BANGKOK (UNESCAP): More than 400 delegates, including one
Head of State, Ministers, policy makers and civil society representatives from
47 countries are in Bangkok this week to attend the Sixth Asian and Pacific
Population Conference (APPC).
They will review population and development challenges
facing the Asia-Pacific region, including the unprecedented pace of population
ageing, migration, and urbanization and changing household and family
structures.
The Conference will also tackle a range of issues critical
to human rights and development, including sexual and reproductive health and
rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, HIV and AIDS, gender-based
violence, and the rights of young people.
In the Asia-Pacific region, too many women still die as a
result of childbirth. Lack of information on sexual and reproductive health,
and limited access to related services, is contributing to unintended
pregnancies and unsafe abortions. These gaps also expose millions to the risk
of HIV and other sexually transmitted disease.
The five-day Conference is expected to arrive at fresh
solutions to address these population and development challenges. Organized by
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) in cooperation with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, the
Conference will be instrumental in shaping the regional population agenda for
the next decade.
The Conference is expected to adopt a Ministerial
Declaration that will also serve as the Asia-Pacific regional input to the
global 20-year review of the International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD). The United Nations General Assembly will convene a special
session next year to recommit and advance the ICPD Programme of Action - the
first United Nations framework to recognize reproductive rights and gender
equality as essential to sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The Minister of Public Health of the Royal Thai Government, Pradit
Sintavanarong, opened the Conference today stating: "At present, Thailand
is facing major challenges from the consequences of its rapid demographic
transition which includes rapid population ageing with a rising tendency ratio
and declining working age population. This will dramatically impact the
country’s development which requires greater attention and action to adapt to
these consequences and sustain the momentum of development progress."
Speaking at the opening, UNFPA Executive Director Dr
Babatunde Osotimehin cited a regional survey on progress since the ICPD
conducted by ESCAP in cooperation with UNFPA. He said it shows that
Asia-Pacific countries have made important gains but need to do more to reduce
economic inequality, ensure access to contraception, prevent maternal deaths
and HIV infections, respond to the rights and needs of young people and end
violence against women and girls.
“Successfully addressing this unfinished agenda is not only
the right thing to do but also smart economics,” he declared.
Shun-ichi Murata, Deputy Executive Secretary of ESCAP, noted
that the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the Asian and Pacific Population
Conference provides a unique opportunity to forge consensus on a new regional
pathway to address the persistent and emerging challenges of population and
development at a time when the region is undergoing dramatic transformation. At
the same time, it is also an opportunity to provide a strong Asia-Pacific
regional input for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the
International Conference on Population and Development beyond 2014, as well as
the post-2015 development agenda.
An inclusive preparatory process--including a Civil Society
Organization Forum and a Youth Forum held in Bangkok last week -- has ensured
that voices from all sectors of society - Government, civil society and
parliamentarians will shape the Conference’s vision for the future.
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