Description

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was convened under the auspices of the United Nations and was organized by a secretariat composed of the Population Division of the then UN Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (now the Department of Economic and Social Affairs) and UNFPA.

The Conference adopted the Program of Action by consensus, which emphasized the fundamental role of women’s interests

in population matters and introduced the concepts of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. A new definition of population policy was advanced, giving prominence to reproductive health and the empowerment of women.

The Program of Action, adopted by acclamation on 13 September 1994, emphasizes the integral linkages between population and development and focuses on meeting the needs of individual women and men, rather than on achieving demographic targets.