Posted on 04/14/2011 1:38:22 PM PDT by mikalasukala
United Nations Commission on Population and Development (CPD44)
Forty-fourth session (11 - 15 April 2011)
Theme: Fertility, reproductive health and development
VENUE: Conference Room 1 of the North Lawn Building
Working Group - Conference Room C
From the blog Turtle Bay and Beyond:
AIDS orphans blasts UN push of condoms and sex ed:
Two AIDS orphans from Mozambique told UN delegates to stop pushing sex ed and condoms as “solutions” to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Speaking to the Commission on Population and Development, the two children – Luis and Amelia Belchior – told their story of watching their parents and brother die of AIDS. The siblings stressed that they were concerned by how the developed countries are “trying to force a sexual rights agenda on the African countries.”
They siblings specifically complained about the push for “comprehensive sexuality education” for adolescents over concerns that it encourages youth to “experiment with their sexuality and to engage in promiscuous behavior.” Members of the audience shed tears when the siblings said, “To encourage youth to have sex, especially in countries experiencing AIDS pandemics? It sounds like a death sentence to me and it was a death sentence for three of my family members.”
They asked, “Why isn’t the UN focusing on what my people really need like food, clean water, medical care, and education instead of sexual rights?”
Keynote speakers and addresses:
John Bongaarts: Fertility trends and their implications for development
John is Vice President of Population Council and info about his address can be found here.
Amy Tsui: Family planning: succeeding in meeting needs to make a better world
Amy is: Professor and Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Institutefor Population and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
info about her address can be found here
You can read the Commission introductory statements from:
Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund
Hania Zlotnik, Director, Population Division
For lots of CPD44 pdf documents, go here.
Some of those documents include a statement submitted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and other groups.
Statement by the United States at the UN Commission on Population and Development
"Here is the statement delivered Tuesday by Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, to the 44th Session of the Commission on Population and Development. He spoke on the topic "Fertility, Reproductive Health and Development."
From LifeNews.com:
Guatemala Withdraws Pro-Life Opposition to Population Document:
Guatemala affords their nation’s unborn children some of the most protective laws in the world. Article 3 of Chapter I in Title II of the Constitution of Guatemala grants the right to life from the point of conception. This article states that the government “guarantee and protects human life since its conception, as same as the integrity and security of the person.”
Imagine the shock and disbelief when this afternoon during the 44h Commission on Population and Development in New York City, the delegate from the Permanent Mission of Guatemala declared that her country was withdrawing all of its pro-life reservations to the outcome document from the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt.
We ALL need to remind the Guatemalan Embassy in New York City of their own country’s laws and constitution.
Below please find the name and contact information for the Head of Delegation who gave Guatemala’s report today.
Reductions in fertility help countries in their development efforts, both at the national level and with the well-being of families and individuals, according to a report of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to this year’s session of the Commission on Population and Development, starting at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday, 11 April.
The Commission, held annually to follow up on the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, will examine the many links between fertility, reproductive health and development, in official meetings and numerous side events.
During the session that runs from 11 to 15 April, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and its partners will host three side events, which underline the centrality of population in national development.
The events include, on Monday, 11 April, “Family Planning: Key to Saving Lives”: an event on how to revitalize interest in, and increase support for, family planning at the international level, with insights from key decision-makers and experts from international organizations, governments and civil society. It will be held in Conference Room C in the North Lawn Building from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Participants will include Purnima Mane, Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA; Miguel Berger, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations;Sharon Camp, President and CEO, Guttmacher Institute; Musimbi Kanyoro, Director Population Programme, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation;Caroline Kwamboka, Advocacy Manager, German Foundation for World Population (DSW) Office in Kenya; and Guy Zoungrana, Senior Technical Adviser, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Office in Burkina Faso.
On Tuesday, 12 April, an event to underscore the close ties between the reproductive health of girls and young women and their overall health, well-being and opportunities, “Putting Girls First”, will be held in Conference Room 1, also in the North Lawn Building, from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Participants will include Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA; Dr. Gill Greer, Director-General, International Planned Parenthood Federation; Judith Bruce, Senior Associate and Policy Analyst, Population Council’s Poverty, Gender, and Youth Programme; and Sadaf Nasim, Volunteer, Rahnuma – Family Planning Association of Pakistan.
