[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 100 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4089-S4090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  SENATE RESOLUTION 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

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

                              S. Res. 734

       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--
       (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;
       (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
       (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--
       (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
       (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;

[[Page S4090]]

       (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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