Paving the Way for the Decennial Population Ministerial Conference

Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference
11-17 December 2002

BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services) -- Senior-level officials from 27 countries and territories in Asia and the Pacific have gathered at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, from 29 to 31 October for the Second Preparatory Committee for the forthcoming Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference.

As the final step in preparation for the Conference, the Preparatory Committee laid the groundwork for the decennial meeting by preparing a draft of the plan of action to be submitted to the Conference when it convenes at Bangkok from 11 to 17 December. The theme of this decade's Conference is "Population and Poverty in Asia and the Pacific". The Fourth Asian and Pacific Population Conference was held in Bali in 1992.

The negotiated draft plan of action, which emanated from three days of strenuous work and extensive discussions, emphasizes the role that the Conference will play in reviewing the progress made by the countries and territories of the region in the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development adopted by the Fourth Conference in Bali, Indonesia in 1992, and the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

The draft plan of action sought to highlight the problems and areas, in the field of population and poverty alleviation that require concerted attention from Governments, international donors and organizations, and civil society in the next 10 years.

"We recognize that there remain major challenges in the areas of population, sustainable development, poverty reduction, migration, ageing, gender, reproductive health including the needs of adolescents, HIV/AIDS and resource mobilization. Our goal is to address these issues," asserts the draft document.

The text, which is expected to be finalized and adopted by the Ministerial segment of the Conference when it meets in Bangkok in mid-December, emphasizes priority actions in 12 areas: Population, sustainable development and poverty; international migration; internal migration and urbanization; population ageing; gender equality, equity and empowerment of women; reproductive rights and reproductive health; adolescent reproductive health; HIV/AIDS; behavioural change communication (BCC) and information communication technologies (ICT); data, research and training; partnerships; and resources.

Strategic recommendations have been formulated under each of these topics, with the aim of addressing the challenges "in a concrete and action-oriented manner".

The preamble as well as some of the recommendations related to reproductive rights, adolescent reproductive health and resources sparked heated debates among the delegates. Some of the issues thus remained unresolved and will be taken up by the high-level delegates at the Fifth Asian and Pacific Conference.

Co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference will be the only ministerial-level UNESCAP meeting of the year 2002. It is the fifth in a series of decennial conferences, convened to promote regional cooperation in the field of population and to consider a wide range of population issues and their impact on social and economic development and poverty.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. David Lazarus, Chief, United Nations Information Services
UN Building, Rajadamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Tel: +66(0)2-2881864-9; Fax: +66(0)2-2881052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

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