African
government leaders attending the recent Ministerial Segment of the African
Regional Conference on Population and Development, organized by the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union (AU) and the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), voiced opposition to a
well-orchestrated and coordinated effort to advance the radical agenda of
"sexual and reproductive health and rights". The meeting in Addis
Ababa from October 3-4 was intended to evaluate the implementation of the Cairo
Programme of Action in Africa and plan for the future with the theme Harnessing the Demographic Dividend:
The Africa we wantbut the proposed outcome document
was confronted by resistance.
Ministers were
especially troubled by language that promoted a human rights agenda
"without distinction of any kind" fearing it was an elastic term that
would be used to pressure them on the undefined and ambiguous term
"sexual and reproductive rights" that conflicts with their countries'
cultural and religious values, especially in the area of homosexuality.
According to an inside source, 17 countries issued reservations to three
Articles of the draft Addis Ababa Declaration after much debate and refused to
be lulled by inclusion of the phrase "according to national law and
policies" in the contested Articles. (Such phrasing normally placates
countries' opposition during U.N. negotiations.)
Despite
these concerns and reservations, the outcome declaration with reservations was
adopted by consensus. At press time it was still not available online. The
African meeting, along with other regional ICPD and MDG reviews, are intended
to build support for highlighting "sexual and reproductive health and
rights" in the Post 2015 Agenda.
In remarks to the African ministers, UNFPA Executive Director,
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, expressed his support for the preeminence of 'sexual
and reproductive health and reproductive rights' in the new development goals
stating, "Ensuring the right to make basic choices in respect of one's
sexuality and reproduction is a pre-requisite to the fulfilment of human
potential, particularly for women and adolescents who are socially or
economically disadvantaged."
He
continued, "I am pleased that Africa has come up with its own set of
priorities that can be taken forward into the post 2015 development and African
2063 agenda."
Pressure
to advance the agenda at the meeting came from different fronts. As the meeting
began, the High-Level Task Force for ICPD
issued
policy recommendations to the African leaders which called on countries
to adopt legal and policy reforms to ensure "all people can enjoy their
sexual and reproductive rights". Included in the suggested actions is
"expanding access to safe, legal abortion services".
The Task
Force also called on African governments to follow four key recommendations,
which it considers to be priority objectives in both the regional agenda for
Cairo beyond 2014 and in the Post-2015 global development agenda. The Addis
Ababa Declaration appears to have followed that advice and according to our
source includes:
1.
Respect, protect and fulfill sexual and reproductive rights for
all - through legal and policy reforms and public education campaigns and
community mobilization on human rights;
2.
Accelerate universal access to quality, comprehensive and
integrated sexual and reproductive health information, education and services;
3.
Guarantee universal access to comprehensive sexuality education
for all young people, in and out of school; and,
4.
Eliminate violence against women and girls and secure universal
access to critical services for all victims and survivors of gender-based
violence.
Prior to
the start of the meeting, IPPF had organized two related gatherings--one for
youth and one for civil society-- which also issued statements to the
ministers' meeting promoting access to abortion and the broad radical agenda.
ICPD
Beyond 2014 highlighted the importance of the outcome document stating, After
days of intense discussions, informed by preparatory meetings of technical
experts, civil society and youth organizations from across the region, delegates
adopted the declaration which will be the region's input to next year's UN
General Assembly review of the ICPD. This will, in turn, inform global
consultations on development priorities succeeding the Millennium Development
Goals.
Clearly,
the next development goals are being hijacked for promotion of a contentious
agenda which has little to do with development.
PNCI
strongly advises close monitoring of any and all national actions associated
with Beyond 2014 and the Post 2015 development agenda.
UPDATE
The
Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development in Africa beyond 2014 is
available here. However, the reservations from 16 countries are not officially recorded in the
document but are noted in a separate “Transmission Note”.