PSN responds to international development committee inquiry into post-2015 development agenda
5 October 2012
Source: PSN
PSN has responded to an inquiry by the UK parliamentary International Development Committee (IDC), calling for increased focus on the neglected issues and perspectives of gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights and population dynamics within the emerging post-2015 development agenda.
A coffee handler in Timor-Leste, where coffee is one of the main the cash crops helping to realize the Governments priority of promoting rural development.
Credit: UN Photo/Martine Perret
Looking to 2015 and beyond
With the target year for achievement of the Millennium Development Goals fast approaching, the International Development Committee recently held an inquiry on the Post-2015 Development Goals.
The consultation sought input on the effectiveness of the MDG framework and lessons learnt, how the Sustainable Development Goals established following Rio+20 should relate to the development goals being considered by the Post-2015 High-Level Panel, and other pressing issues, such as the the coverage of future goals and the process for their establishment.
PSN's calls for the future development agenda
Key elements for the future development agenda highlighted in PSN’s submission include:
- Ensuring sufficient focus on the social pillar of sustainable development;
- Addressing neglected issues and perspectives, such as gender equality and health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and population dynamics within a human rights-based approach;
- Avoiding a narrow focus on development that is predicated on a model that presupposes the sustainability of continuous economic growth;
- Addressing social inequalities and the drivers of poverty, placing inequalities and rights at the heart of the approach with a focus on the most marginalized groups;
- Mainstreaming gender equity and equality into all goals and data collection disaggregated by sex and population dynamics;
- Focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights and the importance of an overall goal on health, and population dynamics, including population growth, migration, urbanisation, etc;
- Development of the framework with a broad and inclusive process of consultation with full stakeholder engagement.
Population dynamics are integral to the agenda
On the issue of population dynamics, our submission endorsed the UNDESA and UNFPA approach outlined in the Population Dynamics Thematic Think Piece (pdf) produced for the UN System Task Team on the post-2015 Development Agenda.
The UNDESA and UNFPA approach states that;
"Population issues should be an integral part of the post-2015 development agenda from a two-pronged perspective: a) evolving population dynamics, including changing population structures and distributions, as they have tremendous bearing on macro social and economic development processes and outcomes, and b) access to reproductive health and protection of reproductive rights as they represent a critical challenge for achieving a dignifying human development and well-being for all.
While the first set of issues i.e., population dynamics and changing demographic structures can be construed largely as cross-cutting, enabling factors for post-2015 development goals, the second set of issues i.e., access to quality reproductive health services and protection of reproductive rights should be included in and monitored through clear development goal and target frameworks."
Further information
PSN’s consultation response is available in Resources.
Read an article from PSN highlighting the difference that increased focus on population dynamics and voluntary family planning programmes could have made to the Millennium Development Goals.