June 29, 2004, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Women's Press Team/RIF-FIRE (María Suárez Toro) 
Translated by Claudia Anfossi

Strong support for the original 1994 agreements of the UN Conference on Population & Development in Cairo were expressed in a Declaration Proposal by the Intergovernmental Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health of MERCOSUR-Chile, presented today to several Ministers of Health at the Special Committee on Population and Development Meeting of CEPAL in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The proposal was presented at the 30th session of the regional organization of CEPAL, which has on its current agenda the 10-year evaluation of the World Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) of the United Nations, which took place  in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

Strong opposition to the original Cairo agenda was led by the delegation of the United Status, and was announced earlier in the preparatory meeting for the Cairo evaluation by the CEPAL, which took place in Chile last March.  This opposition made clear the need for nations who signed the original Cairo agreement of the ICPD to express clearly their vision and support for sexual and reproductive rights and services.

The Intergovernmental Commission declaration expresses support for efforts to reaffirm the original 1994 Cairo Program of Action. It says the following:  

1.    Welcomes the declaration of the Board Meeting of the Special Committee on Population and Development of CEPAL, which took place in Santiago, Chile on March 10-11, 2004, which states “the commitment of the countries of the region with the principles, objectives, and actions contained in the Program of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and to "key measures" to continue implementation of the Program of Action of the CIPD.” This document was a result of the 5-year evaluation process of the original ICPD Program of Action, and focused in particular on the inclusion of topics of population and poverty in development policies, along with reproductive health rights, gender equality and equity, and the empowerment of women.”  

2.   Recognizes that the implementation of the original ICPD Program of Action the "Key Measures" are essential in our countries to define and implement public policies on sexual and reproductive health.

3.   Our countries have been implementing actions, programs and policies about Sexual and Reproductive Rights with varying  degrees of development and commitment, which we recognize as important to advances for the fulfillment of the development objectives.  Also an obstacle to meeting these objectives is the social-economic crisis in the region.

4.   Among the principal advances during the past 10 years,  are important legislative actions to develop family planning programs, programs to reduce maternal and infant mortality in their different forms, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs and other STDs, programs for teenagers and youth, and the creation of the Intergovernmental Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health of MERCOSUR-Chile.  

5.   Our countries are urged to double their efforts:  

   5.1   To recognize fully the reproductive rights of the population without discrimination of any type.

5.2  To develop sex education programs within formal education as a strategy of promotion and prevention related to sexual and reproductive health, focused particularly on teenagers and youth.

5.3  To ensure universal access to quality sexual and reproductive health services, including guarantees for their continuance and assignment of resources.

5.4 To establish and strengthen different services for sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth, which safeguard privacy, confidentiality and informed consent.

5.5 To strengthen efforts for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of STDs (sexually-transmitted diseases) and especially of HIV/AIDS, articulating these actions within a sexual and reproductive health framework.

5.6   To double the efforts to reduce maternal mortality, taking into account all of its probable causes (biological, social and economic), and guaranteeing access to family planning, quality obstetric attention, attention to the consequences of  unsafe abortions and access to legal abortion services when established by legislation.

5.7 To strengthen efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls with special emphasis on violence and sexual abuse, and promoting adequate attention to these issues in health services.

5.8  To grant priority to the compilation and distribution of statistical information broken down by age, sex, ethnicity and other variables of national interest, and to support research to ensure the implementation and follow-up on the ICPD Program of Action that includes provision of sufficient resources.

5.9 To develop training programs for sexual and reproductive health that include gender and human rights perspectives, and that are directed towards health services personnel, and to promote full respect for the rights of the clients.  To promote in training institutions for the health professionals the incorporation of these topics into their curricula.

5.10 To create and/or reinforce institutional mechanisms for dialogue with the NGOs for the definition and evaluation of the actions previously mentioned.

5.11 To promote participation mechanisms for women, teenagers and youth to articulate their specific needs and interests related to sexual and reproductive health with the current local health services, stimulating likewise the involvement of men in reproductive decisions from a gender equality perspective.

5.12 To promote an integrated policy of Sexual and Reproductive Health of MERCOSUR and Chile, and the development of joint actions designed to ensure fulfillment of the commitments made by our countries.

"Based on the previous considerations, we urge a reaffirmation to the commitment of our countries with the principles and contents of the Program of Action of the International Conference of Population and Development and the Key Measures, to reach the objectives raised in the Millennium Goals.”

With this initiative, the MERCOSUR countries and Chile are heading the initiatives to neutralize the obstructive positions of the United States delegation which aim to weaken the Cairo Consensus.