Hon. Ms. Ciara Conway, MP Ireland, stated that her country has the largest young population in Europe where overall 40% of the population is under 25 years. She pointed out that growth in population is not the only cause of poverty and “Investing in reproductive and sexual health is a key to the population challenge”. Hon. Mr. Eric Prasana Weerawardhana, MP Sri Lanka, pointed out that “It is our responsibility, legislators, to formulate and implement appropriate population policies” to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by changing population structures. “Ignoring the ICPD agenda was a violation of human rights and not acceptable”, said Hon. Ms. Linda Machuca, MP, Ecuador expressing her concern over lack of political will, the strong influence of religion on politics, and lack of gender budgeting resulting in empty promises rather than action taken to attain the ICPD goals. Hon. Mr. Moses Kunkuyu Kalonga Shawa, MP Malawi, said “Challenges like poverty, unemployment will remain so unless there are policies that address population issues” citing the progress that his country has made in reducing the population growth rate.

or gaps that perpetuate inequality is a must and key to adopting human rights’ approach towards improving maternal health”.

Hon. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, Bangladesh shared that the maternalallowance programme implemented in his country provides women a stipend during their pregnancy but is only applicable for women with one child.

Hon. Ms. Manuela D’avila, MP Brazil moderated the session ‘Reproductive rights are human rights’. “ICPD promise of informed choice and a range of contraceptive methods to women still seems distant to many women” said Ms. Racherla Sai Jyothirmai, Programme Officer, Asian-Pacific Resource Centre for Women (ARROW). She cited examples of provider bias of contraceptives and expressed her concern over men’s limited role in use of contraception, calling for men and women to share equal responsibility over SRH decisions as a couple. “In the context of human rights, the unmet needs for contraception are perhaps the simple most effective measure of the lack of universal access to family planning” said Mr. Jerrold W. Huguet, Consultant on Population, Social Development Division, UNESCAP while discussing the various barriers to contraceptive usage across the world.

Ms. Aruna Kashyap, Asia Researcher, Human Rights Watch, urged parliamentarians to look at the maternal death beyond numbers “Examining policies

There was extensive discussion among the participants about whether or not this could be considered a rights-based approach.

Hon. Cong. Raymond Palatino, MP Philippines shared his country’s experience trying to get a reproductive health bill passed and how they are dealing with huge opposition from religious groups saying “We have to identify allies within the religious community who can be used to articulate what needs to be said to influence their counterparts”.

Ms. Racherla Sai Jyothirmai, Programme Officer, ARROW, raised her concern on sex education which is not encouraged in Malaysia. She said, “Unless young people understand what is happening to their bodies, they cannot control their lives”.

Hon. Ms. Tshewang Lhamo, MP Bhutan suggested that
educating the mothers is a possible approach in countries where discussing sex is taboo.

Hon. Mr. Bagalatia Arone, MP Botswana moderated a session on the role of women in society in terms of culture and rights. “Being sensitive to context is the key in every intervention and each cultural context is different and equally important” said Dr. Azza Karam, Senior Adviser on Culture, UNFPA during her presentation on the importance of culture in development and cultural agents.

Dr. Aurora Parong, Director, Amnesty International, Philippines, then pointed out, “Challenge is to be open to modernization without putting in jeopardy traditional culture and empowering women will help them to claim their rights and to eliminate inhumane tradition”. “Cultural and traditional barriers are still easier to pass compared to religious barriers” said Hon. Mr. Samy El Gemayel, MP Lebanon noting that while his country was a signatory to CEDAW, implementation is still a problem as many have reservations regarding laws on family and marriage.

During the discussion Hon. Ms. Meutya Hafids Viada, MP Indonesian, shared her country’s achievements including creating a national institution on family planning, passage of a new law on family planning and development, and working to increase women’s participation in the parliament. “Women should get more involved and participate in public life; and with public awareness, it is possible for women to claim their rights”, said Hon. Manuela D’avila, MP Brazil. She further added, “It is more difficult to change attitudes and behaviors but it is of utmost importance in upholding human rights”.

Mr. Neil Datta, Secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum (EPF) spoke on opposition to SRHR pointing out that it is the only global health issue where some consider it acceptable to use non-evidence based arguments and refer to religious teachings for interventions. He also noted that SRHR is a highly politicized issue in donor countries with an organized movement against it. “When confronted with potential opposition, the questions that need to be asked revolve around whether the proposed measure offers more or less rights, and whether it is evidence/science based”.