On Wednesday, 13 April, an event entitled, “No woman left behind in the fight against NCDs (non-communicable diseases): Towards health services that address breast and cervical cancer”,will include the launch of the Cervical Cancer Action Report on the Progress in Cervical Cancer Prevention, which features global best practices in breast and cervical cancer control.
It will be held from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., also in Conference Room 1 of the North Lawn Building. Participants will include Ms. Mane, Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA; Clover Allen Wilson, Breast Cancer Survivor, introduced by the American Cancer Society; and Scott Wittet, Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH).
You can listen here to an audio recording from the CPD44 side event entitled "No women left behind in the fight against NCDs: towards health services that address breast cancer and cervical cancer"
This event took place on April 13.
Another side event, titled "Putting Girls First", can be listened to here. It took place on April 12.
Go here for a list of the side events.
NYC group: The International Womens Health Coalition (IWHC):
leads global and local actions to secure every woman's right to a just and healthy life. We are creating a world where women are free from discrimination, sexual coercion and violence, and have access to health services and information.
youtube: Youth at the 44th Commission on Population and Development Speak Out
This video is a collaboration among the International Year of Youth strategy partners, the 44th CPD Youth Caucus, International Women's Health Coalition, and Reproductive and Sexual Justice (RESURJ).
Some vimeo video clips from the group RESURJ:
1. RESURJ oral statement at UN CPD 44
2. RESURJistas in Action at CPD!
3. RESURJ is Online!
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.
From the organization Women Deliver:
Goals for the Commission on Population and Development (CPD)
April 11th, 2011
The 44th session of the Commission for Population and Development (CPD) begins today, Monday April 11th , and lasts through the week. Ambassador Brian Bowler of Malawi will chair the session, which will cover the theme of “Fertility, reproductive health and development”. This year’s CPD is particularly significant, and Women Deliver is grateful for the opportunity to participate. As part of our advocacy efforts, we have joined together with other organizations committed to furthering the International Conference on Population and Development’s (ICPD) goals, including sexual and reproductive health and protection of human rights.
In summary, we are working for the following outcomes:
For ICPD and its key actions to be extended beyond 2014;
For comprehensive sexual & reproductive rights and services to be respected and for access to be ensured. This includes access to contraceptives; maternal health care; emergency obstetric care; skilled birth attendance; prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; safe legal abortion services; and quality services for managing complications from unsafe abortion and miscarriages;
For young people to be provided with comprehensive sexuality education, to receive sexual and reproductive services that respect their rights, and for them to be involved in policy and program design; For gender equality and human rights to be placed at the forefront on the path to achieving the ICPD Plan of Action and the MDGs;
For the rights of individuals to control and make their own sexual and reproductive choices to be upheld;
And for all countries to increase financial commitments in order for these outcomes to take place.This week will be critical for the future of sexual and reproductive rights throughout the world. Please stay tuned for our blog posts and tweets throughout the week.
Also from Women Deliver:
Statement by Advocates for Youth at the Commission on Population and Development
A couple of blog posts from the Youth Coalition:
The YC is currently advocating for youth sexual and reproductive rights at the 44th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) in New York from April 11-15th. The Session’s theme of fertility, reproductive health, and development is particularly significant for young people, and the YC delegation is working with youth organizations, International Year of Youth partners, and allies to strongly advocate for the human rights of all young people.
The latest issue of our newsletter, The Watchdog has been distributed to member states and youth advocates throughout CPD44. This edition tackles a number of exciting issues, and also emphasizes government accountability, tangible commitments for ICPD, and addressing young people’s reproductive health from a rights-based perspective.
Check out the CPD issue of The Watchdog here
Youth Oral Statements at CPD44:
On Monday, April 11th, the Youth Coalition held a Youth Caucus on Sexual and Reproductive Rights in collaboration with Advocates for Youth, CHOICE for youth and sexuality, Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), and YouAct.
In addition to developing a youth advocacy strategy for the CPD, a very important output from the Youth Caucus was the preparation of three youth statements on young women’s health, comprehensive sexuality education, and meaningful youth participation. The organizing partners of the caucus drafted the youth statements and then finalized them with over 40 young people who attended the caucus, representing various organizations and countries (including: Azerbaijan, Barbados, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Haiti, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Turkey, and the United States).
The final youth statements were delivered on April 12th and 13th to the Chair of the Commission on Population and Development and the country delegations in plenary.
