AMSTERDAM—Pledging “to break the silence and taboos on culture and religion and their relation to reproductive and sexual health and rights,” Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation and Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, concluded an international conference here with a promise “to establish a permanent dialogue on these vital issues.”

Attended by more than 100 experts from around the world, the conference, "Cairo and Beyond: Reproductive Rights and Culture," was organized by the Government of the Netherlands and UNFPA on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March.

Participants agreed that much progress has been made in the past decade to achieve the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, but many challenges remain. Of special interest to the Amsterdam gathering were those related to the interconnections between culture and reproductive rights.

At the opening of the three-day conference, Ms. Obaid highlighted the need to “change our thinking, and thus our discourse, from just focusing on the constraints created by cultures, to identifying the positive powers of cultures to bring about change.” The conference, she added, was a starting point for what she hoped would develop into “a really courageous, frank, open, honest and very constructive dialogue.”

To facilitate such a dialogue, Ms. Ardenne announced that her Government is setting up an online network, to provide a forum for the permanent exchange of views and best practices.

In a joint final statement, Ms. Ardenne and Ms. Obaid called on governments: “to redouble their political and financial commitment to reproductive and sexual health and rights, and to combating the spread of HIV/AIDS”; “to ensure the widest and earliest possible access to quality basic education” for girls as well as boys; and “to eradicate all gender-based violence”.

“No culture can accept any form of violence against women and girls, such as female genital cutting, that denies them their human rights and dignity,” they stressed. The statement also acknowledged “the right of young people to information, including sexual education, and reproductive health services.”

“Reproductive and sexual health and rights should be everybody's business,” the two leaders concluded. “Therefore, we commit ourselves to further expand inclusive partnerships with religious and political leaders, traditional leaders, health system workers, the business community, civil society, and others, to identify and strengthen leadership on these critical global issues.”

Contact Information:

Kristin Hetle
Cell Phone: +1-917-378-5957
Email: hetle@unfpa.org