such partnership requires empowerment of women in all spheres of life - economic, social and political - by improving access to education and economic opportunities for girls and women across Asia. This will help improve women's status, expand their choices, as well as increasing their opportunities and ability to determine their own lives.

　　　　We recognize that population, sustainable economic growth, social development, security and peace are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, as are our efforts to reduce rapid population growth, eradicate poverty, protect the environment, create jobs and reduce unemployment.

　　　　We believe that the family is the basic unit of society and note with concern signs that its survival as a human institution is threatened. Inequities of power, gender. and income act on each other and all members of the family causing stress, tensions, even violence in the family setting. We therefore advocate strongly for efforts to improve gender equality as well as the effectiveness of population and other development programmes which are essential for survival of the family.

　　　　Recognizing the inter-relationship of poverty, rapid population growth, high infant, child and maternal mortality rates, we also urge countries of the region to accelerate the achievement of the targets set in Cairo.

　　　　Reductions in population growth rate and efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable patterns of development will fail without respect for human rights.

　　　　　　　　We also call attention to the fact that these goals will be unattainable without peace and justice. Women and children, always the foremost victims of war and civil strife, will continue to suffer disproportionately from social instability and continuing poverty. Therefore, we urge increased effort to achieve peaceful resolution of conflict and disputes throughout the region regardless of origin.




1. Women and Health

　　　　Universal access to appropriate reproductive health services including relevant education regarding sexual health and rights is a pre-requisite for improving the living conditions of individuals, including adolescents, and the family as a whole.

　　　　We point with alarm to the high - and, in some cases, increasing - rates of pregnancy among adolescent girls through the Asian region, as evidence of the need to provide adolescents with full information, education, and services related to their reproductive rights and sexual behavior.