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Background Note on ICPD Beyond 2014 Review

GA Resolution 65/234 on the follow up to the implementation of the Programme of Action

beyond 2014 requests Governments to “undertake reviews of the progress achieved and the

constraints faced therein in the implementation of the Programme of Action at all levels of

international cooperation and mandates UNFPA, in cooperation with all relevant

organizations of the UN system and other relevant international organizations, as well as

institutions and experts, to “undertake an operational review of the implementation of the

Programme of Action on the basis of the highest-quality data and analysis of the state of

population and development, taking into account the need for a systematic, comprehensive

and integrated approach to population and development issues”.

The review process will culminate in two reports-a long analytical global report capturing

data from national, regional and other sources, with recommendations and a shorter report by

the Secretary-General derived from the global report-which will be considered by both the

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session of the Commission on Population and Development in 2014 and a United Nations

General Assembly Special Session, tentatively planned for 24 September of the same year,

one day before the General Debate of heads of state and government. In addition, the

Secretary General will produce an index report containing the recurrent themes identified

during the 47th

session of the CPD as important for implementation beyond 2014 and forward

it to Governments at the Special Session of the General Assembly.

1. Objectives

Since GA Resolution 65/234 does not envisage a negotiated outcome, and yet anticipates the

global review to contribute to the implementation of the ICPD agenda beyond 2014, the UN

system and civil society partners through a consultative process has agreed on approaches and

methodologies based on inclusive consultations, contributions from all stakeholders based on

comparative advantage and existing indicators or data as well as taking advantage of on-going

activities that contribute to the ICPD review. The approach also takes into account the outcomes

and experiences of undertaking the ICPD reviews or commemorations (in 1999, 2004 and 2009),

other global processes and the Millennium Project.

In addition, over the course of the next four years, the UN system and its partners will be supporting the General Assembly of the United Nations, to conceptualize, lay out guidance and determine the framework of a post-MDGs UN development agenda beyond 2015, with

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a special event planned for 2013, during the 68th Session of the General Assembly, to follow-up on the 2010 MDG Summit. Currently, the UN Development Group (UNDG) has developed a proposal to facilitate post-2015 consultations in at least 50 countries in order to stimulate discussion amongst national stakeholders (government representatives, NGOs, civil society, community-based organizations (CBOs), indigenous peoples, women’s and social movements, youth and children, and the private sector) and to garner inputs and ideas for a shared global vision of “The Future We Want”. The consultations will run from June 2012 until the end of the first quarter of 2013. By June 2013, the results of the country consultations are expected to have been recorded and will feed into a global UNDG report that is expected to inform the post-2015 discussions.

List of countries for the post-2015 country consultations Africa (S, E & W)

Asia & Pacific13 Latin America & Caribbean14

Arab States15 Eastern Europe & CIS

Angola Burkina Faso CAR DRC Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Mali Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Niger Nigeria Senegal South Africa Tanzania Togo Uganda Zambia

Bangladesh China India Indonesia Lao PDR Pakistan PNG Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Vietnam

Brazil Costa Rica Colombia Peru Haiti Bolivia El Salvador Honduras Santa Lucia

Djibouti Egypt Jordon Morocco Sudan Algeria

Armenia Bosnia and Herze-govina Kazakhstan Moldova Tajikistan Turkey

Cambodia, Philippines, Vanuatu have been proposed as standby countries. Ecuador, Chile,

Guatemala and Nicaragua are alternates proposed in case selected UNCTs are not able to carry

out their national consultations. Lebanon and Yemen are alternates proposed in case selected

UNCTs are not able to carry out their national consultations.

