Armenia Round Table And International Conference On Population And Development Beyond 2014

Back in 1994 179 United Nations member states gathered in Cairo to endorse International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action and in doing so to recognize that population is not about numbers but about people and their quality of life. The ICPD was a milestone event aiming at improving the lives of all people around the world through promoting human rights and dignity, supporting family planning, sexual and reproductive health and rights, advancing gender equality, promoting equal access to education for girls, eliminating violence against women, as well as focusing on issues relating to population and protecting the environment.
To deliver a comprehensive picture on the implementation of the Cairo agenda at 2014 and beyond the General Assembly initiated a review process which in particular should identify major achievements and constraints as well as opportunities for reinforcing the ICPD Programme of action. The review process is implemented at three levels: national, regional and global. Within the framework of regional component of the ICPD beyond 2014 review process on April 17-18 UNFPA Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (EECA RO) hosted a stakeholder meeting with representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs), women’s groups, youth, parliamentarians and academia, which, as Ms. Thea Fierens, EECA RO Director, indicated in her welcoming speech, were key in bringing the voices and concerns of population in defining the directions for the ICPD review process.
One of the 68 participants gathered in Istanbul was Executive Director of Armenia Round Table Foundation, Dr. Karen Nazaryan who is also a member of the regional Steering Committee, established to prepare the ground for the meeting as well as provide effective leadership for regional consultations.
The first day of the meeting was dedicated to reflection on the population and development context with an overview of global, regional and national dimensions. At the working group session the participants discussed the situation on the four thematic areas, namely: adolescents and youth, human rights and gender equality, universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal health and HIV and other sexually transmitted illnesses. The groups came up with a set of emerging issues of concern and recommendations for the review process. The second day discussion focused more on future implementation of ICPD Programme of action, its integration into the UN Development agenda beyond 2015 as well as promotion of the review process. During the reporting session chaired by Dr. Karen Nazaryan the participants presented their suggestions for moving forward the ICPD agenda and their view on the role and engagement of CSOs and young people in that process.
The meeting also facilitated identification of capacity needs, advocacy opportunities for CSOs as well as the priority actions for UNFPA to partner with CSOs and issues of interest to the region. An important outcome of the meeting was development of specific plans on the CSO contribution to the ICPD beyond 2014 process at national, regional and global levels. The participants left the meeting with a clear vision for their role and partnership framework with UNFPA and national governments within the ICPD review process.