No Resolution, No Retreat: Defending Health and Rights at CPD58

Last week, the 58th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD58) took place at the UN headquarters in New York. This year’s CPD focused on the special theme: “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”. 

Governments, civil society and UN agencies  from around the world came together, at a time of global health crises and a challenging global landscape, to discuss the persistent challenges, opportunities and threats to the health and wellbeing of all persons globally, reaffirm the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and recommit to meeting the health needs of all, ensuring that no one is left behind. 

Following weeks of intergovernmental negotiations, Countdown 2030 Europe expresses its disappointment that the CPD58 did not result in an outcome document. This document, anticipated to be agreed as part of the Commission’s work, sets out a set of updated commitments under the special theme each year. The failure to adopt a resolution marks a concerning outcome, which will have consequences for people around the world, many of whom are experiencing the most significant disruption to health systems in many decades. 

Access to essential health services, especially sexual and reproductive health services, continues to be limited or denied for many. The devastating impacts of multiple and overlapping global crises and inequalities, including armed conflicts, wars, climate change, and humanitarian emergencies, have disrupted health systems and social structures, disproportionately affecting the health and rights of all women, girls, adolescents and young people, particularly those from the most structurally excluded communities. Insufficient health system financing and uneven development further exacerbate the lack of access to essential sexual and reproductive health services leaving millions without the support they need. This year’s theme presented an opportunity to build on global commitments to ensure the right to health and access to SRHR for all. It was therefore even more critical to reach an outcome.*

The draft version of the outcome document presented to the Commission was a balanced representation of the priorities and perspectives of all UN Member States. Despite this, the landscape for the 58th Session was characterized by unprecedented attempts to roll back universally recognized human rights, reshape normative agendas and undermine the multilateral system, which derailed critically-needed consensus on the outcome. This ultimately resulted in a lack of a resolution on health at a time where access to health services is increasingly under pressure globally. 

Although consensus on an outcome was made impossible, it was clear, both throughout the process and during the final meeting, that there is still an overwhelming majority of countries that stand firmly behind global agreements and universal human rights. The statement made by Sierra Leone on behalf of 78 countries on the importance of

“sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights must enable individuals to make free and informed decisions about their health and their lives”

reflects the continued commitment to these shared principles. Additionally, civil society and young people from around the world stood firm in their advocacy for sexual and reproductive health and rights, even though visa issues prevented many participants attending in person. Their active participation strengthened the continuity and momentum of the process.

As powerfully underscored by South Africa’s statement on behalf of 42 countries:

Countdown 2030 Europe calls on all stakeholders to double down on efforts to prevent backsliding and regression of human rights, gender equality and social justice, and to ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights for all.

Credits banner: Tanya Shyika for IPPF x Fine Acts

* The Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo, in 1994,  recognizes that everyone has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and calls for increasing the availability and affordability of health-care services to provide access to basic health care for all. The comprehensive health-related goals identified in the ICPD were integrated and further elaborated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 3, “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”, includes 13 targets covering health topics ranging from reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to universal health coverage and measures to strengthen health systems.