The parliamentary delegation visit, from 30 March -3 April 2009, to New York was organised in the framework of EPF’s Parliamentary Taskforce dedicated to the UN which was launched at the beginning of 2008 and which focuses on supporting Parliamentary involvement in UN decision-making and ensure that a Parliamentary perspective supporting SRHR is heard in relevant UN settings.

This year’s main theme of the UN CPD was "The contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) " which is of direct importance for parliamentary involvement given this year’s 15th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

Next to the participation in the official programme of the UN CPD, EPF arranged a number of side meetings with relevant stake-holders and SRHR decision-makers in the U.S. Delegation members met with Executive Directors and senior officials from UNFPA, UNIFEM and UNDP. During a meeting with Dr. Scott R. Radloff, Director of the Office of Population and Reproductive Health in USAID, delegation members were updated on the latest developments and initiatives on SRHR in the U.S. as well as the impact of the financial crisis on ODA spending, discussed the implications of the Obama Administration on advancing the SRHR agenda, and talked about possibilities for future cooperation on reproductive health and family planning issues between the US and European Governments. Meetings with representatives of the EU Delegation of the European Commission to the UN and NGO experts from IPPF Western Hemisphere Region, Population Action International (PAI), the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) and Catholics for Choice (CFC) enabled Delegation members to get a solid overview about the role of Parliamentarians in the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, first hand information about the work of International Organisations on SRHR, health, women’s rights, democracy promotion and women’s empowerment at UN and country level as well as the European Union’s challenge to speak with one voice on sexual and reproductive health matters at UN level.

One of the highlights of this year’s EPF Delegation visit was the oral statement Hon. Lyn Brown, MP (UK) gave on behalf of the EPF parliamentary delegation during the UN CPD plenary session. During her intervention, Hon. Lyn Brown, MP emphasised that “we believe that the promotion of women’s rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality is absolutely fundamental to the fight against global poverty”. In addition, she urged donor governments to maintain current levels of aid to developing countries. “Anything else would cost more lives and (...) will in the long run cost more money. The cost - human and financial – is too great for us to stop now”, she warned.

Being the only Members of Parliament present at this year’s Commission on Population and Development, the EPF delegation also called on governments to revitalise the Cairo Programme of Action that lays out a detailed plan to reduce maternal and child mortality, to increase access to reproductive health supplies, to strengthen women’s rights as well as the access to reproductive health services.

Being aware that political will is essential to achieve the set goals, members of the EPF delegation have pledged to sensitise their governments about a number of reproductive health issues such as the importance to ensure universal access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, education and services, to increase funding to population and sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes, to actively involve parliamentarians as representatives of their people, in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of their national strategies and actions and to urge donors to provide assistance and support to nationally owned strategies.

The EPF delegation was composed of Hon. Armen Melykian, MP (Armenia - Prosperous Armenia Party), Hon. Yvonne Gilli, MP (Switzerland - Green Party), Senator Elvira Velasco Morillo (Spain - Popular Party), Hon. Ilkka Kantola, MP (Finland - Social Democratic Party), Hon. Yolande Avontroodt, MP (Belgium - Flemish Liberal Party), Hon. Lyn Brown, MP (UK - Labour Party), who is also a member of the EPF Executive Committee, as well as Neil Datta, EPF Secretary and Nadine Krysostan, Senior Advocacy Officer at EPF.