Geneva Ambassadors' Briefing Report

33 Pages·2017·0.81 MB·English

Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing
Report
Palais des Nations
15 February 2017
Partners in Population and Development (PPD)
An Inter-Governmental Organization
for Promoting South-South Cooperation
Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing
Report
Palais des Nations
15 February 2017

Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing
The 13th Inter-Ministerial Conference of Partners
in Population and Development (PPD)
Wednesday, 15 February 2017
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
Hosted by:
H.E. Mr. Coly Seck, Ambassador of Senegal to the United Nations in Geneva
Chair: H.E. Mr. Coly Seck, Ambassador, Senegal
Panelists: H.E. Ms. Aya Thiam Diallo, Ambassador, Mali
H.E. Mr. Ajit Kumar, Ambassador, India
H.E. Mr. Fu Cong, Ambassador, China
H.E. Mr. Robert Matheus Michael Tene, Ambassador, Indonesia
Dr. Joe Thomas, Executive Director, PPD
Dr. Denis Broun, Ambassador, PPD Geneva
Rapporteur: Ms. Vibhu Garg, Counsellor, PPD Geneva
Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing Report
The 13th Inter-Ministerial Conference of of population and development under the
Partners in Population and Development (PPD) auspices of PPD;3 and define an agenda for
was held in Dakar, Senegal in November 2016 mobilizing health diplomacy on these issues
with a focus on challenges for population among the Geneva missions.
and development issues in the context of the
The Chair introduced PPD, a major South-South
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
inter-governmental organization comprising
In February 2016, H.E. Mr. Coly Seck, member countries from Asia, Africa and Latin
Ambassador of Senegal to the United Nations America with a mandate to promote South-
in Geneva chaired a ‘Geneva Ambassadors’ South cooperation on issues of population.
Briefing’ on the outcome of the Inter- This includes reproductive health, ageing,
Ministerial Conference. migration, demography and other similar issues
pertinent to the member countries. He said
The main purpose1 of the Geneva
that Senegal had the honor to host the annual
Ambassadors’ Briefing was to follow up on
Inter-Ministerial Conference and the Board of
the Dakar Call for Action;2 show examples of
PPD and his government believe it is important
actual South-South cooperation in the field
to follow up on the issues mentioned above.
1 Annexes I–III for the Agenda, Concept Note and List of Participants of the Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing.
2 Annexes IX and X for the Dakar Call for Action in English and in French.
3 Annexes IV–VIII for the full remarks made by the Ambassadors of Mali, Indonesia, China, India, and Kenya.
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Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing Report
The Executive Director of PPD gave an overview health, migration, ageing; and relationship
of the organization, its work and achievements between poverty and reproductive health. The
including a few concrete examples of Executive Director of PPD noted that although
responding to bilateral and multilateral needs health diplomacy was strong in Geneva,
of member countries, knowledge sharing, and population diplomacy is an emerging concept
technology transfer. PPD as an organization with PPD as its practitioner.
has also been instrumental in reducing
In their remarks, the Ambassadors of Mali,
regulatory barriers to improve reproductive
Indonesia, China, and India commended PPD.
health commodity security (RHCS), promote
They highlighted examples of concrete South-
scholarships and exchange programs for senior
South collaboration and knowledge sharing
policy makers, and young professionals in
within PPD member countries.
partnership with national institutions. PPD is
honoured by the commitment from the highest- The Ambassador of Mali presented challenges
level of policy makers in member countries experienced in her country and put a special
comprising Ministers of Health, Population emphasis on South-South cooperation around
and Social Development, representing nearly youth and adolescent health, reproductive
4.3 billion of the world’s population. health, sexual violence, early marriages,
communicable and non-communicable diseases.
He went on to enunciate the main points from
She stressed the important role of PPD as a
the Dakar Call for Action and related specific
South-South platform that was recognized
actions. Participants were briefed on the
in Mali for addressing these issues through
strategic direction of PPD and its openness
its framework.
to welcoming new members from the global
South. PPD was described as a platform for The Ambassador of Indonesia extended the
exploring many significant issues, policies and invitation of the Government of Indonesia for
programs including integration of population the 14th Inter-Ministerial Conference of PPD
dynamics in the national policy; improving to be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 26-30
adolescent access to sexual and reproductive November 2017. The National Population and
health services; promoting maternal and child Family Planning Board (BKKBN) of Indonesia is
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Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing Report
leading the preparations for this conference.
The Ambassador highlighted South-South
“Morocco is a founding member
cooperation and technical assistance provided
by PPD member countries and the integration of PPD in 1994 and supports the
of reproductive health, population and important work of PPD.
development into programs, and national and His Majesty, King of Morocco,
regional budgets. He noted that migration and has articulated his vision to
ageing are crucial issues for Indonesia and reinforce ties for South-South
PPD’s facilitation in these areas is important. cooperation between Morocco
and the African region.”
The Ambassador of China singled out PPD as
the sole inter-governmental organization of
Mission of Morocco
developing countries in the field of population
