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Recommendation 1903 (2010) Final version
Fifteen years since the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action
1. At the 1994 International Conference
on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 179 countries agreed
that population and development are inextricably linked and that
empowering women and meeting individuals' and couples’ needs on
education and health, including reproductive health, were necessary
for both individual advancement and international development. The
conference adopted the 20-year Programme of Action, which focused
on individuals' needs and rights rather than on achieving demographic
targets. This programme of action accepted 15 basic principles that
were already internationally recognised as central to an inclusive
and rights-based approach to development.
2. Advancing gender equality, eliminating violence against women
and ensuring women's ability to control their own fertility were
acknowledged as cornerstones of population and development policies.
The ICPD goals centred on providing universal education; reducing
infant, child and maternal mortality; universal access by 2015 to
reproductive health care, which includes family planning, assisted
childbirth and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) including HIV/Aids.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly notes that while some progress
has been made, achievements on education enrolment, gender equity
and equality, infant, child and maternal mortality and morbidity
as well as the provision of universal access to sexual and reproductive
health services, including family planning and safe abortion services,
remain mixed. Currently 113 countries have not reached the goals
on gender equity and equality in primary and secondary education.
In 2007 an estimated 137 million women did not have access to family
planning, and more than 500 000 women die every year from pregnancy-related
causes, 99% of them in developing countries.
4. Furthermore, violence against women – particularly domestic
violence and rape – is widespread, and rising numbers of women are
at risk from Aids and other STIs as a result of high-risk sexual
behaviour on the part of their partners. In a number of countries,
harmful practices meant to control women's sexuality lead to great
suffering. Among them is the practice of female genital mutilation,
which is a violation of basic rights and a major lifelong risk to
women's health.
5. The Assembly draws attention to the fact that Europe is the
world’s largest donor of official development assistance (ODA).
In fact, European states’ ODA accounts for almost 70% of the total
global population assistance. It is of concern that global ODA declined
in 2007 for the second consecutive year.
6. The Assembly further notes with concern that even within Council
of Europe member states, a large proportion of individuals and couples,
particularly in central and eastern European countries, do not have access
to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education
and services. Member states need to prepare and/or review and update
national as well as international population and development policies and
strategies to ensure universal access to comprehensive sexual and
reproductive health services with particular attention to ensuring
access to affordable, acceptable and appropriate family planning
methods, skilled birth attendants and obstetric emergency care to
prevent unwanted pregnancies, abortions, STIs and maternal ill health
and death.
7. The Assembly urges Council of Europe member states to compare
progress made on sexual and reproductive health and rights policies
and funding in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the ICPD Programme
of Action and agree on priority actions to ensure its full implementation
by 2015.
8. The Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to:
8.1. review, update and compare Council
of Europe members states’ national and international population
and sexual and reproductive health and rights policies and strategies;
8.2. review and compare funding to ensure the full implementation
of the ICPD Programme of Action by 2015.
9. In particular, the Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers
to address the challenges of:
9.1. maternal
mortality and morbidity, with a particular emphasis on reducing
unsafe abortions, by:
9.1.1. ensuring
universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health
and rights information, education and services, with an emphasis
on the provision of a variety of modern methods of family planning
and counselling, skilled birth attendants and access to gynaecological and
obstetric emergency care;
9.1.2. ensuring that the specific needs of vulnerable populations,
including migrants, minorities and rural populations are met, with
attention to the provision of free sexual and reproductive health
and rights services;
9.2. age-appropriate, gender-sensitive sexuality and relationship
information and education in schools, by ensuring that all schoolchildren
receive such information and education to prevent sexual coercion,
STIs, unplanned pregnancies and subsequent abortions;
9.3. demographics by:
9.3.1. improving
access to reproductive health supplies, with a particular emphasis
on the provision of a variety of family planning methods to suit
different populations;
9.3.2. improving maternity pay and leave, access to childcare,
flexible working hours for parents returning to work as relevant
to countries' development;
9.3.3. improving access to infertility treatment as relevant
to countries’ population and development;
9.4. migration by:
9.4.1. integrating
migration (and its positive aspects) into development policy and
domestic legislation and ensuring the necessary budgetary allocation
is made to guarantee the rights of migrant women to education, employment,
health and social services;
9.4.2. improving screening of irregular migrants following arrival
in order to identify healthcare needs, in particular as regards
pregnant women, the young and the elderly;
9.5. the HIV/Aids and STI pandemic by:
9.5.1. developing and improving policies on STIs including HIV/Aids.
