MEDIA ADVISORY: World Marks 10th Anniversary of Cairo Consensus on Population and Development

UNITED NATIONS, New York—United Nations Member States will hold a special one-day General Assembly meeting and other events to mark the 10th anniversary of the historic International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994).

At the ICPD, 179 governments agreed on a plan to fight poverty by balancing the world’s people with its resources, improving women’s status, and ensuring universal access to reproductive health services, including voluntary family planning. The State of World Population 2004 report by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, shows that countries have made significant progress in carrying out the Cairo plan, but face key obstacles, including a shortfall in donor support.

“The Cairo consensus helped pave the way for the Millennium Development Goals – adopted by all the world’s countries as a blueprint for building better lives for people everywhere in the twenty-first century.”

Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

Events scheduled to mark the ICPD include:

Tuesday, 12 October 

• Round table on International Migration and Development, presenting a new report on Meeting the Challenges of Migration: Progress Since the ICPD by the International Migration Policy Programme and UNFPA

  Where: ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations
  When: 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
  Organizer: UNFPA

Wednesday , 13 October 

• Press conference on World Leaders Statement in Support of the ICPD, with Ted Turner, Chairman of Turner Enterprises; United Nations Foundation President Timothy E. Wirth; and UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid

  Where: Room S-226, United Nations Headquarters
  When: 10:30-11:00 a.m.
  Organizer: United Nations Foundation

Thursday, 14 October 

• Commemorative Meeting of the General Assembly. Speakers will include ministers of health and planning and other senior officials from around the world

  Where: General Assembly Hall, United Nations
  When: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

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• Photo Exhibition and Reception, featuring A Camel for the Son: Somalia and The Victor Weeps: Afghanistan by renowned photographer Fazal Sheikh

  Where: General Assembly Visitors’ Lobby, United Nations, New York
  When: 6:30 p.m.
  Organizer: UNFPA

For media accreditation, please contact A. Kabbaj, United Nations Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, at +1 (212) 963-6934/6937 or www.un.org/media/accreditation.

For more information about the events, please contact Omar Gharzeddine at +1 (212) 297-5028 or gharzeddine@unfpa.org.

For information about the World Leaders Statement in Support of the ICPD, please contact Laura Rogers at +1 (202) 887-9040, lrogers@unfoundation.org.