Meredith Waters from Advocates for Youth delivered the statement on Young Women’s Health;
Rachel Arinii from GYCA delivered the statement on Comprehensive Sexuality Education;
Nadia Ribadeneira González from the Youth Coalition delivered the statement on Meaningful Youth Participation.
The delivery of oral statements presents a significant opportunity for young people to share their advocacy messages regarding sexual and reproductive rights with decision-makers and UN officials.
You can read the full text of the youth statements below
Here's a blog post from "WO = MEN in New York":
Little over one month after the CSW, the world leaders gather again in New York to discuss the issue of "Fertility, Reproductive Health and Development", in light of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action, that was signed in 1994. This annual meeting - the UN Commission on Population and Development - holds its 44th session this week.
We knew already about a year ago, that this session would be spectacular. Of all issues, the world seems to be most divided when it comes to sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality. Discussions around development and how sexual and reproductive health and rights contribute to that, in terms of human rights, public health and eliminating poverty seems to be narrowed down to heated debates about abortion, sexuality education and reproductive health services. At least, by some states of which among in the Arabic region and the Vatican. They would rather have a world without sex (if it is not to make babies).
Obviously, such a world does not exist. And daily, thousands of women, of which many are young, face great challenges and risks in the sexual and reproductive health. In some areas in Sub Sahara Africa, complications around pregnancy and childbirth is the leading cause of death among women aged 15-19. Millions of young people lack access to comprehensive sexuality education and access to commodities and services. Yearly, over 350000 women die needlessly due to these complications, of which are many caused by unsafe abortions.
We know all that. And we are here - again - to remind governments about these facts, and the needs that need to be addressed. More updates, from the UN building, will follow. Stay tuned!
Here are a couple of blog posts from Women's Global Network For Reproductive Rights (WGNRR):
Preparing for the 44th UN Commission on Population and Development:
This morning I joined a feminist planning session prior to the CPD session that starts tomorrow. The most encouraging discussion came from learning about the formation of a new alliance, RESURJ, that has developed an explicit action agenda positioning women’s and young peoples’ human rights, participation in decision making, and accountability at the centre of health and development. The agenda of RESURJ, which, for instance, connects social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights to the realisation of SRRs; places a central focus on the rights of marginalised sectors of society, includes a clear call for safe abortion and post-abortion care as well as universal access to male and female condoms (amongst many other RH priorities) and addresses problems related to intellectual property rights in accessing generic drugs is one which WGNRR will be supportive, and will ally ourselves during the negotiation process at the CPD. Their language suggestions are also ones we would endorse. This meeting was engaging and thought provoking as now we are able to speak in person about our issues, concerns and questions, no longer only communicating through cyberspace.
Later in the afternoon, I attended a much larger meeting of sexual and reproductive health and rights advocates from around the world, where there was diverse strategic caucusing. Language suggestions for country delegations and plans for the week were discussed. It was excellent to meet a number of WGNRR members, allies and partners at this meeting, as up until now, we had only been in contact over email and/or skype.
This morning, SRHR advocates reported on their participation- as civil society delegates - on national delegations at the CPD session, and also provided information on how various blocks of countries are beginning to align themselves, possibly creating a polarisation of positions at the launch of the session negotiations. We learned about new language suggestions proposed by alliances of delegations, including proposals that require a high degree of monitoring by SRHR groups due to the potential to undermine the principles within the ICPD that have come from some Arab countries, Russia, Malta and the Holy See amongst others. We also heard that the UNFPA representative seized the opportunity in the session to position themselves in support of SRHR, advocating clearly for access to safe abortion services and contraceptives and for attention to be placed on the rights of young people.
Today’s session will be even more revealing to hear about, since we just heard that negotiations on more substantial points of the outcome document are beginning.
Being my first time at a session of the Commission on Population and Development, CPD session, it was fascinating to hear about how different delegations are collaborating and strategically positioning themselves to support certain SRHR issues, such as access to post-abortion care (but not abortion services) while opposing other issues, such as young peoples’ access to contraceptives. It was also interesting to hear about ways CSO delegations are able to strategically emphasize prior commitments of national governments, such as those of the African continent to the Maputo declaration, helping to ensure that delegations will not oppose key SRHR concerns.
