The Regional Media Declaration on the Programme of action for the International Conference on Population and Development

The Arab states region

Cairo, July 11, 2024

We, the members of the Regional Media Alliance for the advancement  of the Programme of action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Cairo Declaration of 2013 gathered in Cairo under the auspices of the United Nations Population Fund, wish to affirm the following: 

The groundbreaking vision of the ICPD, attended by representatives of 179 countries in 1994, ensured that women and girls reproductive rights and choices are central  to ensuring all aspects of development. The ICPD Programme of Action is as relevant today as it was in 1994.

If we are to protect the gains we have achieved in the last thirty years and meet our future aspirations, then implementing the vision of the ICPD requires greater political will and investment in women’s and girls’ health and rights. 

In 2013, Arab leaders adopted the landmark Cairo Declaration which aimed to boost progress in achieving the ICPD Programme of Action  in the Arab region through129 recommendations to enhance dignity, equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights. 

Population-centered development requires a focus on individual dignity, rights and choices. This concept is rooted in the ICPD Programme of Action and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite progress made in achieving the SDGs, major disparities and inequalities persist across the Arab world that are being exacerbated by multiple crises and emerging megatrends. 

Almost thirty years on from the ICPD, evidence shows that investments made in women’s and girls’ health, rights, choices and placing them at the core  the development agenda enhances progress in communities and in achieving sustainable development in the Arab region.  

Accordingly, we, the Regional Media Alliance for the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2013 Cairo Declaration, announce the following: 

• We renew our commitment to the ICPD  Programme of Action,  the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and all international agreements that uphold dignity, equality, health, and sexual and reproductive rights. 
• We commit to the right of every woman and girl to make well-informed choices and decisions concerning their lives, health and bodies in all settings.
• We commit our support to boosting investment in women and girls in the Arab world, in recognition of its centrality to achieving the SDGs,
• We commit to raising awareness, s in coordination with other journalists and media representatives, of the ICPD Programme of Action, which supports: 

• Placing the rights and choices of women and youth at the core of countries' development  agendas to build peaceful, resilient and sustainable communities. 
• Encouraging the enhancement of political will and investments to break the economic, social and environmental barriers in the Arab world that hinder women and young people’s ability to fulfill their potential with a focus on the most vulnerable and leaving no one behind. 
• Urging countries to enact  appropriate policies and actions in the fields of health, education, employment and the empowerment of women and girls. 
• Mobilizing greater support to invest in women and girls in humanitarian contexts, and during crises to confront the challenges affecting local communities including the increasing risk of gender-based violence.
• Raising public awareness   among decision makers and all those who are concerned with the multiplier effect of climate change on women and girls, exacerbating gender inequality and the existing barriers they face.
• We call for adherence to the highest standards of journalism while covering issues related to population and sexual and reproductive health, rights and gender equality.
• We pledge to raise the voices of vulnerable groups, as well as women, girls and the elderly to ensure that their experiences are accurately represented and their stories are shared. 
• We are committed to  effective engagement with decision makers, civil society and other concerned bodies to call for implementing policies that are in line with the ICPD Programme of Action.
• We are committed to objective media coverage that is based on evidence, and to avoid misleading and unreliable information, in addition to searching for reliable news and information relevant to population and development issues. 
• We are committed to widening the regional media alliance with more journalists and media representatives at the national and regional levels from the standpoint of our responsibility to our societies and countries to increase awareness and provide informed, evidence-based knowledge around the ICPD Programme of Action.