ECOM expert takes part in Global Youth Dialogue

Uluk Batyrgaliev, Health Officer at ECOM, took part in the International Global Youth Dialogue with the theme: “A new generation's vision for the future”, which was held as part of the International Conference on Population and Development ICPD30 in Cotonou, Benin. The event took place on April 4–5 and was organized by UNFPA in collaboration with the Government of Benin, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Denmark.

Uluk provided support to the UNFPA Regional Office for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region in selecting delegates from the countries of the region, preparing participants from the Region for the Global Dialogue, and co-moderating the regional briefing session. In addition, Uluk voiced the problems of increasing anti-gender movements in EECA countries and noted that LGBT people from Central Asia, and young people in general, were under-represented in the Global Dialogue. 

“As a young person, I am primarily interested in the agenda of the International Conference on Population and Development, because it's a platform on which countries around the world, including mine, committed to implementing issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights in their countries. For example, improving access to HIV services or the availability of contraceptives in the country, respectful attitude of medical specialists and many other issues. My participation was important to ensure that the voices of LGBT youth from EECA countries are heard and represented. And also so that the problems faced by LGBT people in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Georgia, Armenia are included in the general advocacy document within the framework of this youth dialogue, and so that it can be presented to all countries at the Summit of the Future on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” says Uluk Batyrgaliev, Health Officer at ECOM.

ICPD30 or ICPD is the International Conference on Population and Development, a meeting that took place in Cairo in 1994, where 179 nations of the world adopted a groundbreaking Programme of Action and called for women's reproductive health and rights to be placed at the center of national and global development.

In particular, the ICPD Programme of Action sought to ensure universal access to comprehensive reproductive health services, including family planning, safe pregnancy and childbirth services, and access to services for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. In general, the idea behind the regional progress review is that every 5 years countries report on the commitments they made in 1994.

The Global Youth Dialogue creates a platform for discussion with young people who are aimed at resolving issues related to the further implementation of the Programme of Action. Together with representatives of member states, United Nations bodies, as well as regional and intergovernmental organizations, the dialogue aims to promote the global agenda in the area of youth rights and sustainable development:

ECOM's participation in this meeting was important to ensure that the issues related to barriers and sexual health needs of LGBT youth in the region are included on the agenda of the ICPD30 Programme of Action at the global level. And also so that the agenda of the Programme of Action highlights the importance of HIV prevention, promoting PrEP in communities, and the challenges young people face when receiving health services. Our expert paid special attention to the systematic violations of the rights of LGBT people in the region, the use of hate speech, discrimination and harmful practices.