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| April to May 1999 |
| 15th
Asian Parliamentarians’ Meeting on "Action After The Hague", Seoul, Korea |
|
Cover Story |
 We must consider how
mankind can live peacefully together on earth.
– Dr Taro Nakayama, Chairman of APDA Seoul - 106 members of parliament and other organisations from 20 countries assembled in Seoul on the 18th and19th April 1999 to discuss "Action After The Hague". The Asian Regional Meeting was the annual event of the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) organised in cooperation with the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the National Parliament of Korea, and the Korean Parliamentary League of Children, Population and Environment (CPE). In Seoul, the members of Parliament who attended the Hague Parliamentarians Forum in February interacted and shared information on the deliberation and outcome of the Conference with the members who were not present at the Hague Forum. Dr Taro Nakayama, Chairman of APDA, in his opening speech mentioned the demographic achievement and economic progress made by both Japan and Korea. Referring to the spirit of the Cairo Programme of Action, he believed, "it is a tragedy to bear unwanted children. Resolution of the problems of big families is synonymous to improving the environment surrounding women." He claimed that aging is a big phenomenon to be faced by several nations in our region. At the same time, several countries also have huge burden of population. Some decline can be seen, but still population of our region is very high. "While we continue to see a vast population increase in Asia, we have seen fertility decline in some countries. Five countries (China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Korea) have experienced a decline in fertility since 1960. The combined Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the five countries from 1950 to 55 was between 5.40 and 6.59, which was higher than the combined TFR of Japan, U.S and Europe, 2.16 to 3.45. From 1960 fertility rate of the five Asian countries as well as that of Japan, U.S. and Europe continued to decrease. After 1965-70 period, the five Asian counries experienced a rate of decline. "As politicians we are dedicated to the sound management of national affairs. At the same time, we must seriously consider how humankind can live peacefully together on this earth. At the macro level, we must cope with the question of feeding and supporting the rising population that threatens to increase beyond the capacity of Mother Earth," urged Dr Nakayama. |
