[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 734 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 734

 Recognizing 30 years since the International Conference on Population 
 and Development in Cairo, Egypt, and reaffirming the goals and ideals 
of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme 
 of Action, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and 
                                rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 13, 2024

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Ms. Duckworth) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing 30 years since the International Conference on Population 
 and Development in Cairo, Egypt, and reaffirming the goals and ideals 
of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme 
 of Action, 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 preamble 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 
        preamble 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, Egypt, 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 human 
immunodeficiency virus (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) the 218,000,000 women globally who have unmet contraceptive needs;

    (2) the 287,000 women who 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;

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

    (4) the more than 1,000,000 sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that 
are--

    G    (A) acquired globally 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 to middle income countries need but do not receive 
treatment for 1 of the 4 major curable STIs-- chlamydia, gonorrhea, 
syphilis, and trichomoniasis; and

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

    (5) the reduction in maternal mortality that has stalled in 133 
countries and increase in maternal mortality in 17 countries from 2016 to 
2020;

    (6) the individuals living with HIV or at risk of HIV transmission, 
including the--

    G    (A) 1,700,000 individuals who became newly infected with HIV in 
2022, 54 percent of which are among key populations, and their sexual 
partners, whose 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 individuals; 
and

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

    (7) the 35 percent of women globally 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

    (8) the 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 of the United 
        Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs;
Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action calls for the right of all people to have a 
        satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce, and the 
        freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so;
Whereas the ICPD Programme of Action calls 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, 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 United Nations General Assembly--

    (1) endorsed the ICPD Programme of Action in 1995;

    (2) affirmed that governments should commit themselves to the goals and 
objectives of the Programme of Action; and

    (3) 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--

    (1) met for the ICPD30 Global Youth Dialogue in Cotonou, Benin, on 
April 4 to 5, 2024, to reaffirm the pivotal and active role young people 
have played globally in promoting, protecting, and delivering the ICPD 
Programme of Action and through the resulting Cotonou Youth Action Agenda; 
and

    (2) called on all United Nations Member States, duty bearers, and 
stakeholders to implement, resource, and institutionalize global 
commitments that provide youth-centered, accessible, safe, gender-
responsive, quality sexual and reproductive health services, and supplies 
within universal health coverage programs, 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 to 12, 
        2024, for the eighth International Parliamentarians' Conference on the 
        Implementation (in this preamble 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 the 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 of individuals from fundamental sexual and reproductive health 
        and rights;
Whereas the inability of the international community to reach the most 
        marginalized individuals globally 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, and that seeking to achieve such 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 Programme of Action and delivers sexual and reproductive 
        health and rights for all through rhetoric and action on programs, 
        policy, and funding: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) commends the notable progress made in achieving the 
        goals set in 1994 at the International Conference on Population 
        and Development (referred to in this resolution as the 
        ``ICPD'') and the follow up and outcomes of subsequent review 
        conferences;
            (2) recommits to the achievement of the goals of the ICPD;
            (3) champions the right to bodily autonomy and self-
        determination for all people;
            (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 that are accessible, 
        affordable, acceptable, of good quality, and convenient to all 
        individuals;
            (6) acknowledges that without a clear commitment to a human 
        rights-based approach to development, reproductive health, and 
        gender equality, meeting the goals of either the ICPD or the 
        Sustainable Development Goals will not be possible;
            (7) acknowledges and condemns the recent backsliding that--
                    (A) has occurred domestically and the egregious 
                impact such backsliding 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 the human immunodeficiency virus 
                and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;
            (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 United Nations 
        Population Fund, 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 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 the 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 of President Joseph R. 
        Biden, Jr., 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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