26 April 2013: The UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) has ended its 46th session with agreement to review the progress of the Cairo Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The operational review of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action is to be concluded by the next meeting, in 2014.
The Commission’s meeting from 22-26 April 2013, in New York, US, focused on the theme of “New Trends in Migration: Demographic Aspects.” The meeting highlighted the dual nature of migration as bringing many development benefits, but often occasioning human rights violations.
Delegates discussed three reports of the UN Secretary-General, on: demographic aspects of new trends in migration; monitoring of population programmes; and flow of financial resources for implementation of the Programme of Action of the ICPD. They also heard statements from Member States, civil society and representatives of the UN system.
Adopting by consensus a resolution on human rights protections for migrants, the Commission called for: reaffirming the Cairo Programme and activities needed for its further implementation; giving consideration to the linkages between migration and development in the further implementation of the Cairo Programme beyond 2014 and in the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda; and linking the Cairo Programme’s implementation to global efforts to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development.
Several delegates affirmed the recognition given to sexual and reproductive rights in the consensus adoption, while several others expressed reservations and concerns that the Cairo Programme of Action should not include abortion or “interruption of pregnancy” as a method of family planning; and that relative weight had been given to the issue, in comparison with less attention to “basic rights,” such as to food, education and employment.
In addition to this resolution, CPD also adopted the draft provisional agenda for its 47th session (document E/CN.9/2013/L.2), and a draft decision designating the 48th session’s theme in 2015 as “Realizing the future we want: integrating population issues into sustainable development, including in the post-2015 development agenda” (document E/CN.9/2013/L.4).
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the complexity of migration, and called on the global community to pursue five key goals regarding: the need for safe, legal channels of migration; aligning migration policies to labor market demands; addressing problems of migrants without legal status; promoting integration into host societies; and facilitating “circular migration” that allows migrants to return to their native homes at the right time.
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Population Division Director John Wilmoth said that while issues relating to population health have been reflected in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), population “mega-trends” such as migration, urbanization, population growth and population aging have important implications for social and economic development in the post-2015 agenda. Later, speaking on behalf of Under-Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, Wilmoth said the CPD’s work will inform: the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) second High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, taking place in October 2013, and the ongoing formulation of the post-2015 development agenda, adding that migration is an “enabler of sustainable development.”
UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Secretary Babatunde Osotimehin conveyed the recommendations from the Global Leadership Meeting on Population Dynamics in the Context of Post-2015 Development Agenda. That meeting called for: safe and orderly migration; protection and assistance for migrants; integration of migration into national development policies, strategies and programmes; matching of skills and jobs with labor supply and demand; low-cost transfer of savings and investment incentives; migration as a possible adaptation strategy to address climate change; and the human rights of migrants.
The session also incorporated side events, including one on “Migration and Sustainable Development,” which addressed follow-up to the outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and positioning of migration in the post-2015 development agenda.
The ICPD Programme of Action was adopted by 179 Member States at the ICPD in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994. It addresses population, maternal health and reproductive health care, also considering the relationships between population, development and individual well-being. [Meeting Website] [Statement of UN Secretary-General] [UN Press Release] [DPI Meeting Summary, 26 April] [Statement of UNFPA Executive Secretary] [NGLS Press Release] [Webpage on Side Event] [Publication: Programme of Action]