Resolution on the follow-up to the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development
Date: 1996-07-04
Institutions: Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, European Parliament
Subjects: birth control, demography, developing countries, international meeting, position of women













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51996IP0152(01)

Resolution on the follow-up to the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development  


Official Journal C 211 , 22/07/1996 P. 0031 





A4-0152/96Resolution on the follow-up to the Cairo International Conference on Population and DevelopmentThe European Parliament,- having regard to Agenda 21 adopted in Rio in 1992 at the end of the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development,- having regard to the Council resolution of November 1986 on family planning in the demographic policies of the developing countries and its resolution of November 1992 on family planning,- having regard to its resolutions of 11 March 1994 on the demographic situation and development ((OJ C 91, 28.3.1994, p. 340.)) and its resolution of 13 July 1995 on the integration of population and environmental policies and programmes ((OJ C 249, 25.9.1995, p. 142.)),- having regard to the Commission's communication of 4 May 1994: 'the European Community and the challenge of population growth: proposed position of the Community at the World Conference on population and development, Cairo, 5-13 September 1994' (COM(94)0100),- having regard to the action programme adopted at the Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994,- having regard to its resolution of 29 September 1994 on the outcome of the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development ((OJ C 305, 31.10.1994, p. 80.)),- having regard to the resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly of 3 February 1995 on the results of the Cairo World Conference on Population and Development Doc ACP-UE 1471/95,- having regard to the outcome of the Social Summit in Copenhagen in March 1995,- having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 18 September 1995 on integrating gender issues in development and cooperation (COM(95)0423),- having regard to its opinion of 24 May 1996 on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on aid for population policies and programmes in the developing countries ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 8.)),- having regard to the action programme adopted at the 4th Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995,- having regard to the 1995 reports by UNFPA and the UNDP,- having regard to the motion for a resolution by Mrs van Dijk on the implementation of the action programme of the Population Conference in Cairo (B4-0158/95),- having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,- having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and the opinions of the Committee on Development and Cooperation and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0152/96),A. whereas the action programme adopted by a large majority of the governments in Cairo marked the beginning of a new approach to population problems by tackling them from an ethical rather than, as hitherto, a strictly economic point of view, and by placing individuals at the very centre of sustainable development,B. whereas the Cairo Conference, followed by the Beijing Conference, made the status of women, their standard of education and health, and more generally their participation in economic, social and cultural life one of the conditions for the success of any demographic and human development policy and hence one of the essential elements in its action plan,C. whereas this programme also recognizes that in order to be really effective, a demographic policy must be part of a broader context of measures to combat poverty and the dangers threatening the environment, to promote sustainable development and to protect human rights and promote peace and security as well as equal opportunities,D. whereas the EU and its Member States endorsed the main objectives of Agenda 21 in Cairo so as to ensure that population policy and sustainable development are interconnected and integrated in order to promote peace and security, the eradication of poverty, the protection of our common environment and the establishment of human rights and equal opportunities,E. whereas the population explosion linked to poverty is causing environmental damage in rural areas and, above all, anarchic, uncontrolled urbanization which is damaging both to health and the environment; whereas it is therefore necessary to reduce the causes of forced migration by developing the regions of origin and to ensure the protection of the indigenous communities by integrating them in development,F. having regard to the four targets for the funding of the population and health programmes adopted at the Cairo Conference, which include: family planning, reproductive health, measures to combat sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, and the development of research in these fields,G. whereas non-governmental organizations have a fundamental role to play in the success of education, population, (reproductive) health and environmental policies,REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FAMILY PLANNINGH. whereas it has been recognized as a fundamental right that individuals should have control over and a free and enlightened choice regarding all issues relating to their sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, and in particular to be able to choose voluntarily how many children to have and when,I. whereas in Cairo sexual and reproductive health were for the first time considered in the context of equality of the sexes, and it emerged that there are still significant forms of discrimination against women,J. condemning all forms of sexual violence and abuse which undermine the dignity of women and girls and their health: sexual mutilation, violence in marriage, rape, unwanted pregnancies or abortions under duress and harassment,K. whereas no significant progress has been made globally and whereas according to UNFPA every year 500 000 women around the world continue to die as a result of early and repeated pregnancies, complications following childbirth and clandestine abortions (94% of them in the developing countries), whilst nearly 150 million women are left with a long-term illness or disability as a result of pregnancy,L. whereas, according to UNFPA studies, perinatal disease and death are often linked to a lack of suitable facilities in the developing countries,M. whereas, according to the latest figures supplied by the WHO, out of a total of 19.5 million people infected with the HIV virus in 1995 8 million were women, the majority living in developing countries, and whereas, according to current developments in infection, women are among the main victims of HIV infection because of their lack of information and also their sexual and economic subordination, in particular young women and adolescents,N. whereas the Cairo programme considers it necessary to make family planning a generalized policy by the year 2000, as part of a broad approach to reproductive health and reproductive rights which would include taking into account vital health needs, such as safe motherhood without risks