UN level

Almost all UN bodies have paid attention to SRHR. UNFPA is the leading UN organisation working with SRHR. Other organisations that have SRHR as a priority are UNAIDS, UN Women, WHO and the World Bank. Also UNESCO works with SRHR issues related to comprehensive sexuality education.

International agreements and declarations

1994 The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo and its Programme of Action (PoA)

ICPD was organised in Cairo, where 179 governments adopted a landmark Programme of Action which marks a very significant shift in thinking and policy development from a population perspective to a rights-based approach to reproductive health. The PoA defines and recognises comprehensive definitions of reproductive health, sexual health and advances the idea of reproductive rights. 

In the ICPD PoA, views on human rights, population, sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and sustainable development merged into a remarkable global consensus that placed individual dignity and human rights, including the right to plan one’s family, at the very heart of development.

International Conference on Population and Development 

1995 The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and its Platform for Action

Confirmed and expanded the commitment to a rights-based approach to SRH made at ICPD the previous year. The Conference also stated that women’s power and ability to decide over their own sexuality and reproduction is an important step to ensure that they can fully exercise and enjoy their human rights.

The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and its Platform for Action

2015 Sustainable Development Goals -Agenda 2030

SDGs provide an international framework for sustainable development and poverty reduction. The goals must be achieved by 2030. The agenda 2030 includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 specific sub-goals or targets. Several global goals are related to SRHR, and the most direct ones are Goal 3 on health, Goal 4 on education and Goal 5 on gender equality.

There are two specific SDG targets focusing on SRHR, as follows:

3.7: by 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes; and target

5.6: ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the ICPD and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.

The SDGs refer to important international action programmes which are still in effect, such as the PoA of the ICPD.

Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals 

Fact sheets on sustainable development goals: SRHR targets

The Commission on Population and Development (CPD)

The CPD was established in 1946 as the Population Commission but was renamed by the General Assembly in 1994 and given the responsibility for assessing progress on implementing the ICPD Programme of Action at the national, regional and international levels.

The Commission is composed of 47 Member States elected by the Economic and Social Council for a period of four years on the basis of geographic distribution. It meets once a year, typically in April.

UN Population Division: Commission on Population and Development

2019 ICPD25 Nairobi Summit

2019 marked the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The governments of Kenya and Denmark and UNFPA co-convened the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, a high-level conference to mobilize the political will and financial commitments needed to fully implement the ICPD Programme of Action.  

What is the ICPD and why does it matter? (UNFPA)

The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25