International Conference on Population and Development, G.A. res. 47/176, 47 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 126, U.N. Doc. A/47/49 (1992).


The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 3344 (XXIX) of 17 December 1974 on the World Population Conference, 39/228 of 18 December 1984 on the International Conference on Population, 44/210 of 22 December 1989 on future needs in the field of population, including the development of resource requirements for international population assistance, S-18/3 of 1 May 1990, the annex to which contains the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, 45/199 of 21 December 1990, the annex to which contains the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade, 45/206 of 21 December 1990 on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s, 45/216 of 21 December 1990 on population and development and 40/108 of 13 December 1985 on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/91 of 26 July 1989, in which the Council decided, in principle, to convene in 1994, under the auspices of the United Nations, an international meeting on population,

Recalling further Economic and Social Council resolution 1991/93 of 26 July 1991, in which the Council decided that the international meeting on population should thenceforth be called the International Conference on Population and Development,

Endorsing fully the objectives of the Conference, as decided by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1991/93, and its overall theme of population, sustained economic growth and sustainable development, as stated in that resolution,

Recognizing the important contribution that regional conferences will play in preparations for the Conference, particularly through evaluation and updating of regional population plans of action,

Noting with satisfaction the appointment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund as Secretary-General of the International Conference on Population and Development, and of the Director of the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Development of the Secretariat as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Conference,

Emphasizing the national sovereignty of all countries in formulating, adopting and implementing policies relating to population, mindful of their cultures, values and traditions, as well as of their social, economic and political conditions, and consistent with human rights and with the responsibilities of individuals, couples and families,

Conscious of the important contribution made by research and information dissemination institutions to a clear understanding of the interrelationship between population and development,

Recognizing the importance of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, including those sections of Agenda 21 concerning population, in the preparations for the International Conference on Population and Development,

1. Emphasizes the need for comprehensive national population policies based on national priorities and compatible with sustained economic growth and sustainable development;

2. Also emphasizes the need to increase and strengthen the level of awareness of population issues in the international agenda and their treatment as an integral part of sustained economic growth and sustainable development;

3. Endorses Economic and Social Council resolution 1992/37 of 30 July 1992, in which the Council decided to convene the International Conference on Population and Development at Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994;

4. Accepts with deep appreciation the generous offer of the Government of Egypt to act as host to the Conference;

5. Recommends that the Conference be convened at the ministerial level;

6. Stresses the importance of the active participation of Member States in the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Population and Development and, in this context, invites the Preparatory Committee at its second session to elect its officers with due regard to equitable geographical representation;

7. Decides that the host country to the Conference, Egypt, shall be ex officio an officer of the Preparatory Committee;

8. Invites the Economic and Social Council, at its organizational session for 1993, taking fully into consideration the views expressed during the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly, to consider the possibility of adjusting, within existing budgetary resources and without prejudice to the utilization of resources available through voluntary contributions to the trust funds, the proposed timing and duration of the second and third sessions of the Preparatory Committee, taking fully into account the need to ensure the success of the Conference in fulfilling its mandate and, for this purpose, to ensure an adequate intergovernmental preparatory process for it;

9. Calls upon all organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, as well as other relevant intergovernmental organizations, to contribute fully to the preparations for the Conference;

10. Welcomes the decision of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to ensure the necessary coordination of contributions within the United Nations system through the Administrative Committee on Coordination;

11. Invites all States to take an active part in the preparations for the Conference and to promote broad-based national preparatory processes;

12. Recognizes the importance of the participation in the Conference and its preparatory process of all relevant non-governmental organizations from developed and developing countries;

13. Requests the Economic and Social Council, at its organizational session for 1993, to formulate and adopt modalities to ensure the participation in and contribution to the Conference and its preparatory process of relevant non-governmental organizations, in particular those from developing countries, taking into account the procedures followed in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development process and the experience gained in this regard during previous United Nations population conferences;

14. Stresses the significance of the various regional perspectives that exist on issues of population and development, and welcomes in this context the convening by the regional commissions and the United Nations Population Fund of regional population conferences, whose outcome will contribute significantly to the preparations for the International Conference on Population and Development;

15. Notes the establishment of voluntary trust funds in support of the Conference and for the purpose of assisting developing countries, in particular the least developed among them, to participate fully and effectively in the Conference and in its preparatory process;

16. Expresses its appreciation to contributors to the funds, and invites Governments in a position to do so to contribute generously to those funds;

17. Calls upon the Secretary-General of the International Conference on Population and Development to continue to make every effort to raise extrabudgetary resources for the Conference;

18. Requests the Secretary-General of the Conference, in the light of the need for thorough preparation for the Conference, to ensure the timely circulation of the documentation for the regional conferences, expert meetings and the Preparatory Committee;

19. Requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take appropriate steps, as part of the preparatory process, to ensure that the Conference and the issues to be discussed at it are widely publicized;

20. Also requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in close consultation with the Secretary-General of the Conference, to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, through the Economic and Social Council, a progress report on the implementation of the present resolution;

21. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-eighth session an item entitled "International Conference on Population and Development".

93rd plenary meeting
22 December 1992


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