[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 261 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 261

Expressing commitment to the objectives of the Program of Action of the 
        International Conference on Population and Development.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 10, 2011

  Ms. Lee of California submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing commitment to the objectives of the Program of Action of the 
        International Conference on Population and Development.

Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development was convened 
        by the United Nations Population Fund and the Population Division of the 
        United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy 
        Analysis in Cairo from September 5 to September 13, 1994, for the 
        purpose of addressing critical issues regarding population, development, 
        and human rights;
Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development built upon 
        earlier initiatives aimed at addressing development and population 
        growth, including the World Conference to Review and Appraise the 
        Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women in 1985, the World 
        Summit for Children in 1990, the International Conference on Nutrition 
        in 1992, and the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993;
Whereas at the time of its convening, the International Conference on Population 
        and Development was the largest intergovernmental conference ever 
        organized, with representatives from over 10,000 concerned groups and 
        179 governments, including the United States;
Whereas the conferees of the International Conference on Population and 
        Development adopted a new approach to sustainable development, focusing 
        on women's rights, the links between population growth and development, 
        and expanded access to education and health services;
Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development was guided by 
        Fifteen Principles, foremost of which was the fact that all human beings 
        are born free and equal in dignity and rights;
Whereas the Fifteen Principles of the International Conference on Population and 
        Development furthermore included the recognition that the family is the 
        basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened and the 
        recommendation that all States and families should give the highest 
        priority to children;
Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development resulted in 
        the drafting and adoption by acclamation of a 20-year Program of Action 
        referred to as the Cairo Consensus, the goals of which included 
        sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development, 
        universal access to education, gender equity and equality, the reduction 
        of infant, child, and maternal mortality, and universal access to 
        reproductive health services;
Whereas the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and 
        Development provided a strategic underpinning for the development and 
        adoption of the eight Millennium Development Goals adopted at the 
        Millennium Summit in 2000;
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Population and Development has 
        acknowledged that without a firm commitment to population, reproductive 
        health, and gender issues, it will not be possible to meet the goals of 
        either the International Conference on Population and Development or the 
        Millennium Development Goals;
Whereas substantial progress has been made in the 15 years since the adoption of 
        the Cairo Consensus, including but not limited to improvements in gender 
        equity, decreases in the world rates of poverty, infant and child 
        mortality, and maternal mortality, and improvements in access to primary 
        education, safe water, and health and family planning services;
Whereas, despite this progress, many of the goals of the Cairo Consensus remain 
        unmet;
Whereas 1,000,000,000 people still live in abject poverty;
Whereas each year half a million women die of causes related to pregnancy and 
        childbirth;
Whereas each year 4,000,000 infants die in their first month of life;
Whereas a disproportionate number of the world's impoverished and illiterate are 
        women;
Whereas it is currently predicted that 58 of the 86 countries that did not 
        provide universal primary education in 1994 will not meet this goal by 
        2015;
Whereas 200,000,000 women have an unmet need for safe, effective, and modern 
        contraceptives;
Whereas pregnancy-related complications are the leading cause of death for young 
        women aged 15 to 19;
Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development called for 
        governments to commit themselves at the highest political level to 
        achieving the goals and objectives of the Program of Action and to take 
        a lead role in coordinating the implementation, monitoring, and 
        evaluation of follow-up actions; and
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations endorsed the Program of 
        Action, affirmed that governments should commit themselves to their 
        goals and objectives, and furthermore called upon all governments to 
        give the widest possible dissemination to the Program of Action and to 
        seek public support for its goals, objectives, and actions: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) remains committed to the goals and objectives of the 
        Cairo Consensus, as set forth at the International Conference 
        on Population and Development;
            (2) supports the President's public commitment to the 
        advancement of the Cairo Consensus and the achievement of the 
        Millennium Development Goals;
            (3) encourages media organizations to participate in 
        publicizing the issues addressed by the Cairo Consensus, 
        including global poverty, gender equity and equality, the 
        reduction of infant, child, and maternal mortality, and 
        universal access to primary education and reproductive health 
        services; and
            (4) encourages nongovernmental organizations, faith based 
        organizations, community organizations, and private citizens to 
        take action where possible to improve gender equality, end 
        violence against women, expand access to reproductive, 
        maternal, and other health services, lower infant, childhood, 
        and maternal mortality rates, and eradicate world poverty.
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