Updates from the Youth Coalition's CPD44 delegation:

 On Monday, April 11th, the Youth Coalition held a Youth Caucus on Sexual and Reproductive Rights in collaboration with Advocates for Youth, CHOICE for youth and sexuality, Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), and YouAct.

In addition to developing a youth advocacy strategy for the CPD, a very important output from the Youth Caucus was the preparation of three youth statements on young women’s health, comprehensive sexuality education, and meaningful youth participation. The organizing partners of the caucus drafted the youth statements and then finalized them with over 40 young people who attended the caucus, representing various organizations and countries (including: Azerbaijan, Barbados, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Haiti, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Turkey, and the United States).

The final youth statements were delivered on April 12th and 13th to the Chair of the Commission on Population and Development and the country delegations in plenary. 

• Meredith Waters from Advocates for Youth delivered the statement on Young Women’s Health;
• Rachel Arinii from GYCA delivered the statement on Comprehensive Sexuality Education;
• Nadia Ribadeneira González from the Youth Coalition delivered the statement on Meaningful Youth Participation.

The delivery of oral statements presents a significant opportunity for young people to share their advocacy messages regarding sexual and reproductive rights with decision-makers and UN officials.   

You can read the full text of the youth statements below, and for more breaking news from CPD44, follow us on Twitter (@youth_coalition) and on Facebook!