Transcript Human Rights-Based Approach to Programming - UNFPA SESSION 4: Reproductive Health Session Overview • Introduction to UNFPA’s work in sexual and reproductive health • Reproductive health.

Human Rights-Based
Approach to Programming
- UNFPA SESSION 4:
Reproductive Health
Session Overview
• Introduction to UNFPA’s work in sexual and
reproductive health
• Reproductive health and culture
• Reproductive health and the MDGs
• ICPD and reproductive rights
• Definition of reproductive rights
• Examples of UNFPA’s work in sexual and
reproductive health
• Introduction to the case study
• Conclusions
Introduction
• UNFPA:
– is the leading UN agency on promoting sexual and
reproductive health
– spends the majority of its resources on programming
in this area
• Advancing sexual and reproductive health and
reproductive rights is essential to achieving ICPD goals,
and, ultimately, to addressing the roots of poverty.
• UNFPA’s goal in this area is universal access to
reproductive health
Reproductive Health and
Culture
• Essential to account for culture when supporting sexual
and reproductive health programmes
• Intersections between human rights, gender and culture
greatly emphasized in area of sexual and reproductive
health
• Cultural beliefs and attitudes have enormous impact on
sexual and reproductive health choices
• Working from within a culture is essential
– working with faith-based organizations, religious leaders,
religious NGOs, cultural leaders, etc.
Reproductive Health, Gender
• In order to make universal access to sexual and
reproductive health a reality, it is essential to focus on
gender equality and women’s empowerment
Reproductive Health and the
MDGs
• Importance of reproductive health for
achieving the MDGs recognized at the
2005 World Summit with the addition of a
new target on universal access to
reproductive health by 2015 under MDG 5
(improve maternal health)
ICPD & Reproductive Rights
• ICPD Programme of Action articulated and
affirmed idea that reproductive rights
embrace rights established in national
laws and earlier international human rights
documents and other consensus
documents
Reproductive Rights
• “Reproductive rights embrace certain human rights that
are already recognized in national laws, international
laws and international human rights documents and
other consensus documents. These rights rest on the
recognition of the basic rights of all couples and
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing and timing of their children and to have the
information and means to do so, and the right to attain
the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. It
also includes the right to make decisions concerning
reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and
violence, as expressed in human rights documents.”
— ICPD Programme of Action, para. 7.3
Examples of UNFPA’s
Reproductive Health Work (1)
• Supporting governments in their implementation of the
ICPD Programme of Action, tracking progress and
monitoring results
• Working with civil society, including faith-based
organizations (FBOs), to advocate for and support the
advancement of ICPD goals
Examples of UNFPA’s
Reproductive Health Work (2)
• Focus on the ‘life-cycle approach’ to sexual and
reproductive health
• Includes helping countries to:
– respond to adolescents’ and young people’s SRH
needs
– prevent maternal mortality and morbidity
– provide women and men (including elderly women
and men) with the sexual and reproductive health
information, goods and services they require
Examples of UNFPA’s
Reproductive Health Work (3)
• Invests in addressing cross-thematic and intersecting areas of:
– population, poverty and development
– reproductive rights, including HIV/AIDS
– issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment within
poverty reduction strategies
• UNFPA is designated lead agency for provision of:
– HIV prevention-related information and education
– condom programming
– HIV prevention for young people outside schools
– prevention efforts targeting excluded groups, which includes
leading the UN response in the area of sex work (UNAIDS
Division of Labour)
Examples of UNFPA’s
Reproductive Health Work (4)
• Lead agency for providing sexual and
reproductive health services in emergency
response
Reproductive Rights: Standards
and Obligations
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive rights
encompass
Progressive
Realization
Freedoms
Vulnerabilities
Entitlements
Reproductive Rights: Standards
and Obligations
Availability
Accessibility
Acceptability
Quality
Respect
Legal Framework
Protect
3AQ
Fulfil
Principles
Universality
Participation
and Inclusion
Equality and
Non-discrimination
Accountability and
Rule of Law
Interdependence
and Indivisibility
Example: Indivisibility
• How can you implement the principle of
indivisibility when programming in
reproductive health?
Example: Interrelatedness &
Interdependence
• How can you implement the principles of
interdependence and interrelatedness in
your reproductive health programme?
Example: Universality
• How can you implement the principle of
universality in your SRH programme?
Example: Participation
• How can you ensure attention to the
principle of participation throughout your
SRH programme?
Example: Equality and Nondiscrimination
• How can you ensure that your SRH
programme does not discriminate?
Example: Accountability
• How can you ensure accountability in your
SRH programme?
– Accountability of the government?
– UNFPA’s accountability? (To whom?)
– Accountability of service providers?
Example: the 3AQ
• How can you ensure attention to the
standards of:
– availability
– accessibility
– acceptability
– quality
Conclusion: The Value Added of a HRBA in
a SRH Programme (1)
1. Grounding reproductive health programming in a
human rights framework clarifies the obligations and
responsibilities of duty-bearers to protect, promote and
fulfil reproductive rights.
2. Impressing upon a government the fact that it has legal
obligations to provide access to reproductive health
services is useful when dealing with the sensitive
issues that fall under UNFPA’s mandate in this area.
Conclusion: The Value Added of a
HRBA in a SRH Programme (2)
3. By encouraging the participation and inclusion of
marginalized groups, a HRBA helps to ensure that
sexual and reproductive health goods, information and
services are tailored to the needs of these groups.
4. Implementing the principles of equality and nondiscrimination will shed light on groups whose sexual
and reproductive health has been particularly
neglected. Focusing on the most neglected groups is
essential if the global goal of universal access to
reproductive health is ever to be attained.
Conclusion: The Value Added of a
HRBA in a SRH Programme (3)
5. It is important to keep in mind the human
rights principles of universality and
inalienability, indivisibility, interdependence
and interrelatedness
6. The emphasis on accountability and Rule of
Law promotes the creation and
implementation of national laws and policies
that advance reproductive health and rights.
Conclusion: The Value-Added of a
HRBA in a SRH Programme (5)
7. By adopting a HRBA, the message is
conveyed that one has the right not only
to SRH services, but to quality services,
and that these services should not just
be made available, but should also be
accessible and acceptable to all groups.