47th session of the Commission on Population and Development opens

The 47th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) has opened at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York with a call for the inclusion of population issues in the post-2015 global development to improve people’s lives.

This year's session will focus on the progress and challenges since the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994.

During the one week session, the UN Commission on Population and Development will examine actions taken by governments to improve people's lives and address population issues.

Presentations by experts will also include new demographic trends in the global population, including on ageing, youth, life expectancy, mortality, urbanization and migration

Un Secretary General’s address

In an opening statement delivered on his behalf UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said with the ICPD Programme of Action, governments set out an ambitious agenda to deliver inclusive, equitable and sustainable development.

"Over the past two decades, this agenda has contributed to significant advances," Ban stated.
"Fewer people are living in extreme poverty. Gender equality and the empowerment of women are gaining ground worldwide. More people are living longer, healthier lives. More girls are in school. Fewer women are dying in pregnancy and childbirth. There are more laws to protect and uphold human rights," he said.

Yet, in the midst of this human progress, the continued exclusion of some groups and the potential for serious environmental damage put these gains at risk, Ban said.

He said the international community has an urgent responsibility to invest in creating opportunities and a supportive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship for persons of all ages, "in particular for young people.".

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo said, people are at the heart of sustainable development so population issues should be addressed urgently, as few factors will shape the global development agenda

He said the September General Assembly will renew the political support and high-level commitment to the goals of the ICPD and will define the work in the field of Population and development for the years to come.

For his part, President of UN General Assembly John Ashe said that persistent gaps and barriers have continued to delay the objectives of achieving dignity and well-being for all.

UNFPA Executive Director

Addressing the session, Dr, Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive- Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said “the ICPD Programme of Action changed forever how we perceive population and development. It moved population policies and programmes from a focus on numbers to a focus on individuals – women and men, girls and boys. And in so doing, it ensured that our collective goals included all people, particularly the most marginalised and vulnerable women and girls.”

At this CPD, he said, Member States will follow through on the decision they took three years ago to “extend the Programme of Action and the key actions for its further implementation beyond 2014, and ensure its follow-up in order to fully meet its goals and objectives.”

Ensuring a Foundation of Equality

Dr Osotimehin said “We have seen important aggregate gains in access to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, with significant overall impacts on the health of women, girls and children. Yet in many countries, these gains have gone only to those at the top of the income spectrum. The poor, in both rural and poor urban areas, continue to suffer from lack of access to services and from sexual and reproductive ill health. Today more than 200 million women who want family planning cannot get it,”

He stressed that the ICPD Programme of Action reaffirmed that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without distinction of any kind….”

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Furthermore, he said If women are to contribute to the enrichment and growth of society, then they must have the opportunity to decide on the number and timing of their children, and to do so free from violence or coercion, with full confidence that pregnancy and childbirth will not result in illness, disability or death; and with confidence that their children will be healthy and survive.

To achieve this requires urgent renewed investments in strengthening health systems and in bringing these critical services to people where they live, said Dr. Osotimehin.

In addition, he called for Investment in young people, which he emphasised was the key to sustainability because how the needs of young people are met now will greatly determine how societies adapt as they age. .

“Dr. Osotimehin said the CPD affords Member States the opportunity to ensure that the gains of the ICPD are carried forward in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Written by Rosemary Ardayfio, NEW YORK (Courtesy: UNFPA)