The Higher Population Council Presents the Position of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the Forty-Eighth Session of the U.N Commission on Population and Development in New York
Friday, 17 April 2015
The Higher Population Council, representing Jordan, participated in the 48th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development ,New York, 13 to 17th April 2015.
The session aimed to discuss the development plan for the post-2015 and its indicators in order to ensure the integration of population and development priorities in the upcoming political declaration to be adopted in September of this year.
The Higher Population Council, presented Jordan's stand on the priorities of the Programme of Action on Population and Development beyond 2014.
The presentation of the Jordanian position came about after several roundtable meetings, focused group discussion and with the participation of Governmental and non-Governmental entities held by the HPC. The discussions took into account the four 2014 Cairo Declaration priorities : youth empowerment; promoting equality, women and girls empowerment , reproductive health, international migration and development.
The Secretary General of the Higher Population Council Dr. Sawsan Majali which presented Jordan's position, indicated that Jordan has been and remains among the countries that have confirmed their commitment to and ownership of the results of international conferences on population and development as well as sustainable development; which had been also incorporated in national development plans and programs. The most recent one is Jordan 2025 vision which represents a comprehensive development framework for Jordan to achieve the objectives of sustainable development in its three dimensions, economic, social and environmental by 2025.
Majali pointed out that within the framework of national commitment and action toward the programme of action of the Cairo 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, Jordan has developed national policies, strategies and plans such as the Policy Document on Demographic Opportunity for 2009 and 2015 and the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Strategy for 2003-2017; in addition to the inclusion of population issues in the national development plans of the Kingdom. These efforts were reflected in the improved development indicators of Jordan.
Majali indicated however, that sustaining these achievements is now adversely affected by the continued influx of forced immigrants, particularly the Syrians, as a result of the internal situation in Syria in the past four years and the political instability in the surrounding Arab region. These events have harmed Jordan development efforts, cost Jordan unforeseen expenditures and increased pressure on its infrastructure and public facilities and services.
The HPC Secretary General said that since 2011, Jordan has received and is still receiving large waves of forced immigrants from Syria, their number is estimated at 1.4 million persons by the end of March 2015, of whom (627,295 persons) are registered as refugees by the UNHCR. It is expected that more Syrians will continue to come to Jordan as a result of continued internal unrest in Syria.
Majali alerted the session that the Syrian situation has imposed a new demographic reality on Jordan by having a significant impact on its population age-sex structure. Syrians, who are mostly children and women, currently constitute more than 20 percent of Jordan's total population. These changes in turn have negatively affected the national population policies, in addition to the large financial costs which have affected and continue to influence Jordan development programs. The annual costs of hosting the Syrian refugees are estimated of 2.99 billion dollars at the end of February, 2015 according to Jordan Response Plan to this crisis.
Jordan's stand also included some of the national challenges and priorities in the area of population and development that are the result of a number of national deliberations and reports of which; the continued growth in youth size in Jordan at a rate exceeding the economic growth rate resulting in declining access to job opportunities in the future and threatening the prospects of Jordan’s benefits from the peak of its demographic opportunity by 2030, due to stable fertility levels and the continuation of immigrants’ influx into Jordan, mainly from Syria.
The HPC Secretary General emphasized the need for paying attention to the health, education and economic services provided to the youth and to facilitate their access to employment, utilize their potential and provide funding opportunities for their own projects in order to reduce unemployment, which had averaged 12% in 2014. Such high unemployment can have negative social consequences. It is also imperative to strengthen the link between education outputs and labor market needs, improve the quality of education, build skills, develop technical and vocational training and ensure decent work by providing supportive social security services as well as increasing youth political and civil participation.
Majali renewed Jordan's commitment to respecting reproductive rights through hard work on strengthening comprehensive reproductive health programs and providing services and information of high quality, especially to the marginalized groups. Jordan seeks to lower fertility rates which is still high, reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rate, and promote programs and means for reducing gender-based violence.
Majali underlined the importance of continuing efforts to promote gender equality, empower women and ensure their full participation as well as the need for supportive legislation and policies for women. In addition, there is a need to take all measures that enhance the role of civil society institutions and private sector to become partners with the government in achieving sustainable development. The female labor force participation rate was only 12.6% in 2014 despite high female educational levels. This adversely affects Jordanian women's empowerment which is also coupled with low political participation and poor access to and control over resources.
The Secretary General stressed the importance of giving more attention and care to the elderly and to understanding their needs, given the expected rise in their proportion in the future, through the implementation of programs geared to this age group through effective legislations that can promote their rights and provide them with social and health care services and the infrastructure that is responsive to their needs.
Majali also emphasized the need for further efforts to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities to achieve decent and sustainable life based on the principle of active participation through the adoption of policies that can ensure their full integration in society.
The HPC Secretary General also reemphasized Jordan's commitment to accelerate progress in the context of the conclusions and recommendations contained in the Cairo Declaration in 2013, and stressed the importance of considering people the core of the Sustainable Development agenda beyond the year 2015 and the importance of governments’ implementation of supportive strategies and plans, monitoring progress at the global, regional and national level and providing the necessary technical and financial support to countries.
Majali called upon the international community and regional actors to play a more active role in promoting peace and security in the Arab Region to maintain the development gains.
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