Taking into account the above considerations, the approach to the global review is geared to

achieve the following objectives as a means for ensuring political support for the

recommendations that emerge out of the review, including making the ICPD central to the UN

development agenda beyond 2015:

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(i) Produce the most authoritative account of the state of population and development in 2014,

including identifying and addressing new or emerging challenges and opportunities for

accelerating the implementation of the Cairo agenda and supporting countries to achieve their

development objectives;

(ii) The outcome report serves as the major reference point for discussing, implementing and

monitoring population and development policies and programmes beyond 2014, with an updated

agenda, taking into account new and emerging issues, best practices and lessons learned, and

including a monitoring framework for the ICPD agenda;

(iii) Integrate population and development into the UN development agenda beyond 2015, in a

post-MDG framework;

(iv) Expand the ICPD community, including reaching out to young people, and demonstrating

the relevance of the agenda to the wider global society, to generate political support for actions

required for the full achievement of the ICPD goals and mobilize involvement.

Given the importance of these objectives, the ICPD beyond 2014 review represents a key

opportunity for strategically positioning the agenda.

To achieve the objectives, the following methodology and activities have been developed,

following consultations with key partners, including the Population Division of the United

Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the Regional Commissions,

relevant UN agencies and civil society organizations. This will serve as the blueprint for action

by all stakeholders at all levels with a clear division of labour and responsibilities leading to the

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Session of the GA in 2014.

2. Leading the Preparatory Process

i. The Operational Review

The Operational Review (OR) of the implementation of the PoA is the central element of the

ICPD Beyond 2014 review process. As called for by Resolution 65/234, UNFPA in consultation

Member States and in cooperation with all relevant organizations of the United Nations system

and other relevant international organizations, as well as institutions and experts is undertaking

the OR. The aim is to capture data and analysis from country, regional and global sources,

ensuring the methodology allows for a systematic and consistent process that enables

comparability across and within regions and countries. The sequencing of events will be critical

in terms of ensuring that country, regional and global inputs feed into key consultative meetings

and inter-governmental events and products.

Methodology

In order to ensure the highest quality data and analysis requested in GA Resolution 65/234 and to

reinforce ownership of the ICPD agenda, the assessment process will be based on a standardized

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template for data collection in every country that enables comparability of results and involve

Governments, civil society, including young people and regional institutions as part of a

consultative process for validating the surveys.

In addition to the core module for the Global Survey, Optional modules may be added by the

regional institutions in order to explore region-specific issues more in-depth. The United Nations

regional commissions will lead the development of the optional modules in close collaboration

with UNFPA Regional Offices and the ICPD Beyond 2014 Secretariat.

The core module includes an ICPD Country Implementation Profile (CIP), based on an agreed

list of process and impact indicators whose values will be compiled in coordination with the

regional commissions and UNDESA using well established sources of comparable data ( the CIP

will provide background information for the country consultation and direct input for the

operational review); and a questionnaire that would be filled through a consultative process (the

questionnaire will gather information on barriers to implementation, facilitating factors, new

priorities and emerging issues). Due attention will be given to the recording of operational

aspects that either support or hinder the implementation of ICPD, including different aspects of

governance, national ownership of programmes, coordination within governments and among

implementing agents, and resource allocation and management.

Main steps in implementing the Global Survey

Indicator framework

The development of an indicator framework is critical to designing the survey modules. To do

so, the following steps have been initiated:

- A systematic review of the ICPD Programme of Action and the key actions for its further

implementation, in order to map out the recommendations amenable to assessment via

measurable indicators or specified targets.

- The identification of existing data sources for baseline and other values of the selected

indicators. Other data sources include those generated by existing inter-governmental

monitoring processes, related legal instruments, and partners in the United Nations system or

civil society.

- A series of consultations with key stakeholders and specialists to discuss the adequacy of the

indicators selected and the reliability of the data sources available, as well as their relevance

for the topics covered by both the core and the optional modules of the Global Survey.

