State of World Population 2012 - Country Page List - UNFPA

Rights, 2012). The charges had been brought
in late 2009 by the Federation of Women
Lawyers–Kenya and the Center for Reproductive
Rights, alleging violations of reproductive rights
in Kenyan health facilities. The Commission’s
assessment found that people’s rights had been
abused, largely as a consequence of the poor
service quality and called on the Government
to make the needed improvements.
The Colombian Constitutional Court has
passed important judgments ensuring access
to sexual and reproductive health services
(Corte Constitucional de Colombia, 2012;
Reprohealthlaw, 2012). In 2010, for example,
it affirmed the legality of and ensured access to
emergency contraception.
In 2003 UNFPA conducted a global survey
of national experiences 10 years after the
ICPD (UNFPA, 2005a). Of the 151 countries
surveyed, 145 provided responses on the
enforcement of reproductive rights. Of those
that responded, 131 reported adopting new
policies, national plans, programmes, strategies
or legislation on reproductive rights.
Family planning and human rights:
a framework
At the ICPD in 1994, the international community
translated its recognition of peoples’
right to family planning into a commitment to
a human rights-based approach to health, which
focuses on building the capacity of States and
individuals to realize rights. Thus people not
only have rights, but States have the obligation
to respect, protect and fulfil these rights (Center
for Reproductive Rights and United Nations
Population Fund, 2010).
In their work to support human rights,
United Nations agencies are guided by the
United Nations Common Understanding
on the Human Rights Based Approach to
Development Cooperation (2003): in the pursuit
of the realization of human rights as laid
down in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights
agreements, “human rights standards and
principles must guide all development cooperation
and programming in all sectors and
phases of the programming process” (World
Health Organization and Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, 2010). A
human rights-based approach is operationally
directed towards developing the capacities
of rights holders to claim their rights and
the capacities of duty-bearers to meet their
t
Grace Matthews,
a mother-of-two,
walked and cycled
for three hours to get
contraceptives. She
decided to have an
injection to delay her
next pregnancy.
©Lindsay Mgbor/
UK Department for
International Development
THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2012
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