Mr. Ramon San Pascual, Executive Director, Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) shared his organization’s three pronged strategy in moving the reproductive health bill. These included starting a bigger advocacy movement outside the parliament, moving the bill through the legislative process, and forming coalitions and network’s in support of the Bill’s implementation. He stated “Policy making is one of the main cures towards erasing misconceptions on ICPD, and policy makers can be and are change agents”.

From top: Hon. Ms. Rathika Sitsabaiesan, MP Canada; Hon. Ms. Manuela D’avila, MP Brazil; Hon. Mr. Fidelis Macdonald Mmilili Molao, MP and Hon. Mr. Bagalatia Arone, MP Botswana; Hon. Ms. Meutya Hafids Viada, MP Indonesia; Hon. Mr. Zviad Kukava, MP Georgia; Hon. Ms. Gloria Maria Anaya Perla, MP El Salvador; Hon. Ms. Linda Machuca, MP Ecuador; Hon. Mrs. Hanine Khuidja, MP Morocco; Hon. Mr. Jermaine Wade, MP Montserrat; Hon. Mr. Moses Kunkuyu Kalongashawa, MP and Hon. Ms. Benardetta Mlakamalilo, MP Malawi; Hon. Mr. Liew Chin Tong, MP Malaysia; Hon. Mr. Samy Gemayel, MP Lebanon; Hon. Ms. Yrgal Karmyshakovna Kadyralieva, MP Kyrgyztan; Hon. Ms. Ciara Conway, MP Ireland; Hon. Mr. António Rosário Niquice, MP Mozambique; Hon. Ms. Renu Chand, MP Nepal; Hon. Ms. Stine Renate Haheim, MP Norway; Hon. Ms. Sabeen Rizwi, MP Pakistan; Hon. Cong. Raymond Palatino, MP Philippines; Hon. Ms. Luciana Leon, MP Peru; Hon. Mr. Eric Prasanna Weerawardhana, MP Sri Lanka; Hon. Mr. Oliver Chirume, MP Zimbabwe; Hon. Ms. Tshewang Lhamo, MP Bhutan; Hon. Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP and Hon. Mr. Tanvir Shakil Joy, MP Bangladesh

“It is important that challenges are approached from a youth perspective as they are most vulnerable and worst affected” said Hon. Mr. Antonio Rosario Niquice, MP Mozambique, noting that unemployment, especially among young people, is a big issue in his country. Sharing her country’s experience on gender bias within the parliament, Hon. Ms. Sabeen Rizwi, MP Pakistan, stated that raising awareness on gender equality is extremely important “If mothers are educated, they can raise well aware children”.

Hon. Ms. Ciara Conway, MP Ireland called for “empowerment of young people through education” as a key solution to most issues. She also raised the issue of youth migration for employment opportunities. “Globalization cannot be seen as positive or negative” said Hon. Sen. Malaka Parker, MP Antigua and Barbuda, stating that many aspects must be considered. She raised the issue of climate change and its impact on employment citing the experience of the Caribbean where natural disasters take a huge toll on tourism, which employs 80% of the population. “Climate change is a real threat and danger to everyone in the world, but does not get its due importance since one cannot see the actual impact for many years to come”.


of structure and networks, saying “Countries with lack of support should come together and work on the issues of health, population and development in order to move forward”.

The meeting concluded with the Parliamentarians adoption of parliamentary advocacy and policy actions including the use of media in promoting population issues and working with parliamentary group focusing on reproductive

Ms. Leyla Alyanak, External Relations Adviser, UNFPA shared some strategies for using media and communication for ICPD advocacy. “The key is to remember to keep messages simple, know the target audience and make sure they understand the message by using media they use”. She also stressed the importance of relationship building and networking to collaborate towards achieving a larger goal. Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director, AFPPD, focused on the important aspects

health and development issues to ensure greater commitment at the advocacy, policy and programmes levels. In addition, the participants renewed their commitment towards human rights and becoming more active advocates for the implementation of the ICPD in their respective countries.

The UNFPA Strategy Meeting on Partnerships with Parliamentarians was held on Thursday 17 November 2011 in Krabi, Thailand to review the status of parliamentary advocacy on population and development and identify work priorities at the global, regional and national levels. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Safiye Cagar, Director, IERD, UNFPA and facilitated by Ms. Ragaa Said, Parliamentary Affairs Specialist, IERD, UNFPA.