Following funding support by the Danish Permanent Mission, an indicator meeting was held in

February 2012 to discuss the indicator framework and establish the set of priority indicators for

inclusion in the Country Implementation Profile (CIP). The CIP template and the draft

questionnaire, drafted on the basis of these consultations, have gone through a series of

consultations in-house as well as with a Task Team, chaired by the Technical Division of

UNFPA and a Leadership Group, comprising the Regional Commissions, Population Division,

UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA (including Regional Office focal points). The indicator process

will also contribute to the identification of gaps in monitoring and neglected issues. It will further

feed into the process of identifying priority areas for in-depth studies and expert group meetings.

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In response to requests by Governments and civil society, the zero draft questionnaires was

shared with civil society in March 2012 and will be shared with Governments in June 2012 for

feedback. The global survey instruments (the completed Country Implementation Profiles

together with the blank modules of the Global Survey) will be finalized in June for distribution

by Regional Commissions by mid-July 2012.

Data collection

The modules will be filled through a country consultation process led by government

representatives from various ministries, with support from members of the UN country team.

UNFPA, through its country offices, will work with national authorities to ensure that the

consultative process is as representative, participatory and multi-sectoral as possible and involve

representatives of civil society, including academia, NGOs and youth organizations, as well as

representatives at sub-national levels, when relevant. This requirement will be reflected in the

MOUs that are being negotiated between UNFPA and the regional commissions. UNFPA

Country Offices have also been requested to support countries by funding the services of

consultants, where needed.

To ensure consistency of approaches and comparability of results, guidance notes are being

prepared and working methods developed. Sufficient time will be devoted to the country

consultation process so that it permits a thorough discussion of both the nature and quality of the

information available and promotes a common understanding of the objectives of the Survey.

A webinar is planned for Country Office staff to strengthen their back stopping capacity for the

global survey process.

Data Management

UNFPA, working with NIDI, will produce a centralized database containing the data and

information collected through the Global Survey, ensuring that it is appropriately coded and

edited. The data and information yielded by the Global Survey will be analysed and used to

prepare reports at both the regional and global levels. The database will be ready by January

2013 so that it can be shared with the regional commissions and other partners.

Data analysis and report writing1

The regional commissions will produce regional reports that will be the basis for the regional

population conferences in 2013 that would assess the implementation of the ICPD PoA. The

regional reports are expected to be ready by March 2013 so that the regional population

conferences can be carried out from June to September 2013. The regional reports as well as the

outcomes of the regional review meetings will be transmitted to the ICPD Beyond 2014

Secretariat, based in UNFPA, between August and October 2013. Those reports and outcomes

will feed into the global review process and their major conclusions will be reflected in both the

long and short reports on the operational review.

1 A country-report template will be developed and made available through UNFPA’s country offices for those

countries wishing to produce a country report.

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ICPD Beyond 2014 Global Review Timeline

TIME ACTION

2012

March Draft Global Survey instruments shared with UN system and

CSO/youth stakeholders for feedback. (March – June 2012 Capacity

Building initiatives at country level)

April Template for Country Implementation Profile (CIP) finalized –

following expert review

13 April TD and ICPD Secretariat meeting

16 April Creation of Global Survey Task Team (TT)

27 April Revised questionnaire and survey concept note circulated to TT

3 May Revised questionnaire and survey concept note circulated to

Leadership Group

8 May Leadership Group meeting

9-18 May Revision of draft global survey tool by Task Team

22 May Leadership Group Meeting

25 May Draft ready for translation prior to circulation to governments

10-25 May Interviewer’s guide/manual development

28 May-5 June Questionnaire translated into UN languages

7-21 June Governments review questionnaire

7-21 June Pilot draft global survey instruments in select countries (by sections)

27 June Questionnaire revised based on comments of governments and pilot

and sent out to Stakeholders Group

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2 July Stakeholders Group Meeting

