State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

to—the social, political and economic factors
that affect people differently because of who
they are, where they live and what they do.
One additional contribution of the ICPD:
Whereas earlier programmes had treated
family planning as a standalone activity, the
Programme of Action situated family planning
in the context of broader sexual and reproductive
health programmes. Reproductive rights
rest not only on the recognition of the right
of couples and individuals to plan their family,
but on “the right to attain the highest
standard of sexual and reproductive health. It
also includes their right to make decisions concerning
reproduction free of discrimination,
coercion and violence, as expressed in human
rights documents” (UNFPA, 1994).
By reducing worry about unintended
pregnancy, family planning can contribute
to building relationships between partners
and ensuring a satisfying and safe sex life.
Respecting, protecting and fulfilling people’s
human rights make it easier for people to
achieve the full benefit of investments in
family planning (Cottingham, Germain
and Hunt 2012).
International commitments
Sexual and reproductive health and reproductive
rights do not represent a new set of rights but
are rights already recognized implicitly or explicitly
in national laws, international human rights
documents and other relevant United Nations
consensus documents. Some of these international
norms rest on broader human rights that
also underpin the right to sexual and reproductive
health, including family planning.
Reproductive rights encompass both freedoms
and entitlements involving civil, political, economic,
social and cultural rights. The right to
decide the number and spacing of children is
integral to the reproductive rights framework
and is therefore directly related to other basic
human rights, including:
• The right to life;
• The right to liberty and security of person;
• The right to health, including sexual and reproductive health;
• The right to consent to marriage and to equality in marriage;
• The right to privacy;
• The right to equality and non-discrimination;
• The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment;
• The right to education, including access to sexuality education;
• The right to participate in the conduct of public affairs and the right to
free, active and meaningful participation;
• The right to seek, impart and receive information and to have freedom
of expression;
• The right to benefit from scientific progress.
(Center for Reproductive Rights, 2009; International
Planned Parenthood Federation, 1996).
These rights are derived from numerous
international and regional treaties and
conventions. As such they reflect a common
understanding of fundamental human rights.
These and other human rights related to reproductive
rights and their sources are laid out
in Reproductive Rights are Human Rights, by the
Center for Reproductive Rights (2009).
Responding to the realities of gender inequalities
and the nature of reproductive physiology,
a number of human rights documents reference
the special challenges and discrimination
women and girls face. The human rights of
most direct relevance to gender inequality
include the right to be free from discriminatory
practices that especially harm women and girls,
and the right to be free from sexual coercion
and gender-based violence.
THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2012
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