is currently predicted that 58 of the 86 countries 
that did not provide universal primary education in 1994 
will not meet this goal by 2015; 
Whereas 200,000,000 women have an unmet need for safe, 
effective, and modern contraceptives; 
Whereas pregnancy-related complications are the leading 
cause of death for young women aged 15 to 19; 
Whereas the International Conference on Population and De-
velopment called for governments to commit themselves 
at the highest political level to achieving the goals and 
objectives of the Program of Action and to take a lead 
role in coordinating the implementation, monitoring, and 
evaluation of follow-up actions; and 
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations en-
dorsed the Program of Action, affirmed that governments 
should commit themselves to their goals and objectives, 
and furthermore called upon all governments to give the 
widest possible dissemination to the Program of Action 
and to seek public support for its goals, objectives, and 
actions: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) remains committed to the goals and objec-
tives of the Cairo Consensus, as set forth at the 
International Conference on Population and Devel-
opment; 
(2) supports the President’s public commitment 
to the advancement of the Cairo Consensus and the 
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
02:32 May 11, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
jbell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with BILLS