Within the group of over 15 of her fellow Task Force members, DSW’s Executive Director, Renate Baehr, visited New York in February to exchange and strategize around the ongoing processes and upcoming events surrounding the health and rights of women and youth. As an added plus, there was also time on the sidelines of the Task Force event to meet up with a few like-minded partners and contacts such as the UN Foundation and the Population Council to discuss common challenges and potential areas for future collaboration.
As we are well aware, 2014 and 2015 are very important years for our issues. In view of the anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development of 1994 in Cairo, the High-Level Task Force for ICPD was set up in 2012 to make sure, the original goals and targets are carried on into the new millennium and its objectives integrated into the process of the Millennium Development and Sustainable Development agendas (Post 2015 process) which will be agreed upon next year.
The meeting thus offered ample room for discussions but, above all, agreements – for example on the promotion of a stand-alone health as well as gender goal in the Post 2015 agenda which would both need to include targets and indicators on sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially of youth. What remains now is the big task for all of the Task Force’s members of advocating on the level of their respective national governments but also on the international level to make sure this is integrated in the actual agendas!
Further information about the Task Force for the ICPD can be found under: www.icpdtaskforce.org
