The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994, set a bold new vision of the relationships between population, development, and individual rights and well-being. It recognized that population was not about numbers, but about people, and that individual dignity and human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, are the basis for individual wellbeing and sustainable development.

Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the ICPD in 2024, member States, civil society representatives, and international organizations are coming together in all world regions to review progress made in implementing the Programme of Action adopted by the ICPD in 1994, discuss challenges and bottlenecks, and chart the way forward towards a region where ICPD principles are enshrined in law and respected in practice.

In the wider European region, comprising 56 member States in Europe, North America and Central Asia, the review process will culminate in a Regional Conference on ICPD30, entitled Population and Development: Ensuring Rights and Choices, which will be organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in Geneva on 19-20 October 2023.

“Three decades after the groundbreaking ICPD in Cairo, this review process provides an opportunity to explore what the ICPD principles mean in a rapidly changing world and how we can best use the ICPD framework for action to accelerate progress towards achieving Agenda 2030,” said Florence Bauer, UNFPA’s Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The European region remains at the forefront of the global demographic transition towards lower fertility and ageing populations, which require comprehensive policy responses aimed at strengthening countries’ demographic resilience. The lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and new, emerging challenges across the region underline the need for a holistic, rights-based approach to population dynamics and sustainable development.

The Regional ICPD30 Conference is presented by a progress report, as well as a series of thematic consultations at global and regional level. The Conference will focus on three main themes: (1) population dynamics and sustainable development; (2) families and sexual and reproductive health over the life course; and (3) inequalities, social inclusion and rights.

It will bring together 200-250 representatives of governmental authorities, including high-level officials, young people, civil society organizations and academia, national SDGs coordinating bodies, as well as parliamentarians and other stakeholders.