The European Population Forum 2004 was held on 12-14 January in Geneva. The international experts on population and reproductive health issues met at the Palais des Nations to examine key issues in Europe and North America, their causes, consequences and policy responses. Participants of the Forum included professionals in the social, demographic, economic and health fields, representatives of the executive and legislative branches of governments, academia and research institutions, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and private sector. The Belarusian panel at the Forum included G.I.Gasyuk, First Deputy Minister of Statistics and Analysis, I.A.Chutkova, Head of Department for Social Policy and Gender Issues of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, G.V.Butkovskaya, Head of Humanitarian Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Z.A.Sevkovskaya, Research Assistant of the Scientific and Research Institute of Motherhood and Childhood Protection of the Ministry of Health.
The European Population Forum considered challenges posed by current and emerging demographic trends in the European region, including countries in transition and assessed progress in implementing the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action and related agreements.
The participants of the European Population Forum hosted by the Government of Switzerland and co-organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) examined the following issues:
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Support of UNECE countries for ICPD implementation in developing countries and those with economies in transition, particularly efforts to ensure by 2015 universal access to reproductive health services including family planning, safe motherhood and HIV/AIDS prevention.
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Causes and consequences of low fertility in UNECE countries, particularly in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, and policy options enabling the combination of work and family, childbearing and parenting, e.g. those facilitating access to free or subsidized child care and providing financial support to families with children.
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Health challenges facing Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia including: high morbidity and mortality, especially among adult males; the spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS; adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues; and all forms of gender-based violence, including trafficking in young women and adolescents.
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Causes of international migration flows, implications of the flows for both sending and receiving countries, and the integration of immigrant populations along with policies to manage the flows and foster integration.
More information about the Forum, including the agenda and background papers is available atwww.unece.org/ead/pau/epf.
