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Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

As Secretariat for the NZ Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) FPAID has been closely monitoring events leading up to the 10 year review of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD +10) taking place in 2004. Pivotal to advancing the ICPD Programme of Action was an ESCAP meeting that took place in Bangkok in December 2002.

This meeting became the scene of the Bush administration’s latest attack on the reproductive freedom of men and women around the world. The US attempted to pressure conference delegates to remove key reproductive rights language from the ICPD Programme of Action. US delegates objected to the phrases "reproductive rights" and "reproductive health services" as promoting abortion. They also proposed changes that would have denied all those under 19, many of whom are married in the region, the right to privacy and confidential health services, except in cases of sexual abuse - a contravention not only of the ICPD but also of international agreements.

But ESCAP delegates representing 30 governments from Asia and the Pacific, together with NGO representatives and parliamentarians attending parallel meetings, stood firm against the US, voting unanimously to keep the ICPD Programme of Action.

Click here to view media release.

Did you know that every minute around the world...
•	one woman dies from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
•	10 teenage girls undergo an unsafe abortion.
•	13 infants under 12 months die
•	57 people catch an STI
•	11 people are infected with HIV
•	the population increases by 150 people

Family Planning Saves Lives.  Click here to find out more.   Click here for the latest headlines in International Family Planning, Population, Reproductive Health and the Environment.