Ms. Galanne Deressa, Programme Specialist, UNFPA-APRO presented an overview of the mid-term review process for the UNFPA strategic plan. The strategic plan was evaluated in terms of management results framework and development results framework. Principles used to address the challenges that were identified in the review include consolidating areas of focus by prioritizing interests that will have maximum impact on the achieving the ICPD Programme of Action; focusing on the comparative advantages, needs, capacities, and interests of the countries; finding ways to improve and expand collaboration and reduce inefficiencies; and improve measurability by selecting indicators that can be used to demonstrate the degree of progress made. She also reminded participants of UNFPA’s vision which is to achieve universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (including Family Planning), to promote reproductive rights, reduce maternal mortality, and to accelerate progress on the ICPD agenda and MDG5 (A&B) in order to empower the lives of underserved populations, especial ly women and young
(including adolescents), enabled by an understanding of population dynamics, human rights, and gender equality.

Participants at the meeting included UNFPA regional focal points for parliamentary advocacy and partnership and representatives from regional parliamentary groups on population and development. UNFPA representatives set the context for their continued support to parliamentary advocacy for 2012-2013 and reviewed their current partnership with parliamentarians at global and regional levels.

Participants discussed new opportunities for advocacy with parliamentarians deliberating on the implications of the strategic plan, specific thematic areas of focus and comparative advantages of working at global versus regional levels. Also under consideration were deliverables, strategies and processes. Participants developed a framework for advocacy with parliamentarians and reached a consensus on key elements of advocacy strategy.

The 3rd meeting of the AFPPD Standing Committee of Male Parliamentarians on Prevention of Violence Against omen and Girls was attended by representatives from 11 countries to formulate sub-regional and national level activities to be taken over the next two years to increase the involvement of men and boys in preventing violence against women and girls. The meeting which took place in Krabi, Thailand was organized by the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In his opening remarks, Hon. Dr. Ahmad Nizar Shihab, MP Indonesia and Chair of the Standing Committee said committee members should work together to directly eliminate violence against women and girls (VAWG) in each country, encourage legislation to prevent VAWG, serve as a forum to discuss how to integrate preventing VAWG into all legislation, and to encourage the involvement of male parliamentarians to participate actively in eliminating VAWG.

The committee members presented key concerns on VAWG from their respective countries and actions parliamentarians can take to promote men and boys working to eliminate VAWG. Ms. Kiran Bhatia, Gender Adviser from UNFPA-APRO guided discussion sessions on priority areas for policy advocacy and key thematic issues. Mr. James Lang from Partners for Prevention (P4P), a United Nations Joint Program provided an overview on the value of engaging men and boys in primary prevention of violence against women and presented preliminary findings from P4P’s regional research on VAW in terms of program and policy implications.

The committee identified priority thematic areas for the coming year and then formed sub-regional groups to discuss action plans for national and sub-regional levels. Sub-regional groups were formed for South Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific.

The committee elected Hon. Mr. Tissa Karalliyada, Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs of Sri Lanka to be the new Chair for a two year term. The Honorable Minister reported that his Ministry has already created a number of programs addressing VAWG including a media campaign featuring national celebrities that will run during the United Nation’s 16 days of activism campaign to eliminate violence against women. Sri Lanka will also join the world wide White Ribbon campaign this year and has organized a series of conferences in districts throughout the country for high level government officials, members of the police, army air force, trade unions, educators and representatives from many other walks of life to raise awareness among men of the important role filled by women in society.


Sub-regional Vice Chairs which were also selected with Hon. Mr. Shekhar Koirala, MP Nepal for South Asia; Hon. Cong. Antonio Tinio, Philippines for South- East Asia; and Hon. Mr. Ashraf Choudhary for the Pacific.


The sub-regional committees formulated action plans for the national and sub-regional levels focusing on investing in youth for GBV prevention. Priority thematic areas were selected by each sub-region and will include son preference,
child marriage, adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) and trafficking.

Parliamentarians in Myanmar have proposed the establishment of a Parliamentary Committee on Population and Social Development. This was the culmination of a series of  meetings between U Nanda Kyaw Swar, Deputy Speaker  of Pyithu Hluttaw (Parliament), Mr. Mohamed Abdel-Ahad,  UNFPA Representative to Myanmar, Mr. Shiv Khare,  Executive Director of AFPPD and other Ministers and key  members of Parliament, as well as advisors to the  President. The proposed committee will provide a viable  forum for addressing a wide range of population and  development issues in line with national development  priorities in the country.


