RESURJ AT THE UN!

On April 11, 2011, the Realizing Sexual and Reproductive Justice (RESURJ) Alliance , launched its 10 Point Action Agenda (RESURJ by 2015) at the 44th Session of the Commission on Population and Development. RESURJ members also participated in a number of panels, training opportunities, and advocacy on the negotiations for the CPD.

The International Women’s Health Coalition held an Advocacy In Practice (AiP) training on April 7,8 2011 prior to the CPD, for RESURJ alliance members and International Year of Youth Coalition participants. This training trained 18 young people from 16 countries on how to effectively advocate at the CPD by revising important international agreements, particularly the Cairo Program of Action and international sexual and reproductive rights and health language and advocacy strategies.

In addition to advocating for a strong resolution at the CPD, RESURJ members were engaged in numerous activities throughout the week advocating for RESURJ by 2015: An Action Agenda!

Neha Sood (India) moderated a panel titled “Putting Girls First” hosted by IPPF with key note speeches from Dr. Babatunde Osotemehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, and Judith Bruce, from the Population Council.

Eugenia Lopez (Mexico) participated in a panel hosted by the Guttmacher Institute and Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Case Studies on Policy Change Around Safe Abortion.

Ishita Chaudhry (India), Zawadi N’yongo (Kenya), and Eugenia Lopez (Mexico), spoke at the International Women’s Health Coalition’s New Leadership Council event on Local to Global Advocacy.

Rachel Arinii (Indonesia), Kalindy Bolivar (Ecuador), and Mariclaire Price (UK) all participated in UNFPA- sponsored youth caucuses, and made statements at the CPD on needing to prioritize the sexual and reproductive rights and health of adolescents and young women in development plans.

Ishita Chaudhry (India) spoke at an event hosted by Population Action International “Sharing our Voices: Youth and CPD” about RESURJ’s 10 point action agenda and successful comprehensive sexuality education programs as key to development and health outcomes.

UN Commission on Population and Development 44th session

Theme: Fertility, reproductive health and development

Analysis of Resolution by the RESURJ Alliance

The 44th Commission on Population and Development was held from April 11-15 in New York.

The zero draft of the outcome document was quite strong to begin with, capturing the importance of recognizing women’s sexual and reproductive rights and choices for greater health and development outcomes. The draft provided a strong basis for policies that would invest in strengthening health systems, looking at demographic momentum and investing in adolescents’ and young people’s health and rights, the provision of sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception, maternity care, safe abortion where legal, and STI prevention and treatment, as well as ending violence against women.

From the start of the negotiations, the EU and G77 (who almost always negotiate in blocks) decided to split and take individual positions. Two alliances formed in support of ICPD objectives – the ‘likeminded’ countries and LatAm countries. Together with New Zealand, South Africa, the US, Zambia, and on some occasions, Ghana, Ireland and Italy, they defended language on women’s human rights, young people’s participation in program and policy development, adolescent sexual and reproductive health services, and protection of sexual and reproductive rights. The likeminded group spoke very strongly in favor of issues of our concern and proposed language on ‘sexual and reproductive health and rights’ in five operational paragraphs but these were not agreed upon in the end.

During the negotiations, States agreed on new language on demographic transition, development, fertility and reproductive health, elderly persons and late pregnancy. In order to achieve consensus, States in support of SRRH conceded the insertion of language on trafficking proposed by Belarus, and, most damagingly, language on sovereignty proposed by Pakistan and supported by Iran, the Arab group, Malta, Swaziland, Saint Lucia and The Holy See.

Disputed language during negotiations
(i) Gender – opposed due to panic around diverse sexual orientations and gender identities
(ii) Gender equality – for reasons mentioned in (i)
(iii) Sexuality education – opponents assert that it includes teaching masturbation to 5 yr olds and ‘promoting homosexuality’ to young children…
(iv) Sexual and reproductive health – opposed due to the opposition to abortion
(v) Reproductive rights – for reasons mentioned in (iv)
(vi) Sexual rights – opposed (presumably) due to panic around diverse sexual orientations and same-sex marriage
(vii) Young people – the term is defined as covering ages 10 to 24. Opponents wanted any reference to sexual and reproductive health information, counseling and services and sexuality education for young people to be qualified with parental rights to provide guidance and direction.

