26 July 1989

35th plenary meeting

Convening of an international meeting on population in 1994

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 3344 (XXIX) of 17 December 1974 on the United Nations World Population Conference and 39/228 of 18 December 1984 on the International Conference on Population,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolutions 1985/4 of 28 May 1985, 1986/7 of 21 May 1986 and 1987/72 of 8 July 1987 on follow-up to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population,

Recognizing the full validity of the principles and objectives of the World Population Plan of Action, adopted by the United Nations World Population Conference in 1974,

Having considered the findings of the third review and appraisal of progress made towards achieving the goals and objectives of the World Population Plan of Action,

Noting with appreciation the efforts and achievements of many States, organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations pursuant to the provisions of the World Population Plan of Action, the recommendations for the further implementation of the Plan adopted by the International Conference on Population in 1984 and the Mexico City Declaration on Population and Development,

Concerned about the magnitude and growing urgency of population issues in the next decade,

Aware of the evolving diversity of population issues, including the regional variations in demographic trends and population problems, as indicated in the report of the Secretary-General on the monitoring of world population trends and policies,

Stressing the need for continued attention to be given to population issues at a high policy level in order to ensure that population concerns are integrated into policies, priorities and programmes for social and economic development, and, in that context, recognizing the usefulness of convening periodic international meetings at a high level to address population issues,

1. Decides, in principle, to convene in 1994, under the auspices of the United Nations, an international meeting on population that would bring together high-level governmental authorities and population experts and be open to all States as full participants, the specialized agencies and other relevant organizations, in order to:

(a) Assess the progress made and identify the obstacles encountered in carrying out the World Population Plan of Action and the recommendations for its further implementation;

(b) Increase the level of awareness of population issues on the international agenda;

(c) Provide guidance at the global, regional and national levels on the treatment of population issues of the highest priority for the next decade;

(d) Adopt a consolidated and updated set of recommendations;

2. Decides further that the international meeting on population should be conducted effectively and efficiently and that its size, duration and other cost factors should be determined with due regard for economy;

3. Decides, in the light of paragraph 1 above, to designate the Population Commission, meeting in open-ended session, with the participation of any Member of the United Nations that is not a member of the Commission and any other State, as the preparatory committee for the international meeting on population, and for that purpose decides that rule 11 of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council and rule 1 (d) of the rules governing payment of travel expenses and subsistence allowances in respect of members of organs or subsidiary organs of the United Nations shall be waived;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the regional commissions, the specialized agencies, other bodies of the United Nations system and other international organizations make a substantive contribution to the international meeting on population;

5. Requests the Population Commission, utilizing, inter alia, the reports of the Secretary-General and in consultation with appropriate organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to consider at its twenty-sixth session and to submit recommendations to the Council on:

(a) The further elaboration and refinement of the objectives of the international meeting on population as set out in paragraph 1 of the present resolution;

(b) The issues to be discussed at the meeting;

(c) The nature of the preparatory work for the meeting, including the possibility of holding regional intergovernmental meetings;

(d) The assignment of responsibilities for the preparation of the meeting to organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to make the necessary organizational arrangements for the preparation of the international meeting on population, including the appointment of principal officers, and to submit to the Council, through the Population Commission at its twenty-sixth session, a detailed report on the state of preparations for the meeting, including:

(a) Financial implications of alternative preparatory options, bearing in mind paragraph 2 of the present resolution;

(b) Measures proposed to ensure the participation and co-ordination of the relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to take appropriate measures to obtain resources for the international meeting on population, to report on the progress made to the Council at its second regular session of 1990 and to report on the results to the Council through the Population Commission at its twenty-sixth session, in 1991.