Nairobi-Sana
With the participation of Syria, the Nairobi International Conference on Population and Development kicked off today under the slogan of “Accelerating the promise of the International Conference on Population and Development” with the aim of reviewing the achievements of the 179 countries that participated in the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its convening.
The conference, which is represented by a delegation headed by Rima Kadri, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, includes the head of the Syrian Commission for Family and Population Affairs, the Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, the head of the Social Affairs Committee of the People's Assembly Salam Sankar and representatives of a number of NGOs and youth initiatives. Mobilize political and financial commitments to end the unfinished work of the ICPD Program of Action, whose recommendations focused on the adoption of a Program of Action devoted to the reproductive rights of the individual, the reduction of maternal mortality and the end of domestic violence. Gender-based and women's empowerment as a condition for sustainable development, youth empowerment, poverty eradication and many other commitments linking the SDGs to population issues.
The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor met yesterday with the Regional Director of the Arab States in the United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Louay Shabana, in a working meeting focused on the axes to be discussed in the Nairobi conference and reviewed the negative effects caused by unilateral coercive economic measures imposed on Syria and the main challenges facing the work of the Syrian government with regard to Population issues.
The program of cooperation between UNFPA and the Syrian government was also discussed. Dr. Shabana stressed the importance of this cooperation as a number of programs and activities were implemented in coordination with them and NGOs targeting a large number of women, youth and vulnerable groups in society with issues related to reproductive health, empowerment of women and youth and elimination of existing violence. On gender, noting the need to expand areas of cooperation.
It is noteworthy that the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development, held in 1994, set goals and recommendations for a period of 20 years focused on 13 axes, including the link between population growth and economic and gender equity and the role of the family and social institutions and the relationship of population growth rate of fertility was reviewed in 2014, where another conference was held In Cairo, these themes were reviewed and the focus was on empowering women, youth, persons with disabilities and displaced families to take their participatory role in development.
Ines Svan