The Opposition

The theme of this session proved to be very contentious, as expected. And, with the growing involvement and influence of The Holy See and conservative evangelical civil society organizations from the US and other parts of the world, a small group of hard-line States operated very obstructively and with great skill at this session. These were Malta, Poland, Iran, Egypt (on behalf of the Arab group), Pakistan, Benin, Swaziland, Russia, Belarus, and St. Lucia.

The opposition to sexual and reproductive rights and health was very well organized and managed to obstruct advancing language in the resolution on:

policies and programs related to gender, sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, reproductive rights, comprehensive sexuality education, young people’s and adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation/ cutting, and gender equality.

These countries (led by the Holy See) promoted the insertion of language on conscience protection within the SRH services paragraph, declining fertility rates as a problem related to national development priorities, parental rights/ guidance for adolescents’ education, access to services, and information on these issues, insisting on insertions around family policy and the need for “the family” to be acknowledged as the “basic unit of society”, as well as the need for governments to support family friendly policies in the context of reproductive health, “less harmful abortion” (instead of safe abortion), and recognizing “the human person” as the central subject of development. At the end of the negotiations, the family language was not adopted, however, there was an operational paragraph inserted which altered Principle 2 of the ICPD Program of

Action on invoking “national sovereignty with respect to implementation of the provisions contained in the resolution and respect for religious and cultural values in national implementation, laws and programming”.

Their strategy was to question every concept, propose several deletions, propose addition of agreed text taken out of context, and deliberately stall negotiations. They also behaved very unreasonably, refusing to negotiate and meet others half-way or any part of the way. Well-known conservative US civil society member, Sharon Slater and two of her children were installed on the Mozambique delegation and supported conservative States. The Holy See was more vocal and obstinate than ever and delayed the process greatly by questioning obvious concepts like reproductive health, gender, reproductive health services, and even the concept of ‘girls’ at one point. States also questioned the definition of commonly accepted terms such as reproductive health commodities, fertility, and vulnerable groups.

Losses

Pakistan, the Arab Group, the Holy See, Poland, Malta and Benin succeeded in introducing the following operational paragraph:
OP4. Reaffirms the sovereign right of each country to implement recommendations of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development or other proposals in this resolution, consistent with national laws and development priorities, with full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of its people, and in conformity with universally recognized international human rights;

This is very bad precedent as it modifies Principle 2 of the ICPD (by inserting “or other proposals in this resolution”) and will now probably be used in every resolution where SRRH, women’s human rights, and sexuality are debated. This can potentially be used at the country level as an excuse for avoiding implementation of controversial legislation.

The operational paragraph on adolescents included ICPD PoA language on parental rights and responsibilities, as well as other qualifiers relating to cultural values and religious beliefs, losing ground from the 2009 CPD resolution:

OP18. Recognizes the rights, duties and responsibilities of parents and other persons legally responsible for adolescents to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the adolescent, appropriate direction and guidance in sexual and reproductive matters, and that countries must ensure that the programmes and attitudes of health-care providers do not restrict the access of adolescents to appropriate services and the information they need, including on sexually transmitted infections and sexual abuse, and recognizes that in doing so, and in order to, inter alia, address sexual abuse, these services must safeguard the rights of adolescents to privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent, respecting cultural values and religious beliefs, and that in this context, countries should, where appropriate, remove legal, regulatory and social barriers to reproductive health information and care for adolescents;

Gains

Although the opposition was strong, the main gain was having a resolution itself, and the protection of key SRH services and protection of human rights (including reproductive rights and the rights of women to have control over and decide freely on all matters related to their sexuality and reproduction free of coercion, discrimination, and violence). Although some of us felt that not having a resolution due to all the restrictions on SRHR issues around parental rights and invoking national sovereignty, the costs of not having a resolution could have set precedents for further negotiations leading up to next year’s CPD (on adolescents and young people), and the ICPD at 20 anniversary in 2014, much more difficult.