5-10 July Final Translation

12 July Global Survey Instruments distributed by Regional Commissions for

circulation to Governments

July – October Completion of the Global Survey Questionnaire, including national

stakeholder meetings to validate responses

November Data compiled/coded and made available to Regional Commissions

4-6 December Global Youth Forum

2013

March Analysis of country data and completion of regional reports by

Regional Commissions

April / May Global Conferences on Human Rights and Maternal Health /

Women’s Health

June - September Regional Population Conferences: ECLAC – June; ESCWA/LAS-

July; ESCAP- September; ECA/AU- August/September; ECE-TBD

December Draft Global Report/Report of Secretary-General completed

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April 47th Session of CPD

April/May 6th International Parliamentarians Conference (IPCI)

June/July Secretary-General’s Index Report on 47th CPD Debate completed

September United Nations General Assembly Special Session on ICPD Beyond

2014

Activities

The following activities are envisaged to support the global survey; or generate crucial inputs

into the outcome of the review and advance progress on a number of key thematic aspects of the

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ICPD agenda, including through increased visibility and creating opportunities for a new

consensus on the critical issues of the ICPD agenda:

Country Review: While Governments will be responsible for managing the survey process at

the country level, supported by UNFPA, national ownership of the process and outcome

involving broad-based dialogue between the national authorities, civil society and other

development actors will be critical to the success and credibility of the evidence gathered.

UNFPA will support programme countries in securing the robustness of the survey process

through facilitating a highly consultative and transparent process. UNFPA’s support will include

building the capacity of NGOs and youth representatives at country level.

Regional Review: As a result of consultations with all the Regional Commissions, the

Commissions, in collaboration with UNFPA, as part of their regular review process and in line

with 65/234, have all taken decisions to organize regional population and development meetings,

to be preceded by civil society regional meetings, dedicated to ICPD Beyond 2014. This means

aligning their regional processes with the ICPD global review. Memorandums of Understanding

are being negotiated between UNFPA and the Regional Commissions to establish the regional

consultative process and the elements of UNFPA support for the regional data analysis and

reports as well as regional population conferences in 2013. As before, it is expected that there

will be negotiated outcomes in most regions as outcomes of the regional population conferences.

Global Review: The outcome of the country and regional consultative process will feed into the

preparation of the mandated reports and global events. In addition to the 2012 global survey

outcome, a series of studies will be undertaken with or by interested partners to complement the

global survey with qualitative inputs for the OR as follows: (i) thematic reviews and technical

meetings to bridge knowledge gaps; (ii) a good practices and lessons learned publication that will

consolidate information from available sources; and (iii) country case studies to identify

operational barriers and success factors related to the ICPD PoA implementation. UNFPA, for

example, is currently seeking funding to support a major study by the International Organization

for Migration (IOM) as part of the ICPD review. The scope and methodology of the studies will

be determined as part of the consultative process that began in 2011 and are continuing through

2012. The regional reports and in-depth studies as well as all the mandated reports will be

systematically validated by an external panel of experts convened by UNFPA.

Other Inputs into the operational review: At the request of UNFPA, Indonesia and The

Netherlands have agreed to respectively host global meetings on youth in December 2012 and in

human rights by May 2013, with the outcome feeding into the report. The global youth forum,

for instance, is expected to bring together young people and all relevant stakeholders, under the

leadership of young people themselves, to address the following life transitions of youth: Staying

healthy; getting an education; employment and livelihood; family formation and fully inclusive

civic participation with a view to identifying concrete recommendations for policy makers and

other stakeholders and addressing the policy failure regarding youth across the world. Some of

the objectives could include identifying best practices for addressing issues related to youth and

promoting their well-being and rights; generating data and information as well as concrete

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recommendations for the global report on youth issues and building visibility and global

consensus and support for action on youth issues.

