Population Dynamics and the Open Working Group

As you may recall, population dynamics was included in the thematic consultations in preparation for the post-2015 development agenda in 2013, with the discussions focusing particularly on migration, urbanization, young people and the elderly. The Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals, moreover, has included population dynamics in its deliberations under Focus Area 3: Health and Population Dynamics. Although there was a call by some members of the OWG to move the topic to other focus areas, such as economic growth, employment and infrastructure or sustainable cities and human settlements, it remains in Focus Area 3. In this session of the OWG-11, however, not a lot of attention has been paid to issues related to population dynamics, with the exception of migration.

Issues related to population growth rates are, however, important for sustainable development, but they must be human-rights based and take fully into account sexual and reproductive health and rights. The attached presentation [slides] was given by Hania Zlotnik, former Director of the UN DESA Population Division, at a session for Member States organized by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) on ‘Examining the Evidence Base for the 16 OWG Focus Areas.’