The following paragraphs were agreed to which, if do not advance any new progressive language, protect the gains made in 2009:

Gender equality

OP5. Reaffirms also that gender equality cannot be achieved without promoting and protecting the right of women to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health, and reaffirms that expanding access to sexual and reproductive health information and health services is essential for achieving the Beijing Platform for Action, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals;

OP23. Calls upon Governments to incorporate gender perspectives and human rights in health-sector policies, programmes and research activities, paying attention to women’s and girls’ specific needs and priorities, ensuring women’s right to the highest attainable standards of health and their access to affordable and adequate health-care services, including sexual, reproductive and maternal health care and lifesaving obstetric care, in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and recognizes that the lack of economic empowerment and independence has increased women’s vulnerability to a range of negative consequences, involving the risk of contracting HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other poverty-related diseases;

Human rights of women

OP6. Urges Governments… to, inter alia, protect and promote the full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of age and marital status, including by… ensuring the right of women to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, combating all forms of violence against women, including harmful traditional and customary practices such as female genital mutilation, developing strategies to eliminate gender stereotypes in all spheres of life…;

OP30. Recognizes that sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights and women’s rights and empowerment deserve increased attention in humanitarian assistance and post-crisis recovery, and therefore emphasizes the need for Governments, United Nations agencies, regional and international organizations and non-governmental organizations involved with providing support to countries and regions affected by crises to address the specific needs of those affected in a comprehensive and coherent manner, in accordance with the ICPD Programme of

Action;

Sexual and reproductive health services

OP12. Urges also Governments and development partners… to strengthen health systems and ensure that they prioritize universal access to sexual and reproductive information and health-care services, including family planning, prenatal care, safe delivery and post-natal care, especially breastfeeding and infant and women’s health care, emergency obstetric care, prevention and appropriate treatment of infertility, quality services for the management of complications arising from abortion, reducing the recourse to abortion through expanded and improved family planning services and, in circumstances where abortion is not against the law, training and equipping health-service providers and other measures to ensure that such abortion is safe and accessible, recognizing that in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and other reproductive health conditions and information, education and counselling, as appropriate, on human sexuality, reproductive health and responsible parenthood, taking into account the particular needs of those in vulnerable situations…;

OP15. Urges Member States, with, when needed, the appropriate technical and financial support from development partners, to design and implement national cancer control plans and strategies that encompass prevention, early detection, treatment and palliation of cancers of the male and female reproductive systems, especially prostate, breast and cervical cancers, and to strengthen existing health services and health systems to increase the capacity to detect these cancers at earlier stages and allow prompt access to quality treatment;

OP16. Reiterates the need for Governments to ensure that all women and men have comprehensive information about, and access to and choice of the widest possible range of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning, including long-acting methods and male and female condoms, so that they are able to exercise free and informed reproductive choices, and stresses that Governments and development partners, through international cooperation, should ensure that family planning programmes have a sufficient and continuous supply of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern contraceptives;

HIV and AIDS

OP13. Emphasizes the need to strengthen policy and programme linkages and coordination between HIV and AIDS and sexual and reproductive health and their inclusion in national development plans, including poverty reduction strategies and sector-wide approaches where they exist, as a necessary strategy for fighting the HIV and AIDS pandemic and mitigating its impact on population that could result in more relevant and cost-effective interventions with greater impact;

OP14. Calls upon Governments to scale up significantly efforts to meet the goal of ensuring universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, free of discrimination and with a gender perspective, and the goal of halting and reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015, particularly by integrating HIV and AIDS interventions into programmes for primary health care, sexual and reproductive health, and maternal, neonatal and child health, including by strengthening efforts to eliminate the vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child, and by preventing and treating other sexually transmitted infections, and encouraging responsible sexual behaviour, including abstinence and fidelity, and expanded access to essential commodities, including male and female condoms and microbicides, through the adoption of measures to reduce costs and improve availability;

Adolescents and young people

OP6. Urges Governments… to, inter alia, protect and promote the full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of age and marital status, including by… providing young people with comprehensive education on human sexuality, on sexual and reproductive health, on gender equality and on how to deal positively and responsibly with their sexuality…

OP19. Reiterates the need for Governments to ensure that all women and men and young people have information about and access to the widest possible range of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning, including male and female condoms, and to the requisite supplies so that they are able to exercise free and informed reproductive choices;

OP20. Recognizes that the largest generation of adolescents ever in history is now entering sexual and reproductive life and that their access to sexual and reproductive health information, education and care and family planning services and commodities, including male and female condoms, as well as voluntary abstinence and fidelity are essential to achieving the goals set out in Cairo 17 years ago;

OP21. Calls upon Governments, with the full involvement of young people and with the support of the international community, to give full attention to meeting the reproductive health-care service, information and education needs of adolescents to enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality;

