United Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity.
UNFPA has three core focus areas: reproductive health; gender equality; and population and development strategies.
In 2010, the APF and UNFPA launched a joint program that aims to support national human rights institutions in the Asia Pacific to incorporate reproductive rights into their work.
The program, which has the backing of all APF member institutions, will focus on practical steps that NHRIs can take to promote and protect reproductive rights, which includes:
- the right to decide the number, timing and spacing of children
- the right to voluntarily marry and establish a family
- the right to the highest attainable standard of health
- freedom from sexual violence and coercion.
The first part of the project has been the development of a report - Integrating Reproductive Rights into the Work of National Human Rights Institutions in the Asia Pacific Region (April 2011) – that examines what work APF members are doing or have done on the issue.
It analyses their current work practices and views and considers the major challenges and risks they face in dealing effectively with the issues.
The report also features examples of good practices in relation to: education and awareness raising; advice and advocacy; identifying and responding to violations; overcoming cultural and religious resistance; and NHRI working methods and procedures.
A regional consultation, bringing together representatives from APF member institutions, UNFPA and the APF secretariat, was held in June 2011 to discuss the report’s findings and develop priority actions for APF members.
The UNFPA website is: http://www.unfpa.org/public/.
