On 24 February, Countdown 2015 Europe hosted, in partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), a meeting in London that focused on strengthening the European voice on human rights and gender equality in post-2015 processes. The event brought together civil servant experts from 12 European countries and from other regional blocs across the globe to discuss with UN and civil society representatives the upcoming UN negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-2015 framework. Our aim was to help ensure a strong European voice in the post-2015 negotiations in support of human rights and gender equality, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and family planning (FP).
During the morning session, technical experts and policymakers discussed the means of implementation for the post-2015 agenda, looking at gender-sensitive financing for development and considering a framework for monitoring its implementation through strong human rights and gender-sensitive accountability mechanisms and solid SRHR and FP indicators. The afternoon session saw a panel of civil servant and civil society experts from Europe and the global South sharing insights on different regional dynamics relating to SRHR and FP. The panel mapped out opportunities for cross-regional collaboration within post-2015 negotiations.
At the meeting, C2015E partners presented our minimum asks on the post-2015 negotiations and the key role for the EU in supporting human rights, gender equality and RH/FP. We also launched a factsheet on EU support for RH/FP, and how stakeholders can help to strengthen it. More detailed information on the outcomes of the discussions is available upon request: countdown2015europe@ippfen.org.