Working with members of parliament
We work closely with members of parliament — keeping MPs informed and updated on population and development issues in the Pacific, and around the world.
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Working with decision-makers at the highest level of government helps ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights issues remain on the political agenda.
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New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group on Population and Development (NZPPD)
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The NZPPD is a voluntary cross-party group made up of members of Aotearoa New Zealand’s parliament. These members are committed to advocating for sexual and reproductive health, the rights of women, and sustainable development in Aotearoa New Zealand and throughout the Pacific region. NZPPD is open to any Aotearoa New Zealand MP.
NZPPD was established in 1998 in response to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and its Programme of Action (PoA).
The ICPD PoA — alongside Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — inform the NZPPD’s strategic priorities.
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International Conference on Population and Development
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The 1994 ICPD Conference was the largest intergovernmental conference on population and development ever held at the time. There were around 11,000 registered participants at the conference. The conference was attended by UN specialised agencies and organisations, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, the media, and 179 governments — including the government of Aotearoa.
A new vision was developed about the relationships between population, development, and individual wellbeing — this vision was formalised in a PoA. The PoA was intended to guide people-centred development progress, while simultaneously recognising reproductive health and rights, and women's empowerment and gender equality as cornerstones of population and development programmes. All 179 countries that attended the conference adopted the conference’s 20-year PoA.
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Sustainable Development Goals
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In 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations — including New Zealand — unanimously adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs aim to transform the world by 2030 — reflecting a shared vision to end poverty, rescue the planet, and build a peaceful world.
These two SDGs are particularly relevant to our work:- Good health and wellbeing: Target 3.7 calls for universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including: family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
- Gender equality: Target 5.6 also calls for universal access to SRHR in accordance with the ICPD PoA and other commitments, including the elimination of all forms of gender-based discrimination (Target 5.1) and violence against women and girls (Target 5.2).
Many parliamentary groups on population and development exist in other countries around the world. NZPPD engages with these groups — sharing activities, skills, and knowledge on population and development issues.
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