and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS,O. deploring the fact that, despite international undertakings, the sterilisation of women, which is still the most frequently used method of birth control, is carried out under circumstances where very inadequate information is provided, where their consent is not always sought and which may jeopardize the health of women undergoing it and does not always respect their physical and psychological integrity,P. whereas there are an estimated 300 million women who want to space or prevent another pregnancy but do not have access to contraceptives and whereas the Commission and the Member States should look into the possibility of distributing condoms free of charge in ways which respect the cultural and social sensitivities of local people, since the price of condoms is very often prohibitive; whereas they should be given better access to information and high-quality services regarding reproduction and be enabled to take initiatives,Q. whereas the voluntary termination of pregnancy is not a suitable means of family planning and women who do not personally see any way out of their distress ought to be able to terminate their pregnancies legally under the best possible medical conditions, as recommended in the action programme adopted in Beijing,R. whereas by the year 2000 adolescents will represent 20% of the world population and a special effort must be made to provide confidential information and counselling and a range of sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning and STDs and HIV/AIDS,S. pointing out that men must also be encouraged and enabled to exercise their rights and responsibilities with regard to sexuality, safe sexual relations and procreation in the interests of mutual respect and gender equality ,EDUCATION - WOMEN'S RIGHTST. whereas despite the worldwide commitments made in Cairo in particular, illiteracy has not decreased globally, since there are still 960 million illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds of whom are women and whereas approximately 130 million children, 90 million of them girls, do not have access to primary education,U. whereas access to education and training is a fundamental right, quite apart from any population policy, and is also a precondition for empowering women to participate fully in the development process, for reducing the number of deaths of mothers and children, for lowering population growth and, moreover, for improving children's access to health and knowledge; whereas, to this end, a fundamental role is played by education, in particular the introduction of suitable sex education courses at various levels; whereas data show that a higher level of education among women and men results in a reduction in population growth, because they are aware of how to practise family planning,V. whereas since 70% of the people living below the poverty threshold are women, lasting development cannot be achieved without their contribution and participation on an equal footing with men,LASTING DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT COOPERATIONW. whereas only ECU 3 million, in only eight ACP States, has actually been spent under the Lomé IV Convention,X. whereas development will be one of the principal driving forces behind the demographic transition to be achieved and whereas, in this connection, women play an important role as soon as they are given better access to information and education, equal rights and emancipation,ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL RESOURCESY. whereas efforts must be made to achieve the intended objective of devoting 0.7% of GNP to development aid and whereas 4% of such aid must be allocated to programmes concerning the target issues decided on in Cairo; whereas the Copenhagen Summit encouraged international aid donors to devote at least 20% of their development budgets to the social sector,Z. whereas it was agreed in Cairo that USD 17 billion would be needed by the year 2000 to implement the Programme's objectives concerning reproductive health, including the provision of family-planning services, safe motherhood and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases; whereas all over the world many people's hopes are directed towards the European Union, because of its pioneering and leading role, both in the promotion of democratic freedoms, women's rights and equal opportunities, and in the establishment of quality dialogue with the developing countries, to whom it is the world's leading donor of development aid, ahead of the United States,AA. whereas before Cairo the European Commission stated the European Union should provide 300 million ECU between 1995 and the year 2000 to support policies and programmes in the developing countries and whereas in Cairo the European Council pledged substantial increases in funding for population projects and programmes, but very few projects have been drawn up since then; whereas Article 130w (see also Articles 130u and 189c) of the EC Treaty provides a good legal basis for Community action in the field of development cooperation, but a legal basis has yet to be given to the budget line entitled 'aid for population policies and programmes in the developing countries and follow-up to the conference on population and development¨ (B7-631), created in 1990 on the initiative of the European Parliament,ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES1. Considers that population policies must be an integral part of economic, social and cultural development, their main objective being to improve the quality of life for everyone and to preserve it for future generations;2. Believes that the European Union and its Member States should formulate and implement population policies and programmes to support the objectives and action of Agenda 21 so as to ensure that demographic factors are taken into account;3. Reaffirms that freedom of choice regarding reproduction is a fundamental human right and condemns any discriminatory, directly or indirectly coercive or violent policy of family planning;4. Condemns any policy using women in developing countries as guinea-pigs for experiments involving new contraceptive products;5. Requests that family planning provisions should be integrated in reproductive health care, which in turn should be integrated in primary health care and that these provisions should be systematically included in cooperation and development programmes;6. Considers that women's access to information, health services, reproductive health and the various family planning options is still wholly inadequate, given the current demand for these services;7. Stresses the urgent need to put an end to discrimination against women and guarantee equal opportunities, to improve women's access to education credit, land ownership and lease and employment as a goal in itself, and secondly, in order to guarantee the success of any population and human development policy;8. Calls for the introduction of programmes for the creation of SMEs, favouring local employment initiatives aimed at women;9. Calls for at least 10% of the budgetary headings for MEDA (B7-4110 - Mediterranean), cooperation with Asia (B7-3000), cooperation with Africa (B7-1000) and cooperation with Latin America (B7-3100) to be devoted to specific measures favouring employment and education for