Policies need to include comprehensive prevention strategies with
universal sexuality and relationship information and education,
national information campaigns, access to affordable reproductive
health supplies and non-judgmental voluntary counselling, testing,
treatment and care for infected individuals;
9.5.2. improving screening for reproductive tract cancers to
minimise occurrences, with particular reference to preventing cervical
cancers, through appropriate access to human papilloma virus (HPV)
vaccines;
9.5.3. ensuring free, non-discriminatory access to sexual and
reproductive health and rights, as well as other health services,
and a healthy environment for irregular migrants who are detained;
internally displaced persons (IDPs), in particular for those in
collective centres; Roma and related groups, including those living
in settlements;
9.5.4. guaranteeing the successful integration of migrants and
their families and developing comprehensive integration policies
to give migrants every opportunity to participate in and contribute
to the life of their host society;
9.6. gender equality and relations by:
9.6.1. ensuring that age-appropriate policies are in place for
women and men to access information, education and services needed
to achieve good sexual health and equality and exercise their reproductive
rights and responsibilities;
9.6.2. ensuring active and open discussions on the need to protect
women, young people and children from any abuse, including sexual
abuse, exploitation, smuggling, trafficking and violence, including
female genital mutilation, supported by educational programmes at
both national and community levels. Victims must report violations
and governments should establish the necessary conditions and procedures
to encourage victims to report violations of their rights. Laws
addressing those concerns should be enacted where they do not exist,
made explicit, strengthened and enforced, and appropriate rehabilitation
services provided;
9.6.3. ensuring that donations to countries for the treatment
and prevention of HIV/Aids are increased;
9.7. funding the ICPD Programme of Action by:
- In European donor countries:
9.7.1. ensuring that donor governments
fulfil their commitment to allocate 0.7% of gross national income
for ODA, despite the global economic crisis;
9.7.2. ensuring that donor governments allocate 10% of ODA to
population/sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes,
reflecting the Parliamentary Statements of Commitments in Ottawa
in 2002, Strasbourg in 2004 and Bangkok in 2006;
9.7.3. ensuring that ODA is long term and predictable to better
support the consolidation of health planning and health systems
with attention to country plans, and that institutional arrangements
are in place for its proper and effective distribution;
- In recipient countries:
9.7.1. ensuring that recipient countries’
health budgets reach an agreed commitment, such as 15% of their
annual national budget as agreed by African leaders at the Abuja
Summit in 2001;
9.7.2. ensuring that two thirds of recipient countries’ population/sexual
and reproductive budget comes from the national budget and one third
comes from the international donor community in aggregate, as adapted
to national needs and capacities;
9.7.3. putting in place a system of “checks and balances” as
ODA recipient governments are increasingly empowered by new decision-making
modalities regarding this assistance. Civil society and parliaments
must take their rightful place in decision making;
9.7.4. encouraging countries to include in their national health
plans the new Goal 5, target 2, of the Millennium Development Goals:
“Achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015”;
9.7.5. encouraging country ownership with the involvement of
government officials, parliamentarians, civil society, the private
sector and donors.
10. Based on the progress in the above fields, the Assembly encourages
the Committee of Ministers to:
10.1. start
developing a European convention on sexual and reproductive health;
10.2. review progress on the full implementation of the ICPD
Programme of Action and agree on priority action to achieve universal
access to sexual and reproductive health and rights by 2015.