Forum of African and Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development / FAAPPD
Final Report
Third Conference for the Population and Development Committees in the Arab States members in the forum
2 - 4 November 2002
Damascus - Syria
Conclusion ( principals & recommendations)
By Thanks and the Name of God
The activities of the Third Arab Conference for the Population and Development in the Arab States’ members of the Forum in the (FAAPPD) were carried out in Damascus during the period 2-4/nov/2002.
The Syrian Arab Republic represented by its Government and the Peoples’ Council, facilitated this meeting by granting the participants utmost care. This in turn gave the meeting wide range of deep interlocution through enriching discussion, and shedding the light on the realities of Youth and Women’s Issues in the Arab World on the basis of studies and scientific research, prepared by the Parliamentarians and Representatives Councils , the General Secretariat of the Forum , the Country Technical Service Team (CSTs) Director of the UNFPA and the International Planned Parenthood Federation in Tunisia.
The Syrians’ warm attention to the Arab Parliamentarians, who are concerned with Population and Development issues, was practically translated by the wonderful ceremony held in the beautiful Hall of the Syrian Peoples’ Council ,that is considered a statue of the Arab loftiness and pride. This hall is also distinguished by its great past, present and the stored history in the Syrians’ memory.
This ceremony was held under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Abdel-Qader Qaddura (Chairman of the Syrian Peoples’ Council), Ministers, Arab Ambassadors and press people.
The meeting’s activities, discussions and work sheets were newsworthy to gain a Comprehensive and a full coverage by the Syrian multimedia.
This attention was also represented by the reception of the Secretary-General of the Forum by Mr. Abdel-Qader Qaddura in his office, who also met the delegates of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Arab World Region in the second day and also met the heads of the Arab Delegations in the third day.
Mr. Qaddura’s meetings in turn, sustained and enhanced the success of the Arab Parliamentarians’ Third Conference.
The Delegates in Damascus were on a high level of consciousness, awareness and cognition for the importance of the proposed issues. On the other hand, the delegates’ great and clear readiness was represented by the Work Sheets submitted by each.
In addition to the comments and interpositions that enriched the interlocution and increased the seriousness of the importance of Youth and Women’s Issues in the Arab World.
The delegates also showed their readiness to support and sustain the General Secretariat of the Forum.
The intellectual and knowledgeable richness and deep understanding dimensions of the titles and intents were made clear through the practical and important recommendations, that emanated from Damascus Conference.
All facilitating Factors were available for making this Conference a success.
Here, in the General Secretariat in Amman, we supplied the parliamentarians and legislative councils with all the items discussed, studied and published in Damascus’ meetings and the previous meetings.
To be authentic representatives of the nation that we feel proud to belong to, working hard to rise to its mission, values, civilization, presence and the future of its generations is our aim in our Fourth Arab Conference in the coming few months.
Secretary-General of the Forum
Marwan El-Hmoud
The Final Declaration
The Final Declaration of the Third Arab Conference on the Population and Development in Damascus focused on the national cases which the Arab nation is concerned with. It also focused on the importance of its unity, attitude and goal to face all dangers that threat the Arab presence represented in the Arab civilization, mission, and humanitarian existence and history that goes back to the beginning of the world .
The Drafting Committee Consisted of:
Dr. Kamal Bellan-Syria / chief
Dr. Mohammad Abdallah Arafa- Saudi Arabia / member
Dr. Mohaammad Tala’t Abdel Qawi- Egypt / member.
Ms. Fatima Belmoden- Morocco / member
Mr. Saleh abdel-Hai- Iraq / member
Mr. Abd El-Raheel Le’koor- Jordan / member
Mr. Ahmad Mkeis- representative of the Arab Parliament union / member
Mr. Tawfeeq Esaran- Family Planning Union “Arab World Region” /member.
Ms. Abeer Tahboub- the national Coordinator of the UNF and the General Secretariat of the Forum / committee secretary
The Assembly Ratified the Following Recommendations:
· Call the Arab Parliamentarians and Consultative Councils which do not have Parliamentarians committee to preserve on the Population and Development issues ,and to take over the responsibility to form such committees as soon as possible in addition to supplying the General Secretariat of the Form with the names of this kind of interested committees in the Population and Development cases in their countries and to affiliate these committees to be permanent members in the (FFAAPD) beside asking the Secretary-General of the Forum to urge Arab States which did not join the Forum yet to do.
· Call the committees of the Population and Development in the Arab Parliamentarians and Consultative Councils to strengthen links of cooperation and coordination among them through the Arab general Secretariat in Amman and to exchange information, studies and researches specialized in the population cases, development, environment, woman’s issues, maternity, education, and youth.
Activate the consultative and supervision role for these committees especially the legislations that are concerned with the Population and Development and other related issues.
· Call the Arab Parliamentarians to develop the researches, authentication and demography centers, and supporting them with specialists in these fields. Also supporting the committees of the population, development, environment, and health with this information and sending the output to the General Secretariat to popularize these information and studies, collecting and arranging them in order to be collectively published in Arabic.
· Call (UNF) to increase support to the Arab General Secretariat in order to act out and execute its future activities besides demanding the support for the General Secretariat by the International union for Family Planning in the Arab World Region and to call it to attend the forum meetings as regarded a supervisor member.
· Make sure that the Arab Parliaments’ Councils pay their required fees for the years 2001-2002 to the Arab General Secretariat before the end of 2002 hope that all the participants in the conference to apply these recommendations on their councils.
· Command the General Secretariat of the Forum in Amman to make the required connections with the Arab Parliaments and Consultative Councils to support the Forum with all their published legislations that are related to the population cases, development, environment, youth and woman issues .To also support all the Arab population and Development Committees with these publications to be aware of and familiar with all the legislative developments in the Arab States.
· Provide the convenience atmosphere of awareness and conscience on religious and moral and moderate basis within a rational atmosphere of interlocution and acceptance of the other.
· Urge the involved institutions and organizations on both regional and local levels to halt and reverse the spread of transmitted sexual diseases especially (HIV/AIDS) by exchanging experiences on this subject bearing in mind the accelerating number if infected people in the Arab States.
· Call the General secretariat of the Forum to organize conferences for the Arab Parliaments and the Arab young Parliamentarians to exchange experiences and to discuss the latest issues related to the Population cases, development, environment, youth and the role of woman in the society.
· Ask the Consultative and Parliamentarians Councils to develop laws concerning family (personal affairs law), that can serve achieving justice between man and woman and deepening the role of woman in the politics, economical and social life in the Arab States.
· To emphasize the role of media in achieving the social alteration, national steering and serving the population politics that is concerned with youth and woman issues.
· Call Arab Governments to increase interest in social and developmental cases especially in the domain of teaching which is directed to girls.
· Work on developing the Forum into a parliamentarian organization consisting of the population development and environment in the Arab Councils and active parliamentarians in this domain, also to call this “The Parliamentarian Organizations for development and the population”. This in turns will have a bio-system and will meet within the Arab Parliaments Union atmosphere which makes its recommendations more efficient to be carried out into execution. . This proposed organization should have a chief and a Secretary-General; the responsibilities of each are determined by the bio-system of the organization. . All arrangement for this event will be the General Secretariat duty in coordination with the Arab Parliaments Union.
· Command the General Secretariat to assign the place and subject of the Fourth Arab Conference for the population and development and Consultative &parliaments councils.