Live: Rio +20

By Timothy Herrmann | June 13, 2012

Here is what we know so far…

The final negotiations are in full swing (known as “Prep Com 3” – June 13th through 15th). Our contacts on various delegations have already been hard at work. The troubling sections of the draft document continue to be “health” and “gender” where there are various mentions not only of sexual and reproductive health but also “rights”. In the gender and health sections, when it mentions sexual and reproductive health the document also makes direct reference to ICPD and the Bejing Platform for Action. This is problematic for the reasons mentioned in a recent article C-FAM published in First Things which can be found here.

The other problematic language surrounds the mention of population growth (which is often used as support for population control initiatives) found in the final paragraph of the health section, but it seems that this will be resolved in our favor thanks to pressure delegations like the Holy See. This is good news and seems to show that the UNFPA’s initiative to include even stronger language in the document has been defeated for good.

The G77 group is very influential in this regard and has significant weight when it comes to whether or not these dangerous terms remain in the document. One country within the group, Chile is especially important because they are one of the only countries in the group willing to fight for the removal of the language in the document. If Chile is capable of unifying the G77 against these terms they will be removed.

Most of the negotiations here, like at the UN, actually take place in “coordination committees” where groups like the G77 and EU meet to identify the parameters of their groups position even before they meet with other countries in the formal negotiating rooms. Countries in the G77, unlike the US, are not strong enough to influence the document on their own, so they must work as a group. But like any group project, it is hard to get people to agree and to take responsibility.

Most delegates negotiating the text are from the second committee. This is a committee that is normally less concerned with social issues like health, gender and education. As a result they are not as aware of the “subtle” problems that arise when language like reproductive health is included in a document. Hopefully our presence here will be able to change that.

Okay, that’s all for now from the trenches. I am in the negotiating room as we speak and they are about to discuss the references to sexual and reproductive health.

Wish us luck.

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