|
UNFPA GLOBAL POPULATION POLICY UPDATE
Issue 6 - July 18 2003
With this issue of the IPCI/ICPD Global Population Policy Update, we highlight
several international programmes and laws enacted in Latin America and Asia
that help create an enabling environment for ICPD implementation at the national
level, one of the major themes of the International Parliamentarians’ Conference
on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (21-22 November 2002,
Ottawa, Canada).
On 26 May 2003, Argentina issued Decree No.1282/2003, which implements
Law No. 25673 on sexual health and responsible reproduction.
The Decree creates the National Programme for Sexual Health and Responsible
Reproduction within the Ministry of Health. It commits the Ministry
of Health to provide direction and technical advice to—as well as monitor
and evaluate—provincial programmes, with an emphasis on disseminating
information and advice on contraceptive methods and their use. The Programme
will focus on prevention and risks in order to reduce complications that
may affect users. In addition, the Ministry is charged with helping
to expand and improve the support network in order to satisfy the demand for
services. Under the Decree, minors have a right to receive clear, complete
and timely information on contraception. Consultations are to be carried
out in a climate of trust, empathy and confidentiality. Minors under
the age of 14 are to be accompanied by a parent or a responsible adult.
All persons receiving services are to be provided with information on the
characteristics, risks and consequences of contraceptive methods; the consent
of the user is to be obtained in accordance with their convictions and beliefs.
The Decree requires the Ministries of Health, Science and Technology, Education
and Social Development to implement mass communication campaigns to disseminate
information on the National Programme.
See http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/txtnorma/85450.htm
On 6 May 2003, Chile enacted Law No. 19874, which facilitates the
prosecution of sexual offenses committed against minors. Among other
things, the Law amends Article 369 of the Penal Code to allow persons other
than the victim of such an offense to initiate legal proceedings against the
perpetrator. Previously, the victim was the only person who could make
an accusation. When the victim is not free to make an accusation, or his
or her legal representative is implicated in the offense, the public prosecutor
can initiate proceedings. In addition, any other person with knowledge
of the facts may make an accusation to the authorities.
See http://www.anfitrion.cl/actualidad/20ulle/03051319874.html
On 4 June 2003, Guatemala enacted the Law for the Integral Protection
of Children and Adolescents (Decree No. 27-03). The Law’s objective
is to provide a legal instrument for family integration and social promotion.
Its purpose is to achieve, with complete respect for human rights, the integral
and sustainable development of children and adolescents in a democratic setting.
Under the Law, the State must promote and adopt the necessary measures to
protect the family legally and socially. It must also ensure that parents
and guardians fulfil their obligations with respect to the life, liberty,
safety, peace, personal integrity, health, food, education, culture, sport,
recreation and family and community harmony of all children and adolescents.
The Law guarantees children and adolescents a wide variety of human rights,
including the rights to life, equality, liberty, identity, personal integrity,
family life, free and obligatory education, adoption and an adequate level
of health. Pregnant adolescents are guaranteed medical care and nutrition
through pregnancy and childbirth. It provides special protection to
employed adolescents, and to children and adolescents who are refugees or
have disabilities. It also sets forth measures to protect children and adolescents
from trafficking, economic exploitation, sexual exploitation and abuse, mistreatment
and the illegal use of drugs, as well as protecting them from information
that is harmful to their welfare. The Law lists the duties of parents,
children and adolescents. It establishes national and municipal commissions
for children and adolescents, a public prosecutor for the human rights of
children and adolescents, a department for adolescent workers, a department
for children and adolescents within the national police and a special judicial
system to deal with the problems of children and adolescents, the violation
of their rights and instances when they commit offenses.
See http://www.congreso.gob.gt/Pdf/Iniciativas/Registro2767.PDF
On 4 February 2003, the government of Nepal adopted its Tenth Plan (Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper). The Plan aims to expedite poverty reduction
through economic growth, social sector development, targeted programmes aimed
at inclusion of marginalized groups and good governance. The Plan’s
priority areas include population stabilization, health sector improvements
and promotion of the status of women. The Plan cites the reduction of
the fertility rate and the development of an “educated, healthy and skilled”
population as long-term population objectives. It advocates programmes
to promote adolescent health and education, greater coordination of programmes
to promote late marriage and breastfeeding, increased access to reproductive
health services and improvement of women’s status. Long-term health
care objectives include ensuring all Nepalis equal access to quality health
care services; creating demand for smaller families; maintaining “balance”
between population growth and economic, social and environmental development;
and promoting “healthy and capable human power.” Among the key indicators
of progress are availability of reproductive health services and maternity
services provided by trained health workers, use of family planning services
and a decrease in the infant and maternal mortality rates. Priority
programmes include safe motherhood services, reproductive health care for
teenagers and programmes to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS. The
Plan aims to improve the management of health care services and promote health
service decentralization. It also cites the importance of gender
mainstreaming, gender equality and women’s empowerment as means of advancing
development. Strategies cited are reform of discriminatory laws, inclusion
of women in poverty reduction programmes and increasing gender awareness.
See http://www.npc.gov.np/tenthplan/the_tenth_plan.htm
On 26 May 2003, the Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 9208, entitled
the “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.” According to the
Act, it is a crime to: recruit, transport, or receive a person by any means
including under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment; introduce
or match a person for marriage to a foreign national for money or other consideration;
or offer or contract marriage for the purpose of buying, selling or trading
the person. It is also illegal to organize tours for the purpose of
prostitution, pornography or sexual exploitation; maintain or hire a person
to engage in prostitution or pornography; or adopt or facilitate the adoption
of persons for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation,
forced labour, slavery or debt bondage. It is also illegal to recruit,
hire, adopt, transport or abduct a person for the purpose of removal or sale
of his or her organs. Finally, the Act penalizes the recruitment, transport
or adoption of a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or
abroad. A number of actions deemed to “promote” trafficking are also
prohibited. The Act specifies elevated penalties including life imprisonment
when: the trafficked person is a child; the offender is a parent or guardian
of the trafficked person; or when the trafficked person dies, develops mental
illness, suffers mutilation or becomes infected by HIV/AIDS.
Other provisions of the Act mandate the implementation of programmes to
prevent trafficking, support trafficked persons and ensure their recovery
and reintegration into mainstream society. The Act recognizes trafficked
persons as victims, according them exemption from criminal liability and
entitlement to enter the Witness Protection Programme. Trafficked foreign
nationals are provided the same protection. The Act calls for the establishment
of an Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. It specifies mandatory
services to trafficked persons such as emergency shelter, counseling, free
legal services, livelihood and skills training, medical or psychological services
and educational assistance to a trafficked child. It further provides
for the repatriation of foreign trafficked persons and the inclusion of trafficking
among extraditable offenses.
This newsletter is issued by the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) in its capacity as secretariat for the International
Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of
Action (November 2002, 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.
Thanks to Center for Reproductive Rights and Harvard University School of Public Health for their contributions to the content of this newsletter.
Please send mailing list update information to Diego Hadis at hadis@unfpa.org or 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.
|
