Summary Description of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)
The world's population, now almost 5.7 billion, is growing at a record pace of more than 90 million persons per year. By the year 2050, the population may reach a staggering 12.5 billion. Many of the resources on which future generations will depend are being depleted at alarming rates and pollution is intensifying, driven by wasteful consumption, the unprecedented growth in human numbers, persistent poverty and social and economic inequality.
After more than three years of preparation, the United Conference on Population and Development was held in Cairo, Egypt from September 5-13, 1994. The ICPD brought together delegations from some 180 countries to find solutions to these pressing problems. In addition, nearly 1,000 nongovernmental organizations attended.
ICPD is a successor to the 1974 World Population Conference, held in Bucharest, and the 1984 International Conference on Population in Mexico City. Those gatherings spelled out actions to address issues related to rapid population growth, affirmed that all couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and that they have the right to the information, education and means to do so.
The 1994 ICPD focused on population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development, with special emphasis on women's health, education and status. ICDP emphasized the unbreakable linkage between these issues. Increased populations place more pressures on the world's environment and economy. Birth rates are dependent on the empowerment of women to plan their families and reduce infant mortality. Sustainable development requires controlled growth.
Breakthroughs at the conference included a hard won consensus on the universal right to family planning and the need for population control measures. The conference adopted a 20-year ICPD Program of Action that will shape the future. Although numerical goals remained elusive, each nation committed to implementing the Program of Action to the best of its ability.
As a result of the conference in September of 1995, the General Assembly created an Inter-Agency Task Force Chaired by Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA. The task force will work toward the implementation of the ICPD Program of Action at the country level. It will also help to delineate a common framework for follow-up to other United Nations conferences dealing with social issues.
The task force set up six working groups: education, empowerment of women, reproductive health, standard tracking of infant, child and maternal mortality, international migration and policy related issues in the social sector.
Success in implementing the far-reaching ICPD Program of Action will determine the quality of life for generations to come.
