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REGIONAL POPULATION MEETING |
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| (Budapest, 7-9 December 1998) |
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| Location: Statistical Division, Regional Population Meeting | |
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| STATISTICAL COMMISSION and ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICIANS | GOVERNMENT OF HUNGARY | UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA) |
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Location: [ECE] ADVANCE COPY Information Notice No. 2 1. Introduction This is the second and final information notice for the Regional Population Meeting. Among other things, the notice summarises developments regarding the preparation of the Meeting since Information Notice No. 1 was issued around 15 May 1998. Also, information pertaining to the various practical arrangements concerning the last phase of the preparation is included. Some of the information contained in this notice supersedes some of the contents of Information Notice No. 1. 2. Decision of the Conference of European Statisticians During its May 1998 annual session, the Conference of European Statisticians, which oversees the work of the Economic Commission for Europe in the population field, took a decision to include the proposed Regional Population Meeting in its programme of work and to convene the Meeting. The Conference accepted the invitation of Hungary to host the Meeting. It noted that this would be an intergovernmental technical meeting that would be attended by government representatives, including statisticians, population experts and other specialists. * The Regional Population Meeting is in the work programme of the Conference of European Statisticians.3. The Council of Europe contributes to the Meeting The European Population Committee (CDPO) of the Council of Europe met in Strasbourg (France) on 10-12 June 1998 to consider, among other things, the preparations for the Regional Population Meeting. It stressed the readiness of the Council of Europe to provide a meaningful contribution to the Meeting. Further to this CDPO meeting, representatives of the ECE and the Council of Europe, in consultation with representatives of the Government of Hungary and the UNFPA, agreed on the content and modalities of the collaboration with the Council of Europe on the preparation for the Budapest Meeting. It was agreed that the theme of international migration would be added to the programme of the Meeting and that the Council of Europe would commission a background paper on this theme. This arrangement has greatly solidified the collaboration of the leading regional organisations active in the population field during the last round of preparations for the Meeting. 4. Advisory Group The original Advisory Group was expanded and now consists of eight members, including two vice-chairs of the CDPO, and several ex-officio members. The Advisory Group is composed of Mr. E. Andreev (Russian Federation), Mr. P. Festy (France), Mr. R. Gisser (Austria), Mr. A. Golini (Italy), Ms. C. Höhn (Germany), Mr. K. Katus (Estonia), Mr. A. Klinger (Hungary) and Mr. H. Lundstroem (Sweden). Mr. Klinger, who chairs the Advisory Group, is also currently Chairman of the CDPO. Mr. J. Cremades (Council of Europe), Ms. G. Vukovich (Hungary) and Messrs. A. MacDonald (UNFPA), J. Kelly (ECE), and M. Macura (ECE) are ex-officio members of the Advisory Group. A Representative of Hungary and several population experts took part in the meetings of the extended Advisory Group which were held on 1-2 October and 28-29 October. The experts included: Mr. D. Coleman (United Kingdom), Mr. J. Holzer (Poland), Mr. L. Ostby (Norway) and Ms. C. Sauvain-Dugerdil (Switzerland). 5. Revised programme of the Meeting In view of the proposal of the CDPO (see point 3 above), international migration has been added to the programme of the Meeting. This expansion of the programme is reflected in the Provisional Agenda (CES/PAU/1998/1), the Provisional Annotated Agenda (CES/PAU/1998/2) and the Provisional Order of Business (CES/PAU/1998/3). 6. Ad Hoc Informal Consultations Ad Hoc Informal Consultations of the Economic Commission for Europe were held on 2 October 1998. One of the items on the agenda of the meeting was the Regional Population Meeting. The Representative of Hungary informed the ECE Permanent Representatives about the preparations for the Meeting. Following this presentation by the Hungarian Representative, the Ambassador of Austria, speaking on behalf of the European Union countries about the ICPD+5 process stated: (a) that it is important for the region to take part in this process, in particular in view of the fact that the problems the region faces in the area of fertility, mortality and so forth are quite distinct from those in other regions; (b) that the EU countries are taking the preparations for the Meeting very seriously; and (c) that the information on the preparations for the meeting should be shared with the Permanent Missions to the United Nations in Geneva, along with the information on the outcome of the meeting of the Advisory Group of 1-2 October and the draft agenda for the Meeting. 7. Expected outcomes of the Meeting In line with the recent consultations among the organisers regarding expected outcomes, the Advisory Group suggested that the Meeting negotiate and adopt: (i) a brief factual report of the Meeting; and (ii) two substantive annexes, provisionally titled (a) "Conclusions"; and (b) "Co-operation in Population Analysis." The Advisory Group suggested that both texts be relatively short, but comprehensive. The document entitled "Conclusions" should, in the view of the Advisory Group, assess the progress achieved in the region concerning the implementation of the final documents of the 1993 European Population Conference (Recommendations) and the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (Programme of Action) and contain proposals for priority actions and related policy directions for the region. The document "Co-operation in Population Analysis", in the view of the Advisory Group, should provide a framework for furthering co-operation in population analysis in the region. The drafts of these two annexes have been prepared, considered by the Advisory Group and completed in line with its suggestions. The Advisory Group recommended that they be part of the documentation for the Meeting. 