Draft first regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

Chapter III
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
the priority measures of chapter D of the Consensus, which are examined in this section and which concern
sexual rights, reproductive rights, sexual health and reproductive health, overlap in a number of ways. To
reflect all this, the section is organized around two major themes: (i) sexual and reproductive health, which
encompasses prevention and self-care of sexually transmitted diseases, family planning, care in the prenatal
period and childbirth, maternal mortality and voluntary termination of pregnancy, and (ii) sexual rights and
reproductive rights.
The <strong>regional</strong> monitoring indicators agreed on for the priority measures of chapter D of the Consensus
relate, <strong>first</strong>, to regulatory frameworks and, second, to the results of implementing these frameworks in
respect of the services available and the target population. The indicators for the legal framework, while not
guaranteeing that this has been implemented and is working properly, do accurately map the situation in
terms of rights recognized and pathways of action. The process and result indicators, viewed in the light of
the policies and programmes implemented, flag up possible biases in situations of non-realization of rights.
For this section, data are only available on some 30% of the 23 agreed monitoring indicators for most of the
countries. Furthermore, some of these data are still approximate, and the great bulk cannot be disaggregated
by population groups. This does not mean that the current situation cannot be appropriately mapped in all the
fields mentioned, however, albeit incompletely.
2. The situation regarding universal access to sexual
and reproductive health services
The definitions of sexual and reproductive health show how difficult it is to lay down parameters for monitoring
the extent of progress in providing access to high-quality services in this area, as urged by priority action
37 of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, particularly if this is to be done across all
population groups. According to the definition originally supplied by the World Health Organization (WHO) and
then ratified in the ICPD Programme of Action, “reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive
system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to
have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if,
when and how often to do so” (United Nations, 1995, p. 40). Sexual health, as defined by WHO, “is a state of
physical, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality. It requires a positive and respectful approach to
sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences,
free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” 72 Sexual health and reproductive health are therefore closely
related and influence each other. The following subsections present progress and shortcomings in these areas,
without exhausting all their dimensions.
(a) Sexual health
(i) Self-care and prevention
Priority measures 38, 39 and 41 deal with prevention and care in relation to sexually transmitted diseases.
The <strong>first</strong> two of these measures specifically concern HIV/AIDS, given the scale of this. Priority measure
41 refers to men in particular in order to give greater visibility to this population group in respect not only
of sexual health, but also of reproductive health, as this is always closely associated with women’s health,
particularly at reproductive ages.
Sexual and reproductive health services are generally regulated or legislated for in most of the Latin American
countries. In some countries there is actually provision for them in the constitution, and this right has in many cases
been established since the ICPD. When the United Nations eleventh inquiry among governments on population
and development (United Nations, 2014) was conducted in 2013, all the governments in the region stated with
72
See World Health Organization (WHO), “Sexual health” [online] http://www.who.int/topics/sexual_health/.
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