ICPD+30 Global Youth Dialogue report
Over 300 young people convened in Cotonou for the Global Youth Dialogue at the call of UNFPA to celebrate 30 years since the launch of the Program of Action at the first ICPD in Cairo, Egypt and to take stock of the met commitments. The event concluded with young people coming up with the Cotonou Youth Agreement, a document with recommendations on how countries should approach their commitments in the Program of Action taking into consideration the needs of young people. I was selected as one of the three young persons from Zimbabwe.
Context.
30 years ago, in Cairo 179 countries gathered together to map a way forward towards how the world responds to issues of women empowerment, gender equality, maternal mortality, family planning and population management. The outcome of this event became known as the program of action. This tool is a framework of how nations are to address the issues that I have mentioned above. Following the event, the African Union has made its own commitments which has resulted in the AADP which has over 60 commitments to add on the Cairo outcomes. Zimbabwe is part of all these processes and has made commendable efforts in ensuring the provision of family planning, maternal care and other population services to its people. Our country has also ensured that young people were involved in the consultations of the ICPD30 processes. The Young People’s Network on Sexual Reproductive Health, HIV & AIDS with support from UNFPA, SRHR Africa Trust and National AIDS Council conducted a 2-day consultation meeting at Holiday Inn on the 19th-20th of October, 2023. The main aim of this consultation was to consult young people from different provinces and districts on how these commitments had been met in their respective areas and how some unmet commitments still continue to affect young people.
Report.
The ICPD GYD took place on the 4th and 5th of April. The event aimed to create a space for constructive dialogue where a broad spectrum of viewpoints had a place. The event where based on the values: respect for diversity, active dialogue, safe environment and respectful interactions. The organizers of the events ensured the safety and wellbeing at the conference and the government of Benin was active in facilitating the event and ensuring a safe space for all. UNFPA and the other organizers created safeguarding guidelines for youth participants and ensured that the participation of young people was meaningful. The event was officially opened on the 4th of April with powerful speeches from the high-level figures present at the opening. Two young persons had the opportunity as well to commend national leaders on the efforts their countries are putting to ensure that the Cairo agenda is fulfilled as well as to draw attention on the unmet needs of young people. In her speech, UNFPA Executive Director, Dr Natalia Kanem said that young people’s voices are crucial in a world that is dominated by more crisis and that listening to young people will be crucial in solving these challenges. The sessions at the dialogue where shaped around 4 main discussion topics, which were;
1. My Body, My life: Sexual and Reproductive Health & Rights & wellbeing.
SRHR and broader health and wellbeing agenda are about the right of young people to make choices for their own bodies and futures. While great progress has been made, there remains a long way to go. Today, there is a strong support for some SRHR issues that are part of the ICPD agenda, such as the eradication of child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM). However, strong opposition to others persists, notably to safe and legal abortion but also emerging pushback against CSE. Even among the issues garnering strong support, challenges are not minor. An example is the justification that child marriage and FGM are “part of culture/tradition”, something that needs to be countered. Mental health and menstruation care are key issues to be faced. In this sense, there is a pressing need to enhance the youth-responsiveness of SRH services, prioritizing not only expansion but also the quality of implementation. Young people must not be ignored, blamed, scolded, or babysat, based on the assumption they are too young to talk about SRHR. It is imperative that young people are not dismissed, criticized, or excluded from discussions about SRHR under the assumption of their youth. Conversations must take place in safe spaces. Fortunately, there is growing recognition that young people have an important role to play in assuring their health and wellbeing, and of their families and communities. Nevertheless, they are not adequately invited and resourced to participate in decisionmaking processes. Adolescents and youth need to be in the room where polices and budgets are decided. Participation must extend beyond specific summits and conferences. Mobilizing for mental health: The keynote speakers highlighted the urgent need to recognize mental health’s vital role in ensuring well-being and its intersectional links with SRHR, and health. The 3 speakers shared about the practices that have been positively implemented in their communities. The following were the recommendations;
● To governments at national levels: - Establish mental health task forces at the national level to advocate and monitor mental health advocacy in the ICPD agenda
● To governments and stakeholders working in mental health and the community: - Promote mental health education to be included in the educational agenda - Invest and allocate resources for institutions, organizations, and movements working on mental health
● To the community: - Create spaces to talk about mental health to destigmatize “mental health”, as in many contexts, talking about mental health is still considered taboo. Generational choice: Together for bodily autonomy.
● Solidarity; we need to stick together and build a collective voice to speak up for bodily autonomy and access to safe abortion.
● More qualitative and quantitative data on abortion, and our movement can play a role to collect and share such data.
● Use different ways to reach youth; via education, peer-education, mass media, but also social media, since we live in a digital world. We need to stop mis-information about abortion. 2. Transforming Education, Transforming lives.
● CSE needs to be more inclusive to address the needs of: people with disabilities, people with divergent, from rural communities, LGTBQI+. Also, CSE should be age-appropriate and start early. To reach these minority groups, CSE should be in and out of school, and provided in native languages. We should also explore how we can use social media for sexuality education. Inclusivity is also reached by CSE that contains information and references to all sexualities and identities, and be rights-focused.
● Grassroot organizations should gain the trust and funds to scale their interventions. They are the ones that can connect with people, mobilize people, create demand and deliver effectively. CSE needs to be institutionalized by law. CSE should be connected to human rights - we need national and international agreements to be able to push for CSE. CSE should have a separate, recognized paragraph within the ICPD+30 program 3. Radical Inclusion: promoting human rights.
This is one of the many plenary sessions that we covered. Following the conclusion of the event all the young people contributed to recommendations which will be known as the Cotonou Youth Agreement. This document will be key in a future advocacy and implementation plans related to population and development.
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