Financing

OP37. Also encourages Governments and development partners to bring their investments in reproductive health in line with the revised cost estimates presented by the Secretary-General for each of the four programme components identified in chapter XIII of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and calls upon Governments of both developed and developing countries to make every effort to mobilize the required resources to ensure that the health, development and human rights-related objectives of the Programme of Action are met, and urges Governments and development partners to cooperate closely to ensure that resources are used in a manner which ensures maximum effectiveness and in full alignment with the needs and priorities of developing countries;

OP38. Calls upon the international community to assist Governments to reduce unmet needs for family planning by increasing financial resources for implementation of the Programme of Action of the ICPD, especially in the area of family planning and commodities within primary health care systems, ensuring that funding lines for family planning programmes and commodities are included in national budget formulations and that funding enables the development of quality, comprehensive and integrated reproductive health programmes;

Civil society participation

OP36. Encourages Governments to ensure that adequate financial and technical resources and information necessary for the effective participation of non-governmental organizations in the research, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of population and development activities should, if feasible and if requested, be made available to the non-governmental sector by Governments, intergovernmental organizations and international financial institutions in a manner that will not compromise their full autonomy;

THE RESURJ FEMINIST ANALYSIS and NEXT STEPS

The RESURJ Alliance is deeply concerned with the increasing opposition and lack of technical discussion within UN inter-governmental processes such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) to address key aspects of women’s and young people’s lives, such as their health and human rights. Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health are essential to development, population, and health policies worldwide. In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals on achieving maternal health (MDG 5), child health (MDG 4), and universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support (MDG 6), as well as gender equality and the empowerment of women (MDG 3), governments must show the political will and financial commitments that are necessary through investing in women’s and young people’s access to health services (particularly comprehensive sexual and reproductive health), protection of their human rights (including their sexual and reproductive rights), and investments in their education (comprehensive sexuality education), employment needs (with full equality and non-discrimination), and creating the necessary enabling environments.

During the CSW and CPD, it became clear that the opposition (anti-women, anti-choice, anti-sexuality, anti-human rights, anti-diversity) has become increasingly organized over the last few years and has learned our tactics in UN negotiations, including through forming part of national delegations and speaking on the floor on behalf of very conservative factions (such as the Holy See but also including some African governments). Family Watch International, a US based Catholic organization, organized a week-long training in January for UN country mission staff to strategize for the CSW, CPD, and High Level Meeting on HIV. These organizations, together with conservative members of country delegations (such as Benin, Pakistan, Holy See, Russia, Belarus, Egypt, Qatar, Syria, Honduras, Guatemala) have been successful thus far in disrupting any type of evidence-based and objective argument in favor of sexual and reproductive rights, gender, gender equality, sexuality education, sexuality, human rights, or services language. Instead, they advocate very strongly for provisions that contain qualifiers on “national sovereignty”, “defense of the family as the basic unit of society”, parental consent laws, abstinence and fidelity as successful HIV prevention programs, and respect for religious, cultural, and traditional values.

The RESURJ Alliance will be monitoring and following the HIV/AIDS negotiations closely and will seek to influence the Outcome Document (to be adopted at the High Level Meeting June 8-10) towards a strong commitment to meeting the targets of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, including through paying particular attention to meeting the sexual and reproductive rights and health needs of women and young people through comprehensive SRH services, comprehensive sexuality education programs, protection of the human rights of all populations, including men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and sex workers, and ensuring that evidence-based prevention strategies are implemented. In addition, we seek to advocate strongly for governments to uphold their commitments to come as close as possible to universal access to treatment, which will require coverage for 18.3 million people currently living with HIV by 2015.

RESURJ will also be advocating for RESURJ by 2015 at the High Level Meeting on Youth from 25-26 July 2011, prioritizing that governments commit to ensuring comprehensive sexuality education and access to sexual and reproductive health services, as well as protection of human rights.

As we move towards the 20th anniversaries of Cairo and Beijing, RESURJ members will be focusing on working with UN Women and UNFPA country offices and other allies to ensure that the preparations for the 2012 Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Population and Development uphold the Cairo Program of Action and Beijing Platform for Action agreements and advance the sexual and reproductive rights and health agenda forward. ]
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RESURJ is an international alliance of feminist activists seeking full implementation of international commitments to secure all women’s and young people’s sexual and reproductive rights and health by 2015.

“RESURJ by 2015” is a 10-point action agenda that places women’s and young people’s human rights, particularly sexual and reproductive rights, participation in decision-making and accountability at the center of health programs and development efforts.

For more information, email info@resurj.org, Twitter: @RESURJ, Facebook: http://facebook.com/RESURJ, website: http://resurj.org