|
UNFPA GLOBAL POPULATION POLICY UPDATE
Issue 1 - April 21 2003
As part of the follow-up to the International Parliamentarians’ Conference
on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (21-22 November 2002,
Ottawa), UNFPA is proud to launch its first email newsletter for parliamentarians.
As many of you know, the IPCI/ICPD was a watershed event where parliamentarians
from around the world, including ministers and secretaries of state, gathered
in the Canadian parliament to discuss the implementation of the Programme
of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
(IPCD). 103 elected representatives from 72 countries and territories
attending the conference focused on the two themes they were in the best
position to address as policy makers: meeting the ICPD financial
targets and creating an enabling environment for ICPD implementation at the
national level.
At the end of the conference, the participants unanimously adopted the
Ottawa Commitment, which spelled out concrete actions parliamentarians should
take to further mobilize resources that are desperately needed to achieve
the ICPD (and Millennium Development) Goals and to bring about positive changes
to national laws, policies and programmes related to population and development.
It was agreed that the IPCI/ICPD would be an ongoing process, with a global
parliamentary conference taking place every two years. UNFPA, as the
secretariat to the IPCI/ICPD, was tasked with monitoring progress being
made at the global level on the two themes and providing parliamentarians
with regular updates. This monthly dispatch is intended to highlight
important developments taking place around the world so that parliamentarians
can be kept informed of and learn from the successes, setbacks and challenges
encountered by their fellow parliamentarians in other countries and regions.
To all our partner NGOs, secretariats of parliamentary groups and UNFPA
field offices on this mailing list, we would like to ask for your kind cooperation
in forwarding this first issue to parliamentarians and government officials
in your countries who may be interested in receiving this type of information.
As we do not wish to burden you with similar requests every time we issue
the newsletter, it would be highly appreciated if you could send us the
email addresses of parliamentarians and government officials you recommend
to be on the mailing list as soon as possible, and inform us of any subsequent
changes.
We hope you enjoy this first issue, which focuses on the creation of an
enabling environment.
On 24 June 2002, the Republic of Mali adopted Law No. 02-44 on Reproductive
Health, which came into effect on 24 December 2002. The law incorporates
the definition of “reproductive health” affirmed in Article 7.2 of the Cairo
Programme of Action. Citing the needs of “vulnerable groups” such
as women, children and young adults, the law states that the aim of reproductive
health care is to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity and
promote the well-being of all individuals. The law affirms the equality
of men and women in matters of reproductive health, stating that all persons
are entitled to enjoy a safe and responsible sex life and that men and women
have equal rights to information and access to the family planning methods
of their choice. The law provides that any individual or couple has
the right to reproductive health services that are of the best possible quality.
In particular, it ensures the rights of women to health care during pregnancy
and childbirth aimed at preserving the health of the pregnant woman and
the newborn. The law lists the components of reproductive health care,
which include: services and activities related to family planning; information
and counseling on sexuality and responsible parenthood; care for safe pregnancy
and childbirth; services to promote infant survival; prevention and treatment
of sterility, infertility and impotence; abortion prevention and post-abortion
care; prevention and treatment of reproductive tract infections; treatment
of genital disorders; treatment of complications of female genital mutilation;
reproductive health care for older adults and young people; and treatment
and prevention of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS.
The law pledges special care to those living with HIV/AIDS, but calls upon
them to inform their partners and take measures to avoid its transmission.
It further provides for criminal penalties for individuals who intentionally
transmit HIV. The law affirms the legality of manufacturing, importing,
selling and publicizing approved contraceptive methods, while setting penalties
for the sale and promotion of non-approved methods.
The Republic of Albania, on 4 April 2002, adopted Law No. 8876 on
Reproductive Health, which provides for the organization and delivery of
reproductive health care and sets forth guarantees of individuals’ reproductive
rights. The law incorporates the principles of the Cairo Programme
of Action in its definitions of reproductive and sexual health, listing the
following services as components of reproductive health care: family planning
services, services and education for safe pregnancy and childbirth; health
care services and education for children and adolescents; prevention and
treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; safe abortion
services and management of abortion complications; information, education
and counseling about sexuality and reproductive health; referral services
for a range of special needs in the area of reproductive health; and prevention
and treatment of infertility.
In addition, the law provides broad protection for the principles of gender
equality and reproductive self-determination, providing explicit guarantees
of the right to family planning, consent to reproductive health care interventions,
safe pregnancy and childbirth services, access to reproductive technologies,
health education and basic medical care. The law further affirms the
right of consenting individuals to undergo sterilization, provided they
are of the legal minimum age. It also provides for the rights of adolescents
to age-appropriate reproductive health information and services, including
programs aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancy and sexual abuse.
Finally, the law guarantees treatment for infertility and use of reproductive
technologies, specifying that couples must jointly agree on the use of these
technologies. Subsequent sections of the law address the use of these
treatments and technologies in greater detail.
The remaining provisions of the law deal primarily with the administration
of reproductive health services, mentioning certain services that are provided
free of charge. The law specifies that pregnant women enjoy free medical
care during pregnancy, delivery and the postnatal period, referring in particular
to mandatory pre- and post-natal examinations. The law further specifies
that children under six years of age are entitled to free preventive health
care. Finally, under the law, adolescents receive reproductive health
and sexual education services free of charge.
