Human rights are fulfilled when people can access inclusive and comprehensive sexuality education, when they can freely choose family planning methods, and when they can decide if and when to have sex or decide if and when to have children, and how to deliver them in a safe and respectful environment. The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 recognized that sexual rights and reproductive rights are human rights. However, many people cannot exercise these rights: Some lack the information or means to make decisions, and some face coercion, discrimination or violence.
UNFPA works to empower individuals and communities to claim their rights through various strategies, including awareness-raising, training, life-skills capacity-building projects and working with national human rights institutions. UNFPA also works with governments to help them fulfill their human rights obligations under regional and international agreements.
UNFPA is leading United Nations efforts to realize the principle of leaving no one behind, and to translate the promises of equality and non-discrimination into concrete actions towards the fulfillment of sexual and reproductive rights. Women with disabilities; indigenous women; women of African descent; young women and girls; people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions; and women from low-income regions include those at the heart of UNFPA’s commitment towards equality.
All countries must take actions to uphold human rights – including sexual and reproductive rights. This is an obligation established and affirmed by decades of human rights laws, standards, instruments, consensus documents and agreements.
That means a human rights perspective must be applied to addressing gender-based violence and to fulfilling the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people. Countries must take actions beyond the health sector to change social norms, laws and policies to uphold human rights. Particularly important are reforms that promote gender equality and women’s rights and contribute to women having greater control over their own bodies and lives.
Fulfilling human rights for all requires a focus on equality and non-discrimination. This means organizations like UNFPA must work to identify overlapping forms of discrimination and understand how gender inequalities intersect with discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, age, appearance, marital status, and position in society such as social class, caste, position as a citizen, indigenous person, refugee or asylum-seeker. An emphasis on gender discrimination alone is unlikely to meet the needs or secure the rights of women of colour, women with disabilities or indigenous women, for example.
UNFPA is also working to address stigma and discrimination, and is promoting the use of disaggregated data to uncover “invisible” rights violations. Additionally, UNFPA works to include and amplify the voices of marginalized people in policymaking, especially by ensuring their meaningful participation, by strengthening and supporting social movements and civil society members, and by taking targeted actions to address the needs of specific groups.
In 2016, the right to sexual and reproductive health was overtly recognized by the international community. Not only is sexual and reproductive health an integral part of the right to health, it is fundamentally aligned with the enjoyment of many other human rights, including the rights to life, health and education, the rights to equality and non-discrimination, the right to privacy and freedom from torture, and to individual autonomy.
But to realize this right, sexual and reproductive health services, education and information must meet human rights standards for availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality. They must also be accountable to affected populations and civil society groups. Effective accountability means not just transparency to these groups, but also their meaningful participation in development of services and awareness-raising efforts. It also means access to effective mechanisms for accountability with regard to sexual and reproductive health.
Updated 16 Oct 2023
