UN Commission on Population and Development begins its work in New York

The 47^th Session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) opened on Monday 7 April, the main agenda item being the review of, and advance priorities for the future implementation of the ICPD.

800 NGOs had registered to attend CPD to participate. However, despite the ECOSOC guidelines for civil society participation and the removal of restrictions, which would bar non-ECOSOC-accredited NGOs from attending, participation was restricted. They had to queue for hours to gain access to the building and were issued two-day passes while the CPD is lasting for five days.

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Major Groups statement on health to OWG-10

Representatives of the Major Group and Other Stakeholders made presentations to the 10^th Session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development (OWG-10) during the afternoon session on Wednesday 2 April. Sarah Gold, International Women’s Health Coalition spoke on behalf on a number of Major Groups on a stand-alone goal on Ensuring healthy lives.

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African CSOs release Pre-CPD Consultations Communiqué

We have received the following from the International Planned Parenthood Federation: 

In September 2013 African civil society held consultations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that culminated in a consensus position of civil society on African priorities, including the need to mainstream 'human rights' in all development policies.

A follow-up pre-CPD and Post 2015 consultative meeting was then held in Nairobi, Kenya on 5- 7 March 2014. The meeting was organized by the International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa Region (IPPFAR) in collaboration with United Nations Population Fund and aimed to continue the momentum on mobilizing civil society around Beyond 2014 and post 2015.

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Webinar to be convened by Beyond 2014 with the UN PGA on the role of partnerships

The following information has been received from Beyond 2015 on a webinar with the UN PGA on the role of parterships:

On April 2, 10am New York time, Beyond 2015 will convene a webinar with the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly (PGA) , in advance of their meeting on the Role of Partnerships (April 8 and 9, New York).

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Actions We Need for the Future We Want — A Civil Society Red Flag

In response to the strong resistance to talk about human rights as central to development during the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58) and the 9th Session of the Open Working Group (OWG-9) on Sustainable Development Goals, concerned civil society organizations have developed the Civil Society Red Flag statement (En/Pt/Es).

You are invited to sign and be one of the thousand signatures by April 3rd, 2014 towards the end of OWG-10 and before the CPD.

Invitation to sign Amnesty International and RESURJ petition

Amnesty International and RESURJ have launched an international petition calling on the world leaders to prioritise the health and human rights of young people, particularly young women and adolescent girls, in the ICPD+20 and post-2015 development agenda. It calls on governments to ensure: 

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UN Commission Calls for Increased Efforts to Promote Gender Equality and a Stand-Alone Goal on Gender Equality in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the 58th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women ended with a strong call in its outcome document, the Agreed Conclusions, to prioritize gender equality and the human rights of women in order to achieve sustainable development.

The Commission addressed the challenges and achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in improving the lives of women and girls in developing countries. While the MDGs resulted in a reduction of poverty in some respects, the goals furthest from being achieved are those focused on women and girls—particularly on achieving gender equality and improving maternal health.

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UN Economic and Social Council selects theme for 2nd meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development

At its meeting on 18 March, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) decided the theme for the next meeting of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development that will be convened for the first time under its auspices, 7 – 9 July 2014.

Acting by consensus, ECOSOC decided that the theme would be “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals and charting the way for an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, including the sustainable development goals”.

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NGO participation in Commission on Population and Development

NGOs not in consultative status with ECOSOC (including all civil society, academia and private sector organizations) can also attend the Commission on Population and Development (CPD)!

The deadline for pre-registering is noon EST, 28 March 2014. The CPD Bureau will then review applications and notify NGOs about their approval on 2 April. For further information see: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/commission/ngo/faq.shtml

Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals: Documents released for Session 10

The documents have been released by the Co-Chairs for the 10^th session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG-10). They are

•  Letter from the Co-Chairs, 18 March 2014 
•  Revised Focus Areas Document
•  Annex Document of Interlinkages
•  Programme of Work

It can be seen from these documents that the OWG is now going to move quickly to the development goals and targets. These documents are therefore extremely important, as they not only indicate how the Co-Chairs see this process developing but also as to what should be included …and also what is missing.

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