Excitement amongst advocates peaked during the afternoon when a number of SRHR groups, including ARROW, IPAS, Advocates for Youth and the Red de Salud/Latin American Women’s Health Network read their oral interventions aloud inside the session. We will look forward to hear the report back on how these readings went!
We also got a chance to meet with staff at the Amnesty International office at the Church Center, located across the road from the UN buildings. In the lead up to the ICPD PoA review in October 2014, various national and regional activities will be ongoing -though some of these processes are vague and not clear at the moment. It was therefore useful to speak with AI about their understanding of how community advocates may be able to intervene at different points between now and 2014, and also about strategies for ensuring that advisory/review committees will have expertise in human rights standards and the advocacy/vulnerabilities of human rights defenders.
As the ICPD PoA review will function on a regional level, collaboration between WGNRR members, allies and staff and counterpart AI representatives could create a strong position from which to advance our advocacy. Certainly, WGNRR hopes to work closely with AI and other close allies - including the Center for Reproductive Rights - in order to advance the agenda for the respect of sexual and reproductive rights as human rights, and to assert the promotion and protection of the work of SRR defenders. The meeting at AI ended on a positive note - no doubt you will hear more about upcoming collaborations in the future, so stay posted!
Strengthening Young SRHR Voices in the CPD:
As the strategising amongst feminist and sexual and reproductive health and rights groups continued today, it became clear WGNRR needs to be monitoring the upcoming themes for CPD sessions in 2012-14. In order to find ways to involve a broader range of organisations working locally on these issues, it will also be crucial to engage in ongoing civil society discussions about the ways in which more community level SRR activists could be present and included meaningfully in advocacy for the UN sessions related to the follow up and accountability towards the ICPD PoA. Young SRHR activists caucused today to develop strong oral statements to be read during the CPD sessions, including on comprehensive sexual education. WGNRR urges all CPD delegates to take heed of the passionate, inspiring voices of these young defenders of sexual and reproductive rights in the halls of the UN - and back home, in their own countries - seriously.
Later in the day, I also had the chance to meet with Physicians for Reproductive Health/Global Doctors for Choice. This led to an exciting discussion about how doctors ready to do policy advocacy and referrals related to provision of safe, accessible abortion services could be linked to WGNRR members in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana and also some locations within the Latin American region. Stay posted webs of connections will be forged in advancing in our campaign, advocacy and policy work by linking with progressive medical providers and advocates, including the GDC and the Peoples Health Movement!
Go here for an official UN background document on the Commission.
Summary of CPD44 daily meetings:
This info can be found at the Journal of the United Nations
Monday, 11 April 2011:
2nd meeting:
The Chair made a statement.
Election of officers....................................[1]
The Commission elected Mr. Attila Zimonyi (Hungary) to serve as Vice-Chair of the forty-fourth session.
Designation of a Rapporteur
The Commission appointed the Vice-Chair, Mr. Easton Williams (Jamaica), to serve as Rapporteur of the session.
Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters...............[2]
Adoption of the agenda
The Commission adopted its provisional agenda for the session, as contained in document E/CN.9/2011/1.
Organization of work
Mr. Christophe de Bassompierre (Belgium), Vice-Chair, was designated to chair the informal consultations of the Commission to discuss draft proposals.
The Commission was informed that the deadline for the submission of draft proposals would be Wednesday, 13 April 2011, at 6 p.m.
The Commission approved the organization of work, as contained in document E/CN.9/2011/L.1.
Statements were made by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund and the Director of the Population Division of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs.
Report on the intersessional meetings of the Bureau of the Commission
The Chair introduced the report of the Bureau on its intersessional meetings, as contained in document E/CN. 9/2011/2.
The Commission took note of the report of the Bureau.
Actions in follow up to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development..............................[3]
The Commission began its consideration of agenda item 3 and heard introductory statements by the Chief of the Fertility Section of the Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Director of the Technical Division, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Chief of the Population and Development Branch of the Technical Division, UNFPA.
The Commission began its general discussion of item 3 and heard statements by the representative of the Russian Federation and the observer for Nepal (on behalf of the Group of Least Developed Countries).
The Commission heard a presentation on “Fertility trends and their implications for development”, by the keynote speaker, Mr. John Bongaarts, Population Council.
Following the keynote speech, the Commission engaged in an interactive dialogue, in which the representatives of the United States and Honduras, the observers for the Gambia and Norway and a representative of the Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, participated.
