Cristina Francisco's and Rose Wakikona′s Statements at the CPD Plenary

Cristina Francisco

Esteemed delegates, colleagues, thank you Chair.

My name is Cristina Francisco, and I am from the Dominican Republic. I am speaking on behalf of the Círculo de Mujeres con Discapacidad, a member of the Fos Feminista, an International Alliance for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice.

Fòs Feminista welcomes this year’s theme, which provides an opportunity to highlight achievements, gaps, and opportunities to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for women, girls, and gender-diverse people.???

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the Montevideo Consensus stands as one of the most progressive intergovernmental agreements on population and development, with specific chapters focusing on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Thanks to the commitments made under the Consensus, in the region, we see many countries that have specialized plans to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services for populations living in social vulnerability, including women with disabilities like myself. According to Mira Que te Miro, a civil society-led accountability platform, 24 countries have reasonable compliance for their sexual and reproductive health and rights commitments made under the Consensus. Almost all countries have legal frameworks for expanding access to emergency contraception as part of family planning, and Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay have expanded access to legal and safe abortion over the past decade.

While these are important advances, a recently published regional report by the Fos Feminista Alliance shows that the implementation of policies and programs is lagging. Specific budgets for policy implementation are missing, and the COVID-19 pandemic diverted funds even further. Persistent territorial and gender inequalities and negative social norms prevent equitable implementation across key populations. Indigenous, Afro-descendant, youth, disability, and LGBTIQ+ communities continue to face systemic exclusion from health systems, limiting access to and delivery of sexual and reproductive health services, especially in communities experiencing conflict, humanitarian crises, and the disproportionate effects of climate change.

We, therefore, call on Member States to:

• Recommit to the full, progressive implementation of the Program of Action, including all regional review outcomes.?
• Increase and sustain resourcing for the implementation of the Program of Action by increasing investments in sexual and reproductive health and rights programs and services as part of?national investments and international development agendas.?
• Commit to continued and sustained collaboration with women's rights and feminist civil society organizations at national, regional, and global levels including ensuring their participation as stakeholders in the successful implementation of the Program of Action.

Rose Wakikona

My name is Rose Wakikona from Uganda, and I am speaking on behalf of the Women Probono Initiative, a partner of Fòs Feminista.

This year’s theme provides an opportunity to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for women, girls, and gender-diverse people.

?In Africa, the Addis Ababa Declaration for Population and Development has provided strategic direction for integrating population concerns into national development plans.

?A recently published regional report by Fòs Feminista identifies gaps reported by partners in accountability and transparency of implementation, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, inequalities and abuses to the rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people, and insufficient data for policy reform. The current reality of pandemics, conflict, and climate change are widening these gaps, especially for structurally marginalized populations.

?We are concerned about the rollback of the law in Gambia which can overturn the gains made in the region. We are also concerned about the lack of political will to implement key continental commitments like the Maputo Protocol and the Abuja Declaration.

Persistent gaps in policy formulation, and accountability, along with disjointed coordination among national agencies, resistance to civil society, dependence on foreign aid, and economic austerity measures

We therefore call on Member States to:

• Facilitate inter-sectoral action and collaboration between government entities to ensure effective coordination and translate global commitments into national implementation.
• Scale and sustain investments in transparent national monitoring, evaluation, and data collection systems to identify populations and issues that need attention.
• Protect the gains made to fulfill these rights, as central to the International Conference on Population and Development, and curtail the operations of anti-rights and anti-gender movements.