women, and for the same percentage to be devoted to the 'employment and education for women' element of specific population programmes and projects;10. Calls, with a view to facilitating the selection of measures to this end, for programmes to be proposed directly to the Commission's DG I by NGOs and women's associations;11. Requests that women should be systematically included as beneficiaries and participants in the design, planning, implementation and evaluation of all development projects and programmes;12. Recommends that financial cooperation should take more account of the need to improve the status of women and to encourage their initiatives;13. Stresses that the decision of women or couples to use a range of reliable forms of contraception should not come up against social and/or financial obstacles;14. Requests that demographic policy and reproductive health policy should be devised, adopted, organized and implemented with the participation of the population concerned, in particular women, and should also take into account the need to provide education and services which are appropriate to local conditions in order to protect men and women from the spread of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases;15. Requests that the European Union and its Member States, in accordance with the decisions taken in Cairo, should promote the joint financing of development programmes which take into account their impact on the existing disparities between men and women and should ensure that this criterion is included in any evaluation of the programmes implemented;16. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to play the role of catalyst in efforts designed to establish women's equality in political and economic life, in the family in all its forms and in society in general, in accordance with the commitments made at the Fourth World Conference on Women;17. Considers that the efforts already undertaken by the Union should be stepped up, coordinated and geared to the developing countries, including countries of the former Soviet Union with a DAC status, where there is an unmet need for reproductive health services;18. Stresses the need to undertake specific actions in countries of Central and Eastern Europe which are encountering particular economic and social problems, not forgetting certain countries in Western Europe whose social security and health systems are deteriorating;19. Calls on the European Union and Member States to fulfil the financial promises made at the Cairo ICPD, given the unmet need for reproductive health services;20. Recommends that the Bretton Woods and other international financial organizations should, when drawing up their policies and programmes, take account of and evaluate the needs of the populations as regards environment, health, education, housing and other social sectors as well as their impact on migration (such as the exodus from rural areas and an alarming rate of urbanization), and insists on the need to accompany structural adjustments with policies enabling the developing countries to establish or maintain an adequate standard in basic social expenditure;21. Suggests that the World Bank and the other financial institutions should publish a list of donor countries who have entered into financial commitments, specifying those who have paid more than their structural contribution to development aid and those who have failed to make their contribution;22. Requests the Commission to provide Parliament with an annual assessment of cooperation and with the current level and status of the Commission's cooperation with the international organizations and agencies concerned, such as UNFPA, and with a list of the experts from the Commission and from international organizations and agencies cooperating in population and development programmes;23. Calls on the Commission to draw up an outline agreement, in cooperation with the UNFPA, to help ensure that the Cairo decisions are implemented with all due speed;24. Considers that in view of the problems involved in implementing the Cairo programme and the fact that the governments and institutions involved are slow in taking decisions, the European Union should play a leading role in promoting the creation of networks, research and information exchange facilities and new forms of partnership: NGOs, governments, politicians, private partners, the populations concerned and South-South cooperation;25. Considers that, given the important role NGOs can play in their implementation of population projects and programmes, and their specific expertise and experience in the field, the European Commission should increase its cooperation with these NGOs;26. Calls for the establishment of a system for exchanging information on the initiatives and actions financed by the Community, the Member States, the EIB and the other bilateral and international donors, and better coordination, particularly with UNFPA;27. Requests the Commission to inform Parliament within six months from the adoption of this resolution about the initiatives taken by each Member State with a view to achieving the objectives established in Cairo;28. Requests the Commission to inform Parliament about the impact of Article 155 of the Lomé IV Convention, budget headings B7-631 (Aid for population policies and programmes in the developing countries and follow-up to the conference on population and development), B7-6211 (health programmes and the fight against AIDS in developing countries), B7-6212 (maternal and child health programmes and reproductive health care) and the financial protocols of cooperation agreements between the EU and developing countries;29. Requests that, in order to avoid the use of enforced sterilization and directly or indirectly coercive methods of birth control, the contraceptive methods employed in the various population programmes financed by the European Union in the developing countries should be assessed;30. Considers it necessary to coordinate the projects financed under various chapters of the budget and to this end calls for an assessment of the projects which are having and/or may have an impact on population, financed in the context of the EDF, cooperation agreements between the European Union and developing countries and the specific budget headings relating to humanitarian aid (B7-21), training and promotion of awareness of development issues (B7-610), women in development (B7-611), environment in the developing countries (B7-6200), tropical forests (B7-6201), support for NGOs (B7-6000), decentralized cooperation (B7-643) and human rights (B7- 702);31. Calls for the establishment and implementation of population and reproductive health training programmes for Commission staff;32. Calls on the Commission to provide Parliament with an overview of its programmes and projects to date and its intentions for the period until the year 2000, together with an annual report on its activities;33. Calls for an assessment of the impact of development programmes on population, as regards women's health and education in particular;34. Calls on the Commission to initiate a policy dialogue with governments on the support of population and reproductive health programmes;35. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments and Heads of State of the Member States, to the UN and to the governments of the ACP States.