Late August, thirty parliamentarians from all regions of the world participated in a UNFPA and EPF interactive dialogue in the Austrian capital. MP Benoît Piedboeuf participated as a member of the Belgian ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’.
The Commission on Foreign Affairs of Belgium’s federal parliament has unanimously adopted a resolution for the implementation and follow-up of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the 2030 Agenda. The resolution identifies the challenges with regard to SRHR. To mention a few: 225 million women who want to prevent or avoid pregnancy lack access to contraception, one in three women is a victim of partner violence or sexual violence in her lifetime and every year 16 million teenagers give birth. The 2030 Agenda contains specific targets to tackle these problems, such as universal access to family planning and the elimination of violence against girls and women. The members of parliament call upon the Belgian government to implement the Agenda and to encourage other countries to do so. They want systematic attention for SRHR in the negotiations of collaboration programmes with partner countries of the Belgian development cooperation. They also want Belgium to increase the support for SRHR within international organisations, such as the WHO, UNICEF and UNWOMEN, and to call on other countries in the UN Human Rights Council and other international forums to protect and promote SRHR. The resolution was submitted by Hon. Sabien Lahaye-Battheu, president of the Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda. With Belgium presenting its Voluntary National Review to the UN in mid-July the timing is perfect. Thursday May 11th, Federal Parliament, Belgium. MPs played ‘snakes and ladders’, a life-size game on the health and rights of girls worldwide. The MPs were the pawns in the game and found themselves confronted with the obstacles girls in developing countries face.
There are about 1 billion girls in the world, many of which face discrimination and inequalities. Each year 16 million girls between 15 and 19 give birth. Complications related to pregnancies and delivery are the 2nd most important cause of death for girls in that age group. Every year 3 million girls run the risk of mutilation and every day 39,000 girls are subject to child or forced marriage. The Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda want girls’ health and rights to be high on the political agenda. They call upon the Belgian development cooperation to continue focusing on this particular group. During a meeting with the ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’, an informal parliamentary group following up the gender, health and rights dimensions of the 2030 Agenda, Deputy Prime Minister De Croo discussed his plans for She Decides, the global fundraising initiative in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights. Ahead of the high level She Decides conference of March 2nd in Brussels, Belgium’s All-Party Parliamentary Group ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’ called a parliamentary pre-meeting in the federal parliament. The implications of the Global Gag Rule (GGR), the rise of anti-choice movements and the question how to counter the effects of the GGR were on the agenda. Belgium is hosting the International Conference ‘She Decides’ in support of the rights of girls and women. Like-minded countries, NGOs and international organizations will express their support to sexual and reproductive health organizations affected by the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy or ‘Global Gag Rule’ (GGR). In the wake of this conference, the Belgian All Party Parliamentary Group ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’ organizes a pre-meeting in the Belgian parliament on Wednesday March 1st.
The parliamentary pre-meeting will address the impact of the GGR on women’s rights and their access to family planning, elaborate on the international anti-gender and anti-choice movement and address the question of how to best advance sustained political support for sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe and beyond. Speakers include Dr. David Paternotte (ULB), Suzanne Ehlers (Population Act International), Caroline Hickson (IPPF European Network), Ton Coenen (EuroNGOs), Neil Datta (European Parliamentary Forum), Arthur Erken (UNFPA). More information and registration form Timing: Wednesday 1 March 14:00-17:00 Venue: Congreszaal, access through Federal Parliament, Leuvenseweg 21, 1000 Brussels Participation is free but registration is required. Please register through the online form before 24 February. For security reasons it is recommended to arrive well in advance. The parliamentarians for the 2030 agenda, for which Sensoa functions as a secretariat, organised an event on World AIDS Day to raise awareness about HIV globally and in Belgium.
Johan Verstreken, member of the Flemish parliament and federal senate, participated in a study trip to learn about the reproductive health situation in the Philippines. He was invited by the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (EPF).
Belgian Minister and MPs touched by women’s stories in the African pop-up family planning clinic12/5/2016
Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health Maggie De Block, the President of the Chamber Siegfried Bracke and members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group ‘Parliamentarians for the 2030 Agenda’ visited the one-day African family planning clinic that opened its doors in the heart of the federal parliament. The pop-up clinic called attention for the 225 million women in the South who would like to prevent or postpone pregnancy, but lack access to contraception. The Minister and MPs were touched by the stories of the African women consulting the clinic. They got to know Isha Isha, a 15 year old girl in her fifth month of pregnancy. She was sent to the clinic by her mum, who lost two of her other daughters during their deliveries. With her father’s passing, Isha Isha had married one of his old friends, to help out the family. The MPs felt Coumba’s frustration. An ambitious young woman, Coumba set up a business with her peers. She came to the clinic to have an IUD installed. Children, yes, one day, but not now, so she explained. But Coumba had to leave the clinic empty-handed. Stock-outs, so she was told. Abstinence, the advice she received. Maybe the most touching story was Hope’s. A pregnant mum of two who was having an HIV-test. Hope didn’t understand. How could she be HIV-positive? She’d been faithful all along. The doctor told her to come back. Her youngest boy needed to be tested too. The stories of these African women were made-up. They were played by professional actors based on real life stories. They show how access to contraception remains a major challenge for so many women. 225 million women in the South would like to prevent or postpone pregnancy, but can’t. Because of the unmet need for family planning, many women get pregnant at an early age or end up having successive pregnancies, with little or no time in-between. This puts their health and lives at risk, as well as their children’s. If this unmet need were met it is estimated 150,000 women’s lives a year could be saved, the death of 590,000 newborns could be prevented and half a million children would not lose their mother. Belgian politicians understood that the international community needs to step up its efforts to help achieve the 2030 target of universal access to sexual and reproductive health. |