[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1299 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1299

 Reaffirming the goals and ideals of the 1994 International Conference 
  on Population and Development Programme of Action in Cairo, Egypt, 
   including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 13, 2024

 Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, and 
Ms. Meng) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Reaffirming the goals and ideals of the 1994 International Conference 
  on Population and Development Programme of Action in Cairo, Egypt, 
   including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Whereas the United States played a central role in the creation of the United 
        Nations in 1945 following World War II to promote international 
        cooperation;
Whereas the United States encouraged the establishment of the United Nations 
        Population Fund (in this resolution referred to as ``UNFPA'') in 1969 
        and continues to serve on the Executive Board of the UNFPA;
Whereas the International Conference on Population and Development (in this 
        resolution referred to as ``ICPD''), which was attended by officials 
        from the Executive Office of the President, Congress, and United States 
        civil society and private sector organizations, was convened by the 
        UNFPA 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 resulting ICPD Programme of Action, to which the United States is a 
        signatory, asserts that the focus of development policy must be the 
        human rights and dignity of individuals and the improvement of 
        individual lives, measured by progress in addressing inequalities;
Whereas civil society played an indispensable role in shaping and executing the 
        ICPD Programme of Action and continues to do so today;
Whereas, since the adoption of the ICPD Programme of Action in 1994, significant 
        progress has been made towards universal access to sexual and 
        reproductive health and rights, including--

    (1) a global increase in voluntary access to modern contraception by 25 
percent;

    (2) a decline in the number of deaths due to unsafe abortion from 
69,000 in 1990 to 22,800 in 2014, due to liberalization of abortion laws 
and increased access to safe, and effective methods of abortion across the 
globe;

    (3) a decrease in maternal deaths by 34 percent globally; and

    (4) enhanced access to medical advances such as the development of 
antiretroviral therapies, which 29,800,000 people living with HIV accessed 
in 2022, contributing to significant decreases in HIV acquisition and 
transmission;

Whereas gaps and challenges in achieving the goals of the ICPD Programme of 
        Action remain as progress has been unequal and fragmented and new 
        challenges have emerged, such as--

    (1) 218,000,000 women worldwide who still have unmet contraceptive 
needs;

    (2) 287,000 women who still die annually from complications during 
pregnancy and childbirth globally, nearly all of which are preventable and 
1 out of 4 of which could be prevented by access to contraception. The 
reduction in maternal mortality has stalled in 133 countries and there was 
an increase in maternal mortality in 17 countries from 2016-2020;

    (3) up to 11 percent of maternal deaths that can be attributed to 
unsafe abortion;

    (4) more than 1,000,000 STIs that are--

    G    (A) acquired worldwide every day because access to education about 
STIs and STI testing is not universally available due to a lack of trained 
personnel, comprehensive sexual education, laboratory capacity, and 
medicines;

    G    (B) too often untreated, as an estimated 133,000,000 women of 
reproductive age in low-middle income countries need but do not receive 
treatment for 1 of the 4 major curable STIs, chlamydia, gonorrhea, 
syphilis, or trichomoniasis; and

    G    (C) exacerbated by the separation of STI services from other 
services, such as primary health care or family planning;

    (5) People living with HIV or at risk of HIV transmission, including 
the--

    G    (A) 1,700,000 people who became newly infected with HIV in 2022, 
54 percent of which are among key populations and their sexual partners 
where the risk of acquiring HIV is 22 times higher among men who have sex 
with men, 22 times higher among people who inject drugs, 21 times higher 
for sex workers, and 12 times higher for transgender people; and

    G    (B) adolescent girls and young women (ages 15-24) who are at a 
higher risk of becoming infected with HIV and who account for 4 out of 5 
new infections among adolescents (aged 15-19) in sub- Saharan Africa;

    (6) 35 percent of women worldwide who have experienced physical or 
sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence, or sexual violence by 
a non-partner at some point in their lives, a vulnerability that may 
increase as a result of characteristics such as sexual orientation, 
disability status, HIV status, and pregnancy, or contextual factors, such 
as humanitarian crises and conflict; and

    (7) 48,000,000 women and girls of reproductive age who are in need of 
humanitarian assistance;

Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action and other international human rights 
        standards recognize that access to evidence-based, comprehensive sexual 
        and reproductive health care, including abortion, is an essential human 
        right, and that ending gender-based violence and the prevention and 
        treatment of HIV are key priorities to advancing sexual and reproductive 
        health and rights for all people, and attaining the ICPD Programme of 
        Action milestones and the Sustainable Development Goals;
Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action called for the right of all people to have 
        a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to 
        reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so;
Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action called for the right of all people to be 
        informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and 
        acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, free of coercion, 
        violence, misinformation, and discrimination;
Whereas the ICPD called on governments to commit themselves at the highest 
        political level to achieving the goals and objectives of the Programme 
        of Action and to take a leading role in coordinating the implementation, 
        monitoring, and evaluation of follow-up actions;
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations endorsed the ICPD Programme 
        of Action in 1995, affirmed that governments should commit themselves to 
        the goals and objectives of the Programme of Action, and called upon all 
        governments to give the widest possible dissemination of the Programme 
        of Action and seek public support for the goals, objectives, and actions 
        of the Programme of Action;
Whereas 400 youth delegates from 60 countries, including the United States, met 
        for the ICPD30 Global Youth Dialogue in Cotonou, Benin on April 4-5, 
        2024, to reaffirm the pivotal and active role young people in every 
        corner of the world have played in promoting, protecting and delivering 
        the ICPD Programme of Action and through the resulting Cotonou Youth 
        Action Agenda, called on all United Nations Member States, duty bearers, 
        and stakeholders to implement, resource and institutionalize global 
        commitments which provide youth-centered, accessible, safe, gender-
        responsive, quality sexual and reproductive health services and supplies 
        within universal health coverage programmes, including menstrual health 
        management, the full range of modern contraceptives, comprehensive 
        abortion care services, HIV services, and self-managed care;
Whereas Members of Parliament from all regions of the world, with presence from 
        the House of Representatives, met in Oslo, Norway, on April 10-12, 2024, 
        for the eighth International Parliamentarians' Conference on the 
        Implementation (in this resolution referred to as ``IPCI'') of the 
        International Conference on Population and Development and through the 
        resulting Oslo Statement of Commitment, members expressed deep concern 
        about the global backlash against the sexual and reproductive health and 
        rights agenda that has been observed in multiple countries, including 
        the lack of agency for women and girls, which deepens social 
        inequalities and undermines human rights, democracy, gender equality, 
        and the collective efforts to build more inclusive and resilient 
        societies;
Whereas in its 2024 State of the World Population Report, UNFPA reviewed 
        progress in achieving the ICPD Programme of Action, indicating that 
        significant progress has been made, but entrenched inequalities deprive 
        millions from fundamental sexual and reproductive health and rights;
Whereas the inability of the world to reach the most marginalized is largely due 
        to unwillingness to confront the legacies of gender inequality, racial 
        discrimination, and misinformation that underlie health systems;
Whereas the United States government, in its Statement at UN Commission on 
        Population and Development's 57th Annual Session on April 30, 2024, 
        affirmed that reproductive rights are central to an inclusive, thriving 
        society, that seeking to achieve these rights unequivocally transforms 
        the lives of women and girls, in all of their diversity, around the 
        world, for the better; and
Whereas the Blueprint for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice 
        calls on the United States government to mark the 30th anniversary of 
        ICPD with a high level event that recommits the United States government 
        to the ICPD Program of Action and delivers sexual and reproductive 
        health and rights for all through both rhetoric and action on programs, 
        policy, and funding: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the notable progress made in achieving the 
        goals set in 1994 at the ICPD and the follow up and outcomes of 
        subsequent review conferences;
            (2) recommits to the achievement of the goals;
            (3) champions the right to bodily autonomy and self-
        determination for all;
            (4) recognizes that sexual and reproductive health and 
        rights, including safe abortion, are human rights, and that 
        sexual and reproductive health and rights are a precondition 
        for the empowerment of women, gender equality, and the well-
        being and prosperity of all people;
            (5) commits to advocating for and providing comprehensive 
        and factual information and a full range of sexual and 
        reproductive health care services which are accessible, 
        affordable, acceptable, of good quality and convenient to all 
        users;
            (6) acknowledges that without a clear commitment to a human 
        rights-based approach to development, reproductive health, and 
        gender equality, it will not be possible to meet the goals of 
        either the ICPD or the Sustainable Development Goals;
            (7) acknowledges and condemns the recent backsliding that--
                    (A) has occurred domestically and the egregious 
                impact it has had globally, particularly regarding 
                abortion access and the rights of the LGBTQIA+ 
                community; and
                    (B) is contrary to evidence-based health practices 
                and established human rights norms and could set back 
                the progress made on reducing unsafe abortions, 
                reducing maternal mortality, and reducing stigma 
                against treatment for HIV/AIDS;
            (8) accepts the responsibility of the United States, as the 
        largest funder of global health, to uphold the goals of ICPD 
        and set a global example through United States funding and 
        policies, which affirmatively advance Federal development 
        commitments and the realization of human rights;
            (9) supports the urgent need to scale up funding for 
        bilateral international family planning and reproductive health 
        programs and the United States contribution to UNFPA, which 
        have been flat funded for 14 years, and to permanently end 
        harmful policies like the global gag rule and Helms Amendment, 
        which undermine global access to comprehensive health care 
        information and services and the ability to achieve the vision 
        laid out in the ICPD Programme of Action;
            (10) opposes and condemns reproductive coercion in all 
        forms, consistent with the 1994 ICPD Programme of Action, 
        including--
                    (A) the use of incentives or disincentives to lower 
                or raise fertility;
                    (B) the use of incentives or targets for uptake of 
                specific contraceptive methods;
                    (C) withholding of information on reproductive 
                health options; and
                    (D) forced abortion, forced sterilization, and 
                forced pregnancy; and
            (11) calls on the administration to fully implement the 
        National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, including the 
        strategic priority to ``Protect, Improve, and Expand Access to 
        Health Care, including Sexual and Reproductive Health Care''.
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