invest in creating opportunities and a supportive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship for persons of all ages, in particular for young people. It is crucial to invest in their health and education and to review legislation, standards and practices that restrict their full participation in and access to sexual and reproductive health services.”
The IPCD Global Review Report, issued by the UN in February, pointed out that much remains to be done on a range of issues, including the enormous inequalities that remain in the realization of human rights and access to vital services, as well as new challenges and opportunities related to population growth, changing age structures, rapid urbanization and migration.
“Our statistics show that there has been progress, but there is no time to rest,” said Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “People are at the heart of sustainable development. We need to address population issues urgently, as few factors will shape the global development agenda as fundamentally as the size, structure and spatial distribution of the world’s population.”
Since 1994, the global population has grown from 5.7 to 7.2 billion. Despite slowing population growth, UN projections suggest the world’s population could reach 9.6 billion by 2050, with most of the increase concentrated in the poorest countries.
According to a report prepared by the Secretary-General for the Commission, the current state of the world’s population is one of unprecedented diversity and change, as reflected in new patterns of ageing, fertility, mortality, migration and urbanization.
“Now is the time to reaffirm the core message of the ICPD — that individual dignity and human rights are the path to a resilient, sustainable future,” said the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund.
This rise in diversity was echoed by Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) who said that the General Assembly resolution that had launched the review process had clearly recognized the importance of ICPD for development and for the post-2015 agenda. The findings of the review provide profound and wide-ranging evidence of these links.
“By bridging individual dignity and rights with collective sustainability, the Cairo Agenda, its subsequent implementation and the framework for action of the review can help guide the way to achieving many of the aims of the post-2015 process and sustainable development,” he said, declaring: “Now is the time to reaffirm the core message of the ICPD — that individual dignity and human rights are the path to a resilient, sustainable future.”
General Assembly President John Ashe noted that persistent gaps and barriers have continued to delay the IPCD objectives of achieving dignity and well-being for all.
In remarks delivered by his Chef de Cabinet Paulette Bethel, the President highlighted several key lessons from the reports that are before the Commission’s current session, including the need to continue to work towards the elimination of discrimination and marginalization to ensure that all people, men and women, young and old can unleash their full potential.
Among other lessons is the fact that progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is, in spite of some gains, slow and uneven, and that it is vital to prepare for the challenges of society’s growing ageing population.
According to a news release on the Commission’s opening, older persons are the world’s fastest growing age group. The number of people over age 60 almost doubled between 1994 and 2014, and older persons today outnumber children under the age of five. Globally, the share of older persons is expected to reach 21 percent by 2050.
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