Countdown 2015 Europe News

(Brussels, 08/03/2013) Gender inequality poses a serious threat towards progress on the Millennium Development Goals, warns CONCORD, the European confederation of Relief and Development NGOs on International Women’s Day.

The European Commission recently proposed that a greater emphasis should be placed on the promotion and protection of women’s and girls’ rights and gender equality in its Communication on the future development framework post-2015.

For CONCORD, gender issues must be at the centre of poverty eradication efforts.

Education crucial

“Girls education is critical to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. We know that girls who receive a quality basic education are more likely to marry later, have fewer, healthier children, and earn more. Quality basic education can have a transformational effect on girls, making them drivers of lasting change in their families, communities and countries.” Says Karen Schroh, Head of Plan EU Office.

Gender based violence overlooked

“Gender Based Violence is one of the most pervasive and yet dramatically under-addressed human rights abuses in the world. Disturbingly, one billion women will be victims of sexual violence in their lifetime, with widespread consequences for individuals, families, communities and economies. We call on the EU to use their international power to shape the post-2015 development agenda to prioritise the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence.” says Ester Asin Martinez,  EU Representative at CARE International.

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights fundamental

“Gender equality will only be possible when every woman and every man will be enabled to make informed choices about their body, sexuality, health, marriage and whether or not to have children, and when, and how many. When women and girls are empowered and have access to their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, they will be able to take control of their lives. It is now the moment to work together towards a rights-based framework that puts women and girls front and center in its development.” says Eef Wuyts, International Advocacy Manager at the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network:

Future development framework

CONCORD believes the new post-2015 development framework can act as a catalyst for progress on gender equality, but for it to be successful and truly transformational, gender equality must be both mainstreamed as well as addressed in a specific goal. It must also be tackled holistically, which means covering all spheres of life, from social issues such as health and education to economic empowerment, political participation, and the power to take their own decisions about their lives. It must also directly address the issue of violence against women and girls, which remains one of the biggest barriers to achieving gender equality.

1)     The EU announced that 90% of its citizens believe gender equality improves the way societies function and that all aid programmes should take specific account of women’s rights, according to a Eurobarometer survey published on 7 March.

2)     The threat to progress is affected by the ongoing global recession, with a decrease in primary school completion for girls and increased risks for infant mortality, research by Plan and ODI shows

CONCORD is the European NGO confederation for Relief and Development.  Its 27 national associations, 18 international networks and 2 associate members represent 1,800 NGOs which are supported by millions of citizens across Europe. CONCORD leads reflection and political actions and regularly engages in dialogue with the European institutions and other civil society organisations. At global level, CONCORD is actively involved in the Open Forum for CSO Development effectiveness, the Beyond 2015 campaign, BetterAid and the International Forum of NGO platforms. www.concordeurope.org. 

Following the UN”s global consultation on health and ahead of the high-level meeting on March 5-6 in Botswana, Countdown 2015 Europe issued some  recommendations addressed to stakeholders and governmental representatives participating to such meeting.

The Consortium firmly supports the fact that sexual and reproductive health and rights are essential preconditions for health, human  well-being and social  development. A maximized  healthy  life  expectancy will  not  be  achieved  without  ensuring  sexual  and  reproductive  health  and  rights. Therefore,  it is strongly recommended  that sexual  and  reproductive  health  and rights  are  explicitly  included in  the  health  related goals  and  indicators  within  the  post-2015  agenda:  what  gets  measured  gets  done.

For  the  thematic  consultation  on  health  and  the  Botswana  meeting  5-6  March  2013,   the  following  points  are highlighted as being crucial:

1.  Finish the unfinished business – improve women´s and girl´s health

2.  Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights – the fast way forward

3.  Equal access and equal rights –is the right thing to do

Read the full text of the recommendations here.

Given the relevance of the discussions about the post-MDGs development framework for Countdown 2015 Europe’s work, the consortium contributed to the consultation on the role of health in the post-2015 agenda. The consultation is managed by a platform co-convened by WHO and UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government of Sweden and the Government of Botswana.

Please find here below an extract of the Countdown 2015 Europe’s contribution to the Global Thematic Consultation on Health. You can find the full submission here.

“We are pleased to see that the draft report clearly recognizes the importance of access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, as a crucial component in order to advance the future health achievements within the post-2015 agenda. We would also like to applaud that the draft is firmly rooted in human rights principles, as well as addressing the links between health and the wider social determinants of health, inequalities, gender inequalities, justice and development. This is clearly highlighted in Chapter 4 which also points out that the MDGs 3,4,5 and 6, are directly dependent (MDG 1,2,7,8 indirectly) on the sexual and reproductive health and  rights of women and girls (page 11).

However, we believe that the human rights based approach including; empowerment, participation, non-discrimination and accountability, particularly when it comes to the positive effect of strengthening women´s and youth sexual and reproductive health and rights, could be further detailed in the text. Participating and empowered women and youths – are important agents of change and duty holders for a healthier life and for a sustainable, just and inclusive development. The report of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HR/21/22, 2 July 2012) offers technical guidance on the human rights based approach to reduce preventable maternal morbidity and mortality, which we recommend to include as a point of reference to strengthen the text, including the suggested indicators in this regard.

Furthermore, policies in regards to population dynamics need to be formulated in a way that does not only address the needs of the people, but also proactively protect and respect  human rights and women´s choice (according to the ICPD PoA) (page 13)”

Click here for the full text.

In January 2013, the position paper “TOWARDS A POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK” was launched by EuroNGOs, Countdown 2015 Europe, IPPF EN and ASTRA.

This paper reflects the common position of  the European sexual and reproductive health and rights community on the post-2015 development framework, explaining mainly how the key European networks see SRHR feature in it.  EuroNGOs, Countdown 2015 Europe, IPPF EN and ASTRA have worked together to outline the key principles to achieve the common goal of ensuring that the next global agreement takes a human-rights-based approach to development and has a strong and explicit focus on SRHR.

The paper was developed through internal consultations carried out between December and January by each network and based on a number of strategic documents and outcomes of meetings held in 2012. It is structured around 4 sections:
- Vision for the post- 2015 framework
- Three priorities for the post-2015 framework
- Changing perspective: a multi-level framework
- Learning from the past

Please, read the position paper here.