8. Pre-meeting informal consultations The Advisory Group recommended that informal consultations for the delegations of the ECE Governments be convened a day prior to the Meeting in Budapest. In line with the recommendation, the delegations are invited to take part in the consultations that will take place on Sunday, 6 December 1998, starting at 9 a.m., at the Budapest Hilton, the venue of the Meeting. It is proposed that the following three items be on the agenda of this one-day meeting: a) consultations concerning the composition of the Bureau of the Meeting; b) information on the rules of procedures that the Bureau will use in order to conduct the Meeting: and c) initial discussions of the two documents, "Conclusions" and "Co-operation in Population Analysis." 9. Negotiations and the drafting group Negotiations on the two documents, "Conclusions" and "Co-operation in Population Analysis" will take place at meetings of the drafting group on 7 and 8 December. The drafting group will consist of members of interested government delegations. The meetings of the group will be conducted in English. The deadline for the completion of the work of the group will be 6 p.m. on 8 December. The agreed-upon texts of the "Conclusions" and "Co-operation in Population Analysis" will be translated into French and Russian by 1 p.m. on 9 December and made available to the Meeting for adoption at its closing session. The organisers of the Meeting hope that the negotiations on the "Draft Conclusions" would lead to an action-oriented document which would highlight: a) salient population issues; b) operational constraints on, and successes with, policies and programmes in recent years; and c) priority action and related policy directions for the future. Delegates are invited to prepare specific proposals along these lines, with a view to introducing them in the existing draft. 10. Transmittal of the Report and its annexes On recommendations from the Advisory Group, the Report of the Meeting and its two substantial annexes, "Conclusions" and "Co-operation in Population Analysis" will be transmitted to the Conference of European Statisticians, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly for the quinquennial review and appraisal of the ICPD Programme of Action. These documents may be further considered by the relevant intergovernmental bodies dealing with population issues in the ECE region. 11. Dissemination of the documentation The documentation for the meeting is being disseminated from Geneva. Participants who have registered before 5 November are included in the distribution list and will receive copies of the documents by mail. The documents for the ECE countries that have not registered their delegations by this date are being sent to their Ministries for Foreign Affairs. Similarly intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations that have not registered their delegates will receive the documents by mail, sent to heads of the organisations. The national reports that have been received by 5 November by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office will be included among the documents being distributed by mail. The organisers will not be in a position to disseminate the national reports received after this date. Therefore, national delegations that have not submitted their reports by this date are encouraged to bring 400 copies to Budapest for distribution at the Meeting. All the documents for the Meeting that have been available to the organisers at the time of writing are displayed at the meeting web site (http://www.unece.org/ead/pau/rpm). Any documents, particularly national reports, which will become available to the organisers in electronic format in the weeks ahead, will be added to the web site. Participants are encouraged to look for additional documents by periodically visiting the site. 12. Languages The official languages of the Meeting are English, French and Russian. Interpretation in the three languages will be provided at all plenary sessions. However, there will be no interpretation at the meetings of the drafting group, which will be conducted in English. 13. New meeting venue The organisers of the Meeting have decided to move the venue of the Meeting to the Budapest Hilton, Hess A. Ter 1-3, Budapest, H-1014 Hungary, Tel: +36 1 214 3000, Fax: +36 1 214 2185. Note that a link to the Budapest Hilton is available at the meeting web site. 14. Hotel accommodation Participants may stay at the Budapest Hilton or any of a few nearby hotels. Reservations for rooms at these hotels can be made by using the registration form available at the meeting web site. Note that the deadline for registration is 16 November. 15. Registration Registration will take place on Sunday, 6 December from 10 am until 8 pm at the Budapest Hilton, close to the hall where the Meeting will be held. The registration desk will also be open on Monday morning, 7 December, from 8 am to 9 am for late registration. Passes will be issued to participants when they register. Only formally registered participants may attend the Meeting. 16. Contacts with organisers Letters of acceptance and national reports, along with inquiries concerning the practical aspects of the Meeting should be sent to: Regional Population Meeting Telephone: +36 1 345 6136 Any communications that ECE Governments may wish to send to the organisers in connection with the "Draft Report of the Meeting" or "Draft Conclusions" and "Draft Co-operation in Population Analysis" should be addressed to: Regional Population Meeting |