The High Level Task Force (HLTF), which is co-chaired by former Presidents Tarja Halonen of Finland and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique has appointed Maria Jose Alcalá as the Director of its Secretariat.
The Task Force will help to “galvanize political will to support and advance the ICPD and subsequent agreements on sexual and reproductive health and rights as part of the ICPD+20 and MDGs+15 review processes and the follow-up work on Rio+20”. It will produce a position paper based on wide national and international consultations to provide “a bold strategic vision that will be used to inspire both government leaders and civil society to mobilize the strongest possible support for sexual and reproductive rights in the ICPD+20, MDGs+15, and the post 2015 development agenda.”
Maria Jose Alcalá has many years of experience both with the UN and with NGOs working on issues including sexual and reproductive health and rights, human rights, gender and women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, poverty and adolescent and youth rights. Having worked with Family Care International and UNFPA, she has most recently served as Chief of Section and Senior Advisor of the Ending Violence against Women Section at UN Women.
Press release:
(New York, July 23rd, 2012) –The High Level Task Force (HLTF) for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) today appointed Maria Jose Alcalá as Director of its Secretariat.
Co-chaired by former Presidents Tarja Halonen (Finland) and Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique) and composed of experienced and influential international government and civil society leaders, the newly-established Task Force will help galvanize political will to support and advance the ICPD and subsequent agreements on sexual and reproductive health and rights as part of the ICPD+20 and MDGs+15 review processes and the follow-up work on Rio+20. The Task Force will produce a position paper based on wide national and international consultations. The paper is expected to articulate a bold strategic vision that will be used to inspire both government leaders and civil society to mobilize the strongest possible support for sexual and reproductive rights in the ICPD+20, MDGs+15, and the post 2015 development agenda.
Maria Jose Alcalá brings a wealth of experience in international development both at the UN and with non-governmental organizations in policy-oriented advocacy and strategy development. Over the past 20 years, her work has focused on human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality/women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, poverty and adolescent and youth rights.
Alcalá recently served as Chief of Section and Senior Advisor of the Ending Violence against Women Section at UN Women. In this role, she provided overall strategic direction, policy advice, programming guidance, technical assistance and led advocacy efforts related to violence against women. As former head of the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, Alcalá helped bring global attention to the issue while raising visibility of the Fund.
Prior to her tenure at UN Women, Alcalá served in various capacities over a decade at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), including as an advisor on youth, gender and HIV/AIDS. While working with NGOs in the 1990s, she played a key role in mobilizing a global advocacy coalition and developing the key consensus documents on negotiation language that influenced the final agreements at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Alcalá will support the co-chairs of the Task Force and its members in carrying out their duties and also work closely with national and global civil society organizations, including women’s rights, youth, and sexual and reproductive health and rights groups and networks worldwide.
Born in Argentina and a national of Spain, Ms. Alcalá holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs (International Political Economy) from Columbia University. She will assume her new position as Director of the Secretariat of the Task Force on August 1st, 2012. She will be based at the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region office in New York, which hosts the HLTF Secretariat. Please join us in welcoming her!