|
UNFPA GLOBAL POPULATION POLICY UPDATE
Issue 17 - March 16 2004
As part of its efforts to monitor the commitments made at the International
Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme
of Action (21-22 November 2002, Ottawa), UNFPA continues to follow developments
taking place at the national level that help create an enabling environment
for the achievement of the 1994 International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) Programme of Action. This issue of the newsletter
highlights laws and policies on such ICPD-related issues as maternal and
child care, human trafficking, gender equality, HIV/AIDS and family violence
that were recently enacted in Argentina, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia,
Nigeria, Romania, Serbia and South Africa.
In May 2003, the Ministry of Health issued Resolution No. 348/2003,
which approves rules for the provision of maternity services incorporated
into the National Programme to Guarantee the Quality of Medical Care.
These rules aim to improve the organization and functioning of maternity
services, which includes care during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium,
as well as care for newborns. The resolution emphasizes the importance
of gynecological examinations for women; the early detection of pregnancy;
identification of potential prenatal problems related to the mother's health
and nutrition level; the categorization of risks for pregnancy and childbirth;
and the institutional attention to providing the necessary care for mothers
and children. The resolution includes provisions on: the basic principles
underlying care; essential obstetric and neonatal conditions; the organization
and essential requirements of maternity services; and the description of
services to be offered.
http://infoleg.mecon.gov.ar/txtnorma/85616.htm
In February 2002, the government of Bangladesh adopted the National Plan
of Action Against the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children including
Trafficking. The National Plan of Action (NPA) includes such prevention
objectives as: adopting educational measures, with an emphasis on human rights
and life skills; increasing economic alternatives for families; instituting
legal reform; and eliminating child marriage. To improve child protection,
the NPA calls for the reactivation of the birth registration system, better
mechanisms and structures for reporting abuse and the creation of safe havens
for victims and children at risk. It notes that special protection
is needed for children affected by natural disasters and for child refugees.
The NPA also calls for the recovery and reintegration of trafficking and
sexual abuse victims by improving children's access to necessary support
services and creating a receptive environment for reintegration among families,
local community leaders and the public. Moreover, to increase the arrest
and prosecution of child traffickers, the NPA emphasizes a coordinated approach
to monitoring and law enforcement, particularly regarding cross-border trafficking,
and calls for increased coordination among Bangladesh ministries, other governments,
embassies in "receiving" countries and concerned non-governmental organizations
(NGOs). Finally, the NPA cites measures to address the risks of HIV/AIDS,
sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and substance abuse faced by the abused,
exploited and trafficked children.
In May 2003, Bulgaria enacted a law to combat human trafficking. The
law defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer,
concealment or acceptance of human beings, regardless of their own will,
by means of coercion, abduction, deprivation of liberty, fraud, abuse of
power, abuse of a state of dependence or by means of giving, receiving or
promising benefits to obtain the consent of a person who has control over
another person when it is carried out for the purpose of exploitation.
It includes provisions on:
-The powers and objectives of state authorities involved in combating trafficking
in human beings;
-Measures to prevent and fight human trafficking;
-Measures aimed at protecting and supporting the victims of human trafficking,
especially women and children;
-The status and objectives of the shelters, centres and commissions established
under the law to protect and support human trafficking victims; and
-The placement under special protection of victims who collaborate with an
investigation.
The law is intended to ensure cooperation and coordination among the state,
the municipalities and the NGOs, with a view to developing a national policy
to combat human trafficking.
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Act
On 10 July 2003, Colombia enacted Law No. 823, which provides an institutional
framework and guidance for government policies and measures that will promote
equal opportunities for women. Based on this law, the government will
execute a plan to promote and guarantee women the full exercise of their
rights, eliminate obstacles that prevent women from fully exercising their
rights and incorporate policies relating to gender equity and equal opportunity
for women in all government services.
More specifically, the government will:
-Adopt equal opportunity policies for women and strengthen institutions responsible
for executing these policies;
-Improve women's access to urban and rural employment and promote equal pay;
-Carry out activities to increase women's access to integral health services,
including sexual, reproductive and mental health services;
-Provide special assistance and protection for women during pregnancy and
after childbirth (including establishing a food subsidies programme for pregnant
women who are unemployed or have been abandoned);
-Incorporate a gender perspective into the education and training of health
personnel;
-Guarantee all women equal access to academic and professional programmes;
and
-Design special credit and subsidies programmes to allow women access to
housing.
The government will also provide subsidized health coverage for women who
are heads of households and belong to marginalized or discriminated groups.