Mr. Khare also met with H. E. U Khin Yi, Minister of  Immigration and Population, H. E. U Aung Kyi, Minister  of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, H. E. U Tin  Naing Thein, Minister of National Planning and Economic  Development,
H. E. Dr. Pe Thet Khin, Minister of Health, H. E. U Maung Maung Swe, the Chair of the Pyithu Hluttaw Committee of Women and Child Protection and H. E. U Hla Myint Oo, the Chair of the Pyithu Hluttaw Committee of International Relations to discuss matters of mutual interest, potential areas of cooperation including membership of the Myanmar Parliament in AFPPD, support for capacity development of Myanmar parliamentarians, organization of national and regional meetings on population and development issues in Myanmar, and the potential participation of Myanmar Parliamentarians in the 5th IPCI/ICPD in May 2012.


UNFPA Myanmar will work closely with the Parliament of  Myanmar and AFPPD to support this proposal and other  activities on population, reproductive health and gender  in relation to the national development priorities, in  particular the national rural development and poverty  alleviation plan.
 

The Population Policy Tracking and Monitoring Unit of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) took an important move towards becoming Asia and the Pacific’s major portal for population and development policy, as 16 population and development policy experts and practitioners from various countries in the region participated in AFPPD’s Focus Group on Population Policy Tracking and Monitoring on 16 December 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand.

With participants ranging from university professor to congresswoman, the focus group offered a unique opportunity to learn about new ideas and hands-on experience in policy tracking and monitoring. Sen. Dr. Jetn Sirathranont, Senator of Thailand, delivered the welcome address. He stressed the importance of brainstorming at this focus group for the development of the Unit.

Mr. Shiv Khare, AFPPD Executive Director, outlined the development of the Unit as a joint initiative between UNFPA and AFPPD and introduced its modes of operations. He highlighted that the Unit’s online database, which can be accessed at Afppd-populationpolicies.org, currently features laws and policies on population, reproductive health, violence against women from various countries in the region. Almost 10,000 policymakers and practitioners have received The Unit’s policy roundups, which contain latest information on population and development situations that have policy implications.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Galanne Deressa, Programme Specialist, UNFPA’s Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (APRO), said that the initiative for a regional policy database was a response to the need for policy tracking and monitoring in the wake of the review of the progress on International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (PoA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the region in 2009.

Prof. Dr. Firman Lubis, a well-known population and reproductive health expert from University of Indonesia, in Jakarta, made a presentation on the importance of population policies. He underscored the imperative for tracking and analyzing the dynamics of population and development policy over the years.

In his presentation on “Mapping Policies on HIV/AIDS”, Mr. Mohammed Ali Bhuiyan, Regional Programme Adviser, UNAIDS Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, told the focus group that the Unit would be instrumental to working with policymakers to address the integration of HIV and other sexual and reproductive health and rights issue in national policies. It could also chart a comparison of policy progress on HIV/AIDS among countries in the region to demonstrate how investment in sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS issues can benefit the country, he said.

During the activity session conducted by Mr. Simon Baker, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand, the participants worked in pairs and then in groups to develop recommendations for the operations of the Unit. The recommendations encompassed the following four main areas: what kind of information the Unit should provide; how to improve data presentation; who the audience are and how to serve them better; and how to evaluate the Unit’s impacts.

Ms. Lee Rhiannon, Senator (Australia), discussed the contribution of policy tracking and monitoring to advocacy efforts in her presentation on “Tracking Policies on Women and Gender Related Issues for Better Advocacy”. She pointed out that research that identifies policy gaps and demonstrates implications beyond the legislature is a very important component of evidence-based advocacy. One of the greatest challenges is how to ensure that the policy reflects the real needs of women.

Dr. A.T.P.L Abeykoon, Senior Fellow, Institute for Health Policy, Sri Lanka, made a presentation on “Linking Reproductive Health Indicators to Policy Development”. The indicators, expressed in rates proportions, averages or in absolute numbers, provide a useful tool to assess needs, and monitor and evaluate reproductive health programme implementation and impacts.

The informal setting of the focus group meeting allowed the participants to express frank ideas and suggestions that are useful for the future development of AFPPD’s policy tracking and monitoring Unit.

Parliamentary advocacy initiated by UNFPA 30 years ago has now a major parliamentarians mobilisation force around the world which was evident in Krabi, Thailand where IERD UNFPA New York, representatives of UNFPA focal points for parliamentary advocacy and regional parliamentary forums met to strategize on 17 December 2011.

