The Role of Parliamentarians in Population and Development

1
The Role of Parliamentarians in Population and
Development

• By Magda De Meyer, MP Belgium, Co-Chair of the
  Belgian Parliamentary Group on Population and
  Development)
• 10 March 2003
• Challenges and solutions to Population and
  Development
• Parliamentary Network of the World Bank,
• 4th Annual Meeting, Athens

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Basis for MP involvement

• The Programme of Action of the 1994
  International Conference on Population and
  Development
• Clearly defines a strong role for
  parliamentarians in implementing International
  Agreements on population and development
• Parliamentarians must work to
• Mobilise Resources
• Create an enabling environment (eg. Legislate and
  public awareness)

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Basis for MP involvement

• Article 13 of the ICPD Programme of Action
  states
• 13.3 .. Members of national Legislatures can
  have a major role to play in enacting appropriate
  domestic legislation for implementing the present
  Programme of Action, allocating financial
  resources, ensuring accountability of expenditure
  and raising public awareness of population issues

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Basis for MP involvement

• 13.4 (b) .. To foster active involvement of
  elected representatives of people, particularly
  parliamentarians, concerned groups, especially at
  the grass-roots level..in formulating,
  implementing, monitoring and evaluating
  strategies, policies, plans and programmes in the
  field of population and development
• 13.6 . Governments and parliamentarians, in
  collaboration with the international community
  and non-governmental organisations, should make
  the necessary plans in accordance with national
  concerns and priorities and take the actions
  required to measure, assess, monitor and evaluate
  progress towards meeting the goals of the present
  programme of action.

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History of MP involvement

• Early on, parliamentarians from around the world
  took up their duties in becoming actively
  involved in population and development
• Already in 1979 UK MPs created a dedicated
  parliamentary group on population
• In 1982, Asian MPs created a pan-Asian forum
  followed the next year with the creation of an
  Inter-American group
• In 1997 an Afro-Arab Grouping was formed, and
  finally, an Inter-European Forum was created in
  2000

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Extent of MP Involvement
IEPFPD
AFPPD
IAPG
FAAPPD
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MP Activities
Parliamentary Activity for Population and
Development takes many shapes 1. Creating
and enabling environment - Work to introduce
legislation Examples - African Forum
produced model legislation on reproductive health
which has since been adopted in several West
African countries - new laws banning FGM in
Africa and Europe - Ensure UN language for
population issues is maintained,
strengthened Example at recent UN
Asia-Pacific meeting on 10 year review of ICPD,
Asian and European Mps worked together to prevent
1 country delegation from severely weakening UN
language on reproductive rights
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MP Activities
Resource Mobilisation - Work increase ODA
levels and funding to main actors in population
UNFPA IPPF Example monitor and take part in
Budget debate, convince Minister for Development
to increase funding case example Ireland
increased funding to UNFPA by 38 in 2002 thanks
to Irish parliamentarians and NGOs - Undertake
parliamentary study tours to demonstrate 1.
unmet needs in developing countries 2. level
of commitment of other parliamentarians, NGOs
and government officials in tackling population
issues
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Recent MP Commitments

• Call to action Ottawa Conference on ICPD
  Implementation
• Over 100 parliamentarians from over 60 countries
  unanimously agreed to
• Strive to attain 5 to 10 per cent of national
  development budgets for population and
  reproductive health programmes.
• Give high priority to achieving universal access
  to reproductive health services and commodities
  in national health and poverty-reduction
  frameworks, both in terms of budget allocations
  and in terms of programme activities.
• Promote the reduction of maternal mortality and
  morbidity and of unsafe abortion as a public
  health priority and as a reproductive rights
  concern.
• And Pledged
• to carry out these actions and to
  systematically and actively monitor the progress
  we make in doing so. We further pledge to report
  regularly on this progress through parliamentary
  groups and to meet again in two years to assess
  the results we have made, both individually and
  collectively.

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Future priorities for MPs

• Many Challenges lay ahead
• Funding fulfil ICPD resource goals
• Enact appropriate legislation
• Keep population issues high on agenda
• Confront conservative backlash
• Meet emerging challenges trafficking, AIDS,
  displaced persons, migrants, water shortages