In addition, the government will carry out programmes to provide information
on women's sexual and reproductive health and reduce the levels of women's
mortality and morbidity associated with their sexual and reproductive health.
http://aricaurte.imprenta.gov.co:7778/diario/diario2.mostrar_norma?p_tipo=01&p_
numero=823&p_fecha=10/07/2003&p_consec=47827
In June 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria issued its National Policy
on HIV/AIDS. The goals of the policy are to control the spread
of HIV/AIDS, provide equitable care and support for those infected by HIV
and mitigate the impact of the disease. To achieve these goals, the
government commits itself to pursuing a number of specific objectives, including:
promoting a national multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary response to the
epidemic and assigning appropriate roles to the different sectors; increasing
awareness among the general population about HIV/AIDS and encouraging behavioral
change to control the epidemic; fostering acceptance of every person's responsibility
to prevent the transmission of HIV and to support those who have been affected;
providing cost-effective care for and protecting the legal rights of those
infected; removing all barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention and control; empowering
those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS; developing standards and guidelines
to institutionalize best practices for mitigating the impact of AIDS; stimulating
research and monitoring and evaluation of programmes; and developing prevention
programmes that target vulnerable groups.
As a means of monitoring and evaluating the progress and implementation of
the policy over time, the main target of achieving at least a 25% reduction
in the adult HIV prevalence every five years has been set to guide programme
planning and implementation.
On 22 May 2003, Romania approved a law to prevent and combat family violence.
The law defines family violence as a physical or verbal act carried out by
one member of a family against another that causes serious physical, psychological
or sexual harm, as well as violence that impedes a woman from exercising
her fundamental rights and liberties. The law establishes a National
Agency for Family Protection under the Ministry of Family and Health to:
-Promote the value of the family and prevent and combat family violence;
-Assist family members in difficulties;
-Assist victims of family violence in the recovery of their health and reintegration
into society;
-Provide various kinds of treatment for perpetrators; and
-Protect victims, particularly minors.
The law also describes the activities of persons providing family assistance;
preventive measures to be undertaken by various public agencies, including
educational and informational measures; the activities of family counselors,
including efforts at mediation; the activities of centres for victims of
family violence; and offenses and penalties.
In April 2003, Serbia issued a law amending its criminal code with provisions
to protect women and minors from sexually motivated crimes. Whoever
sexually harasses, or, through sexual conduct, otherwise offends the dignity
of another person shall be punished with a fine or up to six months imprisonment.
The law also imposes imprisonment of one to five years to persons who produce,
sell or distribute pornographic materials featuring minors or induce a minor
to take part in a pornographic show. Finally, the law prohibits human
trafficking for the purpose of obtaining some gain, exploitation of labor,
criminal activities, prostitution, begging, pornography, removal of organs
for transplantation or exploitation in armed conflicts. Persons convicted
of such crimes are subject to one to ten years imprisonment.
http://www.osce.org/yugoslavia/documents/translated/files/law_amending_criminal_code.pdf
On 19 November 2003, the South African government adopted the Operational
Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment.
The goals of this plan are to provide comprehensive care and treatment for
people living with HIV/AIDS and to facilitate the strengthening of the country's
national health system. The plan aims to establish at least one service
point in every health district in South Africa by the end of the first year
of implementation. Within five years, the plan aims to ensure equitable
access to care and treatment to all South Africans and permanent residents
living with HIV/AIDS. The plan seeks to ensure comprehensive care and
treatment by addressing the needs of individuals at all stages of HIV infection,
expanding voluntary counseling and testing services, promoting prevention
programmes, monitoring the health of HIV-positive patients seeking treatment
and, where medically prescribed, by providing the option of antiretroviral
therapy. In order to strengthen the national health system, the plan
calls for significant investments in developing the necessary human resources
and physical infrastructure, improving access to laboratory services and
developing new strategies for drug distribution and procurement.
http://www.gov.za/reports/2003/aidsoperationalplan.pdf
(Executive Summary)
This newsletter is issued by the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) in its capacity as secretariat for the biannual International
Parliamentarians' Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme
of Action (the first conference was held in November 2002, in Ottawa, Canada).
These dispatches are intended to highlight important developments taking
place around the world so that parliamentarians can be kept informed of and
learn from the successes, setbacks and challenges encountered by their fellow
parliamentarians in other countries and regions in their efforts to promote
the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference
on Population and Development (September 1994, Cairo, Egypt). It should be
noted that UNFPA does not necessarily endorse all of the policies described
in this newsletter.
Please send mailing list update information to Diego Hadis at hadis@unfpa.org. If you have any questions or
comments on the content of this newsletter, please contact Harumi Kodama
at kodama@unfpa.org or Richard Snyder at snyder@unfpa.org.
|