To further strengthen its collaboration, share best practices and discuss present and future challenges for parliamentary advocacy on ICPD issues, the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF) in partnership with the UNFPA Information and External Relations Department (IERD) New York organized a European All-Party Parliamentary Groups and Secretariat Meeting in Bordeaux, France on 5-6 December 2011. It was an assembly where parliamentary actions on reproductive and maternal health, women empowerment and population and development, and other ICPD issues were reviewed and follow up plans were drawn.

Ms. Ragaa Said, Parliamentary Affairs Specialist, IERD-UNFPA New York and Ms. Marta Diavolova, Strategic Partnership Specialist, UNFPA EECARO, presented an update on UNFPA’s continued support to parliamentary work. Mr. Matt Lindley, Head of Resource Mobilisation, IPPF spoke on donor environment for ICPD and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

Mr. Shiv Khare, Executive Director of AFPPD provided an example of the Asian situation and what worked in Asia, the Pacific and Central Asia in formalising political engagement for ICPD. Mr. Eddy Wright, Communications and Outreach Officer of EPF and Ms. Anne-Mette Kjaerby, Parliamentary & Policy Advisor, UK APPG on PD & RH discussed on media and communication for parliamentarians’ advocacy. Mr. Wim Van de Voorde, Policy Officer of Sensoa spoke on MP advocacy through unstable political times while Mr. Stuart Halford, Advocacy Officer, IPPF provided a universal periodic review. A discussion on exchange of best practices on advocacy ensued following the presentations.

Anti-choice and opposition to sexual and reproductive health was also a point of strategy discussions. Apart from Mr. Neil Datta, Secretary, EPF, Ms. Jacqueline Nolley, International Programme Associate, Catholics for Choice, was in the lead. Among the points of discussions were the San Jose Principles and its importance and the Polish abortion ban. Ms. Dina Epale, Board Member, Action Canada for Population and Development (CAPPD) spoke on her initiatives of the Canadian Parliamentary Association for Population and Development.

One highlight of the meeting was the assessment of what works and what doesn’t, for whom and where to place priorities for activities. Understanding of the national, European and international links of MPs were also discussed.

Towards the end of the meeting, participants split in two parallel working groups. Working group one discussed on parliamentary advocacy for domestic SRH situation facilitated by Ms. Marta Diavolova, UNFPA EECARO whilst working group two discussed on supporting parliamentary advocacy in donor countries facilitated by Ms. Ragaa Said, UNFPA-IERD. The meeting concluded with participants equipped with vital parliamentary advocacy knowledge and strengthened commitment to address the ICPD agenda.

The Pacific Legislatures for Population and Governance (PLPG) in partnership with the Pacific Islands HIV and STI Response Fund and the Pacific ICT Outreach Programme of the Economic Development Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community – Suva Regional Office hosted the Pacific Legislatures Hearing on HIV and ICT at the Novotel Hotel, Auckland International Airport in Auckland, New Zealand from Tuesday 13 December to Thursday 15 December 2011.

The three-day special intensive Joint Hearing was made possible with the support of the HIV & STI Section, and Grant Management Unit of the Public Health Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) as well as the Pacific ICT Outreach Programme (PICTO), Economic Development Division of SPC through the EU ACP ICT Access for the Poor project.



The Hearing was hosted and chaired by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament of the Cook Islands, Hon. Tai Tura, deputising for Sir Geoffrey Henry KBE, Speaker of Parliament of the Cook Islands and Chair of the Executive Committee of PLPG who was unable to attend due to parliamentary commitments in the Cook Islands. The Hearing brought together legislators and legislative staff from Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu who are currently serving or intending to serve as Champions in either advocacy for the prevention of HIV and other STIs or promoting ICT as a tool for development.

The Hearing focused on two distinct components – The fight against HIV and STIs and the use of ICT as a key tool for sustainable development and took the form of panel discussions and inter-active exchanges with experts in the fields of HIV and ICT.

The Hearing closely examined aspects relating to the role of Pacific legislators in leadership and action against HIV and STIs and informing Pacific Legislators about ICT access issues and engaging, empowering and supporting them in successful ICT-related interventions and informing them about key ICT legislative issues.

In terms of future plans, the Parliamentarians pledged to work collaboratively with Government and Civil Society to improve the living standards, security, governance and well-being of the people of the Pacific Islands and endorsed the following actions for 2012 and beyond: