UN COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

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Context

• At the latest (56th) session of UN's Commission on Population and Development (CPD), held at New York, deputy Secretary-General warned that the goal of achieving quality education for all by 2030 is "seriously off track", with 263 million children and young people out of school.

Details

Issues highlighted

• The warning came after the UN's Commission on Population and Development (CPD) started examining various threats to the achievement of the global educational goal, stressing the importance of quality and inclusive education for women and girls.
• The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan was highlighted, where they have been banned from high school and university.
• There are some parts of the world, where public financing capacity is limited, where a rapidly growing school-aged population makes achieving education goals more difficult.
• The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in education systems, resulting in large cuts in public spending on education in low and lower-income countries, leading to deprived access to learning, particularly for children and young people.

Solutions proposed

• There is the need "to transform the education system" to equip current and future generations with the skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing world.
• There is a need for initiatives to make all learners "climate-ready" and connected to the internet and digital innovation, especially for girls and women from the Global South who are the most excluded.
  • The importance of inclusive education for women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics also needs to be looked upon.
• There is a need to safeguard education for everyone, including comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which equips young people with information and skills to develop healthy and positive relationships.
• There is a need for investing in digital literacy and closing the digital divide, along with increasing access to the internet and digital technologies for education.

About the commission

• The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) is one of the ten Functional Commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
• At its establishment by ECOSOC in October 1946, the Commission's name was "Population Commission" and in December 1994, was changed to "Commission on Population and Development".

Goal

• The goal of the Commission on Population and Development is the follow-up to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.

Mandate

• The Commission would monitor, review and assess the implementation of the Programme of Action at the regional, national and international levels and advise the Economic and Social Council on issues such as populations issues and trends, integrating population and development strategies, and on population and related development policies and programmes.
• It would also provide advice and assistance to the United Nations System, governments and other organizations on population and development related efforts.

Members

• The Commission is composed of 47 Member States elected by the Economic and Social Council for a period of four years on the basis of geographic distribution
• . Representatives should have a relevant background in population and development.
• It met typically every two or three years until 1994, after which it has met once a year.
• The United Nations Population Division is the main Secretariat unit.

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