2 November 1998

2-6 November: A Symposium on Population Change and Economic Development will take place in Bellagio, Italy.

3-6 November: A technical meeting on Reproductive Health Services in Emergency Situations will take place in Rennes, France. The participants’ list and provisional agenda for the meeting is available on the ICPD+5 web site.

7-9 December: The Economic Commission for Europe and UNFPA will meet in Budapest, Hungary, to review the ICPD Programme of Action. The ECE Population Activities Unit can be contacted at the following telephone and fax numbers, respectively: 41-22-917-2476; 41-22-917- 0101. The ECE PAU web site, which includes information on the regional ICPD+5 meeting, is: http://www.unece.org/ead/pau/rpm/. Their mailing address is: ECE Population Activities Unit, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

6-9 October: A technical meeting on Population Ageing, organized by UNFPA in collaboration with the Belgium Population and Family Study Centre, was held in Brussels, Belgium. Information and news about the meeting is available on the ICPD+5 web site.

The 32^nd session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is expected to complete its work in two days, from 22-24 March 1999. After that, the CPD will be transformed into the preparatory meeting for the special session, and will meet from 24-30 March. The preparatory meeting will be open to all member states.

Arrangements for the effective participation of actors of civil society, including NGOs, in the preparatory meetings and the special session are being worked out in accordance with decisions by the General Assembly. Information on the arrangements will be made available as soon as possible.

Reports to be considered and submitted to the open-ended CPD preparatory meeting for the special session are the following. For information: the report of the international forum in The Hague; and the quinquennial review and appraisal of the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. For negotiation: the draft report of the Secretary-General for the special session on the further implementation of the Programme of Action.

An international forum for the operational review and appraisal of the implementation of the Programme of Action, organized by UNFPA in collaboration with the Government of The Netherlands, will take place in The Hague on 8-12 February 1999. The Hague Forum will be held at the Netherlands Congress Center (NCC), Churchillplein 10, 2508 EA The Hague, The Netherlands (Tel: (31) 70 306-6244/(31) 70 306 6366; Fax: (31) 70 354 4335/ (31) 70 306 6443). Registration for the Forum will take place at the NCC on 7 February 1999, beginning at 1PM.

The Forum is a part of the overall five-year review of the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action to be conducted by the United Nations General Assembly at a Special Session on 30 June-2 July 1999. The Hague Forum will contribute to the review by focusing on key issues and by analyzing country-level operational and programme experience in the implementation of the Programme of Action. The outcome of The Hague Forum will provide a practical input to the review to be undertaken by the United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD), when it meets in New York from 22-30 March 1999. Invitations to The Hague Forum have been issued by UNFPA to the 179 countries that participated at the ICPD, and to other interested countries. Invitations have also been issued to inter-governmental organizations; United Nations organizations; specialized agencies and other international organizations; treaty bodies; regional commissions; parliamentary groups and foundations.

An International Parliamentarians’ Forum on ICPD+5 will be held on 4-6 February 1999, in The Hague, and will be hosted by the Dutch Parliament. The forum organizers include the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), based in Bangkok, Thailand, and several other parliamentary groups. Parliamentarians attending the forum will be invited to attend The Hague Forum. For more information about the parliamentarian’s forum, please contact: Shiv Khare, Executive Director AFPPD and Executive Coordinator of the Parliamentarians’ Forum, The Neurological Foundation Building, Sala Pamnak, 312 Rajavithi Road, Phyathai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. Fax: (662) 248-8827/247-9236; Tel.: (662) 248-6726/7 or 245-9596; E-mail: skhare@mozart.inet.co.th.

An NGO and a Youth Forum on ICPD+5 will be held on 6-7 February 1999. The NGO and Youth Forums will take place at the same site as The Hague Forum: the NCC (see address above). Registration for the NGO and Youth Forums will take place at the NCC on 5 February 1999, beginning at 3PM. Participants at the NGO and Youth Forums will be invited to attend The Hague Forum. The World Population Foundation (WPF), a Dutch NGO, is the local facilitator for organizations interested in participating in the NGO and Youth Forums, and, assisted by the advisory groups of the NGO and Youth Forums, serves as the secretariat. Information on the organization, process and substance of the NGO and Youth Forums, including information about accreditation, hotel accommodation and travel is, or will be available on the WPF NGO Forum web site at: www.ngoforum.org.
Registration forms are available on-line at:
www.ngoforum.org/files/common/brochure/online1.html. The registration deadline in 1 December 1998.

WPF can be contacted at: (31) 35-642-2304(Tel.)/(31)35-642-1462(Fax)/office@wpf.org. The mailing address is: WPF, Amperestraat 10, 1221 GJ Hilversum, Netherlands. The WPF web site is www.wpf.org. Information about these events is also available on the UNFPA ICPD+5 web pages.

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