Report of the International Forum for the Operational Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)

FUNCTIONING OF THE FORUM

16. The Forum met in plenary and main committee sessions. In Plenary, heads of delegations, many of them at the ministerial level, addressed their operational experiences in implementing the Programme of Action. Key points made in the Plenary provided useful inputs into the discussions on the findings and proposed actions in the Bureau.

17. The Plenary met in formal session 11 times. The opening session was addressed by W. J. Deetman, Mayor of The Hague; E. Borst-Eilers, the Netherlands' Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health; Louise Frechette, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; Dr. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, First Lady of Ghana; Elizabeth Aguirre de Calderon Sol, First Lady of El Salvador; Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA; the Honourable Baron Vaea, Prime Minister of Tonga; and Eveline Herfkens, the Netherlands' Minister for Development Cooperation. The following day, Hillary Rodham Clinton, First Lady of the United States, delivered the keynote address.

18. In subsequent sessions, 179 delegations took the floor: 134 Government representatives (43 from Africa, 38 from Asia and the Pacific, 22 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 17 from Western Europe and Other States, and 14 from Eastern Europe); 12 United Nations agencies and organizations; 23 non-governmental organizations (NGOs); 7 intergovernmental organizations; and 3 youth representatives.

19. The Main Committee met in formal session six times and considered five substantive themes: (a) Creating an enabling environment for further implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action; (b) Enhancing gender equality, equity and empowerment of women; (c) Promoting reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health, and reproductive rights; (d) Strengthening partnerships; and (e) Mobilizing and monitoring resources for further implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. At the end of each session, the Chairman summarized the main points that had been brought up in the discussions. The Chairman's summaries were brought to the attention of the Bureau in its capacity as the drafting committee for the final document of the Forum for its consideration. The outcome of the Forum is contained in the findings and proposed actions that follow.