The results of the country, regional and global consultations will be synthesized by UNFPA,

Population Division of DESA and other interested partners and provide the basis for the reports

of the Secretary General to the Commission on Population and Development and the General

Assembly.

ii. Engagement of Stakeholders

In order to ensure full ownership and political support for the outcome of the review, the review

process places high priority on promoting broad-based stakeholder engagement and high quality

dialogue between Governments, Civil Society, UN system, and other relevant partners. UNFPA

is working with relevant partners at country, regional and global levels to establish linkages and

encourage a sequencing of activities that will allow inputs to feed into the CPD and GA Special

Session on ICPD Beyond 2014. In order to make the ICPD review a key foundation for the UN

development agenda beyond 2015 process, the leadership of UNDP and UNFPA, through a joint

letter, have requested UN Resident Coordinators to work with UN Country Teams, including the

World Bank at country level, to promote and support close linkage between the two processes. In

addition, UNFPA is playing an active role as a member of the Task Team coordinating system-

wide ideas in order to propose a unified vision and road map for the definition of a UN

development agenda post-2015. The UN System Stakeholders Group, which brings together

focal points of all UN system agencies in support of the ICPD review, also ensures the synergy

between the ICPD review and the larger UN development agenda.

NGOs: NGOs at all levels have been instrumental in shaping the ICPD agenda, playing an

advocacy role to advance the PoA and implementing activities on the ground. While encouraging

NGO engagement in the Government led national consultative process, UNFPA will also build

the capacity of NGOs at the national level to network and hold, if needed, parallel events to help

coordinate their inputs at country, regional and global level as well as secure their participation at

all levels. Where civil society cannot effectively participate in the validation of the questionnaire

responses, UNFPA will promote alternative ways to secure reliable and accurate data and

information. UNFPA provided support to regional NGO networks to organize regional civil

society and youth consultations between March and May 2012. Civil society groups have also

indicated interest in holding back-to back meetings with the regional population conferences in

2013. UNFPA is seeking funding to support these activities.

Youth: Recent developments have reinforced the importance of addressing the needs of young

people for staying healthy, getting education, employment and livelihood, forming families and

participating in decision making, given their immediate and long term positive consequences for

all countries. UNFPA will advocate for consultations with and the inclusion of young people in

all ICPD Beyond 2014-related events. UNFPA is encouraging the mapping of youth groups in all

countries and support capacity building activities to empower young people to engage actively.

This will include improving access to information and activities related to skills development.

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Parliamentarians: There are four regional parliamentarian groups -Forum of African and Arab

Parliamentarians on Population and Development, Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on

Population and Development, Inter-American Parliamentarian Group on Population and

Development and European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development. Each group

brings together parliamentarians in their region with UNFPA support on a regular basis to

discuss the ICPD PoA and MDG-related themes. In May 2012, UNFPA in collaboration with the

European Parliamentary Forum organized the Fifth International Parliamentarians’ Conference

on the Implementation of the ICPD PoA in Istanbul. The conference provided an opportunity for

parliamentarians to recommit themselves to the ICPD goals and decide on practical ways to

make strategic contributions to the OR and the ICPD Beyond 2014 agenda. In 2014, an

International Global Parliamentarians’ Conference will be held following the 47th

Session of the

CPD.

3. Communication Plan

A dedicated ICPD Beyond 2014 website www.icpdbeyond2014.org has been launched to

provide information, links to all related activities and to generate global participation and social

networking through the “tracking” of 100 young people in each country who were born on the

adoption of the Cairo PoA. Partners will be encouraged to post relevant documents and materials

or provide links as appropriate to disseminate information widely. Social media tools such as

Facebook and Twitter will also be utilized. The website will serve as the main resource for

stakeholders to access information related to the ICPD Beyond 2014 review process and

activities. The UNFPA website www.unfpa.org will feature all the ICPD Beyond 2014 events.

In addition to the outcome reports, two other publications will be produced: (i) a 20th

Anniversary Edition of the PoA which will include the removal of reservations as decided by the

States in question; and (ii) a publication that includes all General Assembly legislation as well as

other resolutions and outcomes related to and adding to the ICPD agenda.