On 26 September 2002, the King of Nepal signed the Country Code (Eleventh
Amendment) Bill, which, among other things, sets forth the conditions
under which abortion may be performed. Abortion is now legal in Nepal
at the woman’s request during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It
is permitted during the first 18 weeks of pregnancy in cases of rape and
incest and at any time in the case of fetal impairment and when a woman's
life or health is in danger. The law prohibits and sets forth penalties
for both sex-selective abortion and prenatal testing for the purpose of
sex selection. Prior to the enactment of this code, Nepal had a maternal
mortality rate of 540 per 100,000 live births – one of the highest in the
world. It is estimated that 50 percent of maternal deaths were due to unsafe
abortion, and 20-50 percent of all admissions to gynecological wards in
hospitals was due to abortion complications.
On 23 December 2002, Ecuador enacted a new Code on Children and Adolescents.
The Code sets forth provisions on integral protection guaranteed by the
State, society and the family to children and adolescents in order to achieve
their integral development and the full exercise of their rights within
a framework of liberty, dignity and equality. The Code provides that
all children and adolescents through the age of 18 are equal before the
law and may not be discriminated against on the basis of birth, nationality,
age, sex, ethnic origin, color, social origin, language, religion, political
opinion, economic status, sexual orientation, state of health, disability
or cultural diversity. It guarantees children and adolescents the
following rights, among others: the right to life; the right to live in
a family; the right to be breastfed; the right to care during pregnancy
and childbirth; the right to physical, mental, psychological and sexual
health, free-of-charge; the right to social security; the right to personal
identity; the right to free education through the secondary level, including
education on responsible maternity and paternity; the right to information;
the right to personal integrity, including respect for their personal, physical,
psychological, cultural, emotional and sexual integrity; the right to privacy;
and the right to freedom of expression, thought, association and religion.
The Code requires professionals and officials to report cases of mistreatment,
abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking in children and adolescents, all
persons to intervene in such cases, and the State to adopt measures for the
protection of affected children and adolescents. It sets forth detailed rules
on the employment of children and adolescents, the rights of children within
the family and the exercise of parental authority, child custody, child support,
the right of pregnant women to support from the fathers of their unborn children,
adoption, children taken into care and protection, children and adolescents
who have committed offenses, the organization, administration and responsibilities
of government agencies responsible for the protection of children and adolescents
and penalties for violation of the provisions of the Code. It prohibits
discrimination against pregnant adolescents and adolescents who are mothers,
the dissemination of pornography to children and adolescents and their involvement
in pornography and the medical or genetic manipulation of fertilized eggs,
embryos and fetuses.
See www.dlh.lahora.com.ec/paginas/judicial/PAGINAS/R.O.Enero.3.2003.htm#anchor375355
On 22 November 2002, Bolivia enacted a Law on universal mother-child insurance.
The Law creates a system of universal, integral and free insurance to provide
health care for women from the beginning of their pregnancy through the
six-month period following childbirth and for children from birth through
age five. The health care is to be provided by means of a network
of health services established within primary, secondary, and tertiary health
care establishments throughout the country.
On 17 January 2003, India amended its Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994. The 1994 Act was
designed to regulate the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purpose
of detecting genetic or metabolic disorders, chromosomal abnormalities, certain
congenital malformations and sex linked disorders and to prevent the misuse
of such techniques for the purpose of pre-natal sex determination leading
to the abortion of female foetuses. The 2003 amendments are designed
to strengthen the provisions of the Act by doing the following: a) broadening
the scope of procedures and tests that are prohibited and categories of clinics
and laboratories that are subject to the provisions of the Act; b) prohibiting
any procedure, technique, test or the administration of anything for the purpose
of ensuring or increasing the probability that an embryo will be of a particular
sex; c) prohibiting the sale of any ultrasound machine or imaging machine
or scanner or any other equipment capable of detecting the sex of a foetus
to any clinic or person not registered under the Act; d) requiring persons
carrying out tests allowed by the Act to keep records; e) prohibiting the
causing of sex selection before or after conception; f) creating state boards
to monitor the implementation of the Act; g) enlarging the powers of officials
to enforce the provisions of the Act; and h) broadening advertising prohibitions.
This newsletter is issued by the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in its capacity as secretariat for the biannual
International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the
ICPD Programme of Action (the first conference was held in November 2002,
in Ottawa, Canada). These dispatches are intended to highlight important
developments taking place around the world so that parliamentarians can
be kept informed of and learn from the successes, setbacks and challenges
encountered by their fellow parliamentarians in other countries and regions
in their efforts to promote the implementation of the Programme of Action
of the International Conference on Population and Development (September
1994, Cairo, Egypt). It should be noted that UNFPA does not necessarily endorse
all of the policies described in this newsletter.
Please send mailing list update information
to Dave Parks at parks@unfpa.org.
If you have any questions or comments on the
content of this newsletter, please contact Harumi Kodama at kodama@unfpa.org or Stirling Scruggs at scruggs@unfpa.org. We wish to take this
opportunity to thank the Center for Reproductive Rights and Dr. Reed Boland
of the Harvard University School of Public Health who have agreed to provide
regular input on the newsletter content.
|
