Assessing the Fourth Session of the Open Working Group

Looking back at the Fourth Session of the Open Working Group (OWG4), it is possible to see the commitment of a number of Governments to the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health and rights. This was particularly evident in the statement that was delivered by H.E. Ambassador Jose Luis Cancela, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations, on behalf of the Governments of Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Mozambique, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Slovenia, Turkey, United Kingdom. It was unique as it was a major cross-regional statement from countries in Latin America, Africa, the Pacific, Eastern Europe, as well as countries in Western Europe.

In addition to calls to eliminate gender- and age-discriminatory legal provisions and practices, in areas such as education, health and decent work, there is a strong call to fulfill the ‘unfinished’ promise of the Millennium Development Goals in health and population dynamics, including universal access to health care and affordable sexual and reproductive health, information, education and services and comprehensive sexuality education. It also included creating an enabling environment for the exercise of human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.

There were a number of other supportive statements in favour of the inclusion of sexual and reproductive health and rights, including a very strong one from the Netherlands, at the end of which there was a call to save the planet, save the environment, save lives, and to implement ICPD. At the very end of the meeting after the introduction of the Co-Chair’ Summary (See below) there was an intervention by the United Arab Emirates, following one from Saudi Arabia, in which the delegate made the link between same sex marriages and lower birthrates in Europe. The Co-Chair replied that he did not believe that anyone had correlated sexual orientation with sustainable development and the France also responded. It was, however, a wake-up call that much work remains to be done, if sexual and reproductive health and rights are to be included fully in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Co-Chairs’ Summary bullet points from OWG-4

In their Summary, the Co-Chairs recognized that not all their priorities are “goalable”. They also emphasized the need for disaggregated data to address inequalities and track progress in reaching vulnerable populations. Youth concerns, moreover, need to be reflected across goals, especially in relation to education, health and employment.

They recognized that health is a right and a goal in its own right, as well as a means of measuring success across the whole sustainable development agenda. It should encompass broad well-being. Universal health coverage; equitable access to quality basic health services; and health promotion, prevention, treatment and financial risk protection were all addressed. Health MDGs, moreover, could all be integrated as targets under an overarching universal health goal. The need to include communicable as well as non-communicable diseases was recognized as well as addressing access and health needs of persons with disabilities. In the context of equal access of women and girls to health-care services, women’s sexual and reproductive health was included together with the importance of ensuring universal access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning.

Other areas that should be addressed in the context of population dynamics included ageing and the demographic realities facing different regions of the world. Developing countries with growing youth populations can reap a demographic dividend, provided the complementary policies to foster economic dynamism and job creation were in place. Migration can also bring development benefits.

Co-Chair’s meetings with the Major Groups and other Stakeholders

Each morning during the session the Co-chairs and Member States of the Open Working Group continued the interaction with the stakeholders through three hour-long morning meetings with the Major Groups and other stakeholders during the fourth session. Presentations were made by two stakeholder panelists and were followed by several interventions from the floor.

Young people

Youth unemployment was raised as a key future challenges in both developed and developing countries. At the same time education was seen as an enabler for progress in other fields, including health and employment. There is a need to shift the focus from access to education to quality education, including adequate facilities, qualified teachers, good home-conditions, promotion of innovation and civic- mindedness as well as measurable learning outcomes.

Health and population dynamics

Referring to health and population dynamics, participants noted the need to take data on population dynamics into account in all policy planning. Planning, moreover, should be address key trends, such as the youth bulge in some countries, ageing population in others, and migration and urbanization.

Universal health coverage was raised by many as a possible goal as an important tool to foster healthy populations. Elimination of user fees and focus on access for most marginalized groups was also  highlighted.

Many participants stressed the importance of sexual and reproductive health education and rights for young people and their linkage to the ability to get education and employment, especially for girls. This was also seen as a way of empowerment.

The full summary is available here.