Margaret Pollack Director, Office of Population, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Statement at the Thirty-Second Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development March 22, 1999

USUN PRESS RELEASE #27 (99)
March 22, 1999

CHECK TEXT AGAINST DELIVERY

Statement by Margaret Pollack, Director, Office of Population, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, at the Thirty-Second Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development, on Agenda Items 3, 4, and 6, March 22, 1999

Mr. Chairman, my delegation would like to commend the Population Division for its excellent reports under these agenda items. Our statement addresses the four reports just presented to the Commission.

Concise Report on Population Growth, Structure and Distribution (E/CN.9/1999/2)

At a time when some observers are expressing alarm at the graying of more developed country (MDC) populations and others are equally alarmed by the problems of high youth dependency and the foreseeable growth of the elderly in less developed countries (LDCs), the "Concise Report on Population Growth, Structure and Distribution's" description of the evolution of age structure as an inevitable consequence of the demographic transition is especially welcome. The report usefully outlines some of the key economic and social consequences of changing age structures and mentions the associated challenges to LDC and MDC governments alike for the allocation of limited public resources. While the report doesn't draw specific attention to a window of opportunity provided by decreasing total dependency ratios during the coming decades, it does recognize that such benefits are a function not only of the proportion of the total population in labor force aging, but also of female labor force participation and employment generation. My delegation appreciates the work the Population Division has done to distill some very complex issues into a very short format.

Report on the Technical Symposium on International Migration and Development of the ACC Task Force on Basic Social Services for All (E/CN.9/1999/3)

Mr. Chairman, turning to the "Report on the Technical Symposium on International Migration and Development", it is no secret that we have great interest in this subject in as much as the United States admits approximately one million people each year as legal permanent immigrants. One of the most straightforward -- yet in some ways most complex -- problems discussed at the symposium was the need for better data on international migration flows. We urge all states to increase and refine their efforts to collect national data on migration. While we commend the hard work of the UN Population Division as well as the efforts of many researchers to advance our knowledge of migratory movements, we still need to learn more about the three "w's" of international migration: who, where, and why. We believe there is a particular need for further study of "south-south" migratory movements and the impact of migration on the development process. In addition, we would like to see more research on the remittance issue, to provide a better understanding of the economic links between emigrant populations and their national economies. The United States is sensitive to the impact of migrant remittances on our neighbors' economies. Indeed, our concern with this impact has, in some instances, shaped our immigration policy responses.

The United States supports the development of a meaningful partnership between migrant sending and receiving countries in order to make migration a winning proposition for all parties including the migrants themselves. Such a partnership would, we believe, encompass the labor, development, and enforcement aspects of international migration, and would be founded on respect for the basic human rights of all migrants.

The United States is encouraged by the report's focus on protection for refugees and those in need of asylum. My country has always been at the forefront of global efforts to preserve and strengthen international protection as set out in the Refugee Convention and Protocol. During the symposium, current trends in amending national asylum laws were discussed. My delegation believes that asylum reform is a fair and necessary step to prevent abuse by those seeking to take advantage of a nation's generosity. Such reform should not, however, conflict with a state's obligations under international law.

One final comment on this document, my delegation takes note of the symposium's discussions on the social and cultural integration of migrant populations. Long-term legal migrants bring tremendous energy and enterprise to our national economies. We should encourage their full integration into our societies, offering those documented migrants who are "here to stay" permanently the opportunity to naturalize.

Report of the Secretary-General on the Flow of Financial Resources for Assisting in the Implementation of Program of Action (E/CN.9/1999/4)

Mr. Chairman. I would like to express my delegation's appreciation for the concise yet informative report on recent trends in resource flows for implementation of the ICPD Program of Action. I'm sure we can all appreciate the difficulties, some of which are highlighted in the report, in obtaining reliable and comparable information from all countries for each of the subprograms comprised in the "costed package" of the Program of Action. Nevertheless, the imperfections in the data do not alter the basic fact that countries are falling considerably short of the established resource mobilization goals. Therefore, in addition to agreeing to work together to improve the quality of the data on resource flows, my delegation hopes that the Commission and the UNGASS will redouble efforts to mobilize resources.

In addition to funding for population and reproductive health programs, the HIV/AIDS pandemic places an urgent demand on governmental and non-governmental partners for additional resources.

We need to enlist new partners in the effort to mobilize resources. Already, private foundations are playing a major and increasing role in support of population and reproductive health programs. Likewise, business and civic groups, many with impressive global networks and significant investments in the developing world, are important potential sources of revenue, as well as potentially strong advocates for increased public and private sector investments in health and development programs.

We also need to stretch limited existing resources. This can be done a number of ways, including better coordination among donors, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of programs - along the lines of UNFPA's increasing focus on results - or through use of innovative financing mechanisms such as low or interest-free loans, endowments, and bulk commodity purchases by consortia.

We must continue to improve monitoring of resource flows, expenditures, and program costs, both at the global and national levels. In addressing difficult cost and resource allocation issues, it will be important to bring together the expertise of economists, program managers, public health specialists, and other stakeholders, especially women.

Report of the Secretary-General on Wor1d Demographic Trends (E/CN.9/1995/5)

Mr. Chairman, in closing, I would like to express my delegation's appreciation to the Population Division for its very useful summary of "World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision" (E/CN.9/1999/5) and the report detailing the Division's progress on their program of work in 1998 (E/CN.9/1999/6.) It is clear that the Population Division accomplished a great deal in the past year. My delegation would like to particularly commend the Director of the Population Division, Dr. Joseph Chamie, and his staff for their excellent work.

The tables and charts included in the summary of the World Population Prospects document underscore the unique historical perspective of the UN's population estimates and projections work which is especially useful in understanding the context within which contemporary demographic change is occurring. The summary masks the tremendous effort involved in modifying the methodology underlying the UN's latest data to include the extension of life tables and age distributions, the revision of assumptions about fertility in low fertility countries, and the incorporation of HIV/AIDS mortality in a growing number of countries.

We would also like to highlight the important work completed over the past year documenting current levels of contraceptive use in countries around the world. The report, "Levels and Trends of Contraceptive Use as Assessed in 1998", contains information from 142 countries, representing 92 percent of the world's population. We note that the data in the report highlight the substantial variation in contraceptive use by world region, a fact that should serve to emphasize the work that remains to be done in making contraception available to women and men around the world.

Our delegation would also like to commend the Population Division for the work they have undertaken to prepare a manual on the estimation of adult mortality. This work will serve to bring together the theoretical discussion of indirect methods with their practical applications. As with previous Population Division reports on indirect demographic techniques, we are confident that this report will quickly become an indispensable part of the demographer's toolkit.

We continue to be pleased with the high degree of cooperation and collaboration between the Population Division and UNAIDS, as evidenced in the Technical Meeting on the Demographic Impact of HIV/AIDS, convened in New York this past November. This meeting and future such meetings should improve the quality of the estimates of the impact of HIV/AIDS as well as of the technical issues involved in this estimation.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, as the Commission considers the workplan for the next biennium, my delegation will continue to advocate for the Population Division maintaining a strong research, analytical and technical cooperation capacity.

Thank you.

* * * * *