3rd meeting
Actions in follow up to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development
The Commission continued its general discussion of item 3 and heard statements by the representatives of Hungary (on behalf of the European Union; the candidate countries Turkey, Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro; the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia; as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, which aligned themselves with the statement), China, Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as by the observers for Malta, Australia and Estonia.
The Commission thus concluded the general discussion of agenda item 3.
General debate on national experience in population matters: fertility, reproductive health and development
The Commission began its general discussion of item 4 and heard statements by the representatives of Malaysia, the Russian Federation, the United States, Switzerland, China, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Spain, Finland, Croatia, Malawi, Brazil and Kenya, as well as by the observers for Ireland and Jordan.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011:
4th meeting
General debate on national experience in population matters: fertility, reproductive health and development .................................[4]
The Acting Chair opened the meeting.
The Commission continued its general discussion on item 4 and heard statements by the representatives of the Philippines, Bangladesh, Cuba, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Guatemala, Israel and Uganda, as well as by the observers for Mexico, Denmark, Botswana, Portugal, Nigeria and Norway.
The observer of the Holy See also made a statement.
The Commission heard a presentation by the keynote speaker, Ms. Amy Tsui, Professor at John Hopkins University and Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, on “Improving family planning services to achieve universal reproductive health”.
Following the keynote address, the Commission engaged in an interactive dialogue, in which the representatives of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, the United States and the Netherlands, and the observers for Norway and the Gambia, participated.
5th meeting
General debate on national experience in population matters: fertility, reproductive health and development
The Acting Chair opened the meeting.
The Commission continued its general discussion of item 4 and heard statements by the representatives of India, Jamaica, Belarus, Colombia and Belgium, as well as by the observers for Argentina, the Gambia, South Africa, Sweden and Viet Nam.
A statement was also made by the representative of the World Health Organization.
Statements were also made by representatives of the following non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council: Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women; Family Care International; Ipas; Equidad de Género: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia; International Planned Parenthood Federation; World Population Foundation; International Planned Parenthood Federation (Africa Region); Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network; Advocates for Youth; Population Action International; New Zealand Family Planning Association; Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir; Global Youth Action Network; International Planned Parenthood Federation (western hemisphere region); Inter-European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development; and International Planned Parenthood Federation (Europe region).
Wednesday:
6th meeting:
General debate on national experience in population matters: fertility, reproductive health and development.................................[4]
General discussion
The Acting Chair opened the meeting.
The Commission continued its general discussion on item 4 and heard statements by the representative of Ghana and the observers for the Dominican Republic, the Czech Republic, Myanmar, Swaziland and Zambia.
Statements were made by the observer of Partners in Population and Development and the representatives of the World Bank and the International Labour Organization.
Statements were also made by representatives of the following non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council: Action Canada for Population and Development; German Foundation for World Population; World Youth Alliance; Global Helping to Advance Women and Children; Endeavour Forum; Catholic Women’s League Australia; and Centro de Investigación Social, Formación y Estudios de la Mujer.
The Commission heard a presentation by the keynote speaker, Dr. Eunice Brookman-Amissah, on “Addressing global reproductive health challenges”.
Following the keynote address, the Commission engaged in an interactive dialogue, in which the representative of Saint Lucia, the observers for South Africa, Norway and the Niger, as well as a representative of the Centro de Investigación Social, Formación y Estudios de la Mujer, participated.
7th meeting:
General debate on the further implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development in the light of its twentieth anniversary........................................[5]
General discussion
The Acting Chair opened the meeting.
The Commission began its general discussion under item 5.
Introductory statements were made by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, the Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs and the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Hungary (speaking on behalf of the European Union; the candidate countries Turkey, Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro; the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia; as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, which aligned themselves with the statement), the United States, Indonesia, the Netherlands and China, and by the observers for Egypt and Norway.
A statement was also made by the observer of the International Organization for Migration.
Statements were also made by representatives of the following non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council: International Federation of University Women; and Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer.
The Commission thus concluded its consideration of item 5.
General debate on national experience in population matters: fertility, reproductive health and development.................................[4]
Statements were made by representatives of the following non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council: International Women’s Health Coalition; and World Mission Foundation.
The Commission thus concluded its consideration of item 4.
There is a reason the 9/11 hijackers didn’t target the UN building. They all serve the same lord of death.
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