and family planning, representing interests
and voices of nearly 60 per cent of the world’s
of medicines, policies around ageing and
population. He highlighted the valuable
young people, he assured that the Permanent
support PPD provides to China on these
Mission of India to the United Nations in
issues. He affirmed China’s support to PPD by
Geneva will work closely with other Geneva-
promoting communication, coordination and
based Missions towards implementation of the
cooperation with all other PPD members and
Dakar Call for Action.
the international community as a whole, for the
realization of the SDGs and the ICPD Beyond
The Permanent Representative of PPD in
2014 agenda.
Geneva described practical approaches and
actions that could be taken by the Ambassadors
The Ambassador of India expressed his
on issues raised by the Dakar Call for Action
appreciation for this timely meeting and
through their participation in the governance of
complimented PPD’s efforts in strengthening
UN organisations in Geneva. For example, by:
population and health diplomacy in the era of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. „ Asking for the demographic dimension
Sharing a few examples of international to be systematically incorporated in
engagement in the global South and best development plans and progress reports
practices in reproductive health, provision towards the SDGs;
“‘A must attend’. I wish to appreciate
the Mission of China and India for the
practical ideas and leadership they
have demonstrated on important
issues within the international
organizations. Let us ‘go beyond the
talk’ and in particular we can jointly
‘walk the talk’ in the newly ratified
TRIPS Agreement/Public Health and
the flexibilities it provides.”
Ambassador of Kenya
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Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing Report
„ Encouraging dis-aggregation of demographic
data for the analysis of priorities of social
policies, and requiring that international
organisations present data by sub-national
geographies, age, sex, socio-economic
grouping, etc., and that indicators be
adapted to reflect such data analysis;
„ Systematically requiring that reproductive
health of adolescents and young women be
given appropriate emphasis in the work of
international organisations;
„ Insisting on the importance of the issue of
women in migration and the role of women
in control posts, borders and camps to
support female migrants;
„ Requiring that work be undertaken on the
adaptation of health services, insurance
schemes and progress towards universal
access regarding healthy ageing;
„ Requesting that economic analysis of
„ Recognizing and highlighting the
secondary demographic dividend be
importance for countries to fully adopt
conducted taking into consideration the
TRIPS flexibilities, e.g., in board and
positive input of ageing populations, and
international meetings;
not only the burden of dependency.
„ Demanding for WIPO to create the
Following the remarks made by several
database on pharmaceutical patents in all
Ambassadors regarding the report of the
countries, as recommended by the report,
High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, the
and make it available to all, free of charge.
diplomatic missions in Geneva can act on
several issues. For example, by: The Chair thanked the Ambassadors
representing four of the 26 PPD member
„ Insisting WTO to address the issue
countries for providing their experiences
of “bullying”, i.e., threats made to
on South-South knowledge exchange on
member countries of WTO by larger
related issues and achievements, enhancing
commercial powerhouses if they
partnerships and innovative policies and
exercise TRIPS flexibilities;
programmes. He said that the global South
has emerged as one of the convening places
“We congratulate PPD’s work for major discussions on matters of population
and the practical suggestions and development. Calling for the support and
made by PPD Geneva on essential concurrence from the other Geneva missions,
medicines and other matters the Chair wished to discuss the next steps on
such as migration. We support strengthening South-South cooperation and
the information on TRIPS and diplomacy on these matters in Geneva.
initiatives especially important for
The interactive discussion that followed led to
developing countries.”
interventions from several countries including
Ethiopia, Benin, Kenya, Morocco, Chad, as well as
Ambassador of India
Geneva-based organizations.
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Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing Report
Participants from the floor appreciated that diplomacy can play a catalytic role
the initiative of Senegal to communicate in utilization of South-South cooperation
about PPD and the outcome of the Inter- opportunities to implement the Dakar Call for
Ministerial Conference. Action in member countries.
Participants shared experiences from their They underscored the need to engage PPD
countries and encouraged PPD to be used as directly as a strong platform for South-South
a tool to promote health and South-South collaboration, to enable the countries of the
cooperation to advocate for specific decisions global South to garner their collective voice on
by international organizations. population and development matters, beginning
with the need to listen to the testimonies from
The Director for Ageing from WHO
the global South. A greater cooperation with the
congratulated PPD as an important and
South Centre will be beneficial.
effective organization and brought attention to
the WHO-PPD partnership on ageing issues. He The Executive Director of PPD acknowledged the
highlighted the needs of the ageing population, presence of member countries including Tunisia,
such as infrastructure within member countries South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and
and a gendered response. He lauded PPD for the presence of Canada, a leading champion for
taking the lead on such issues of the global promoting South-South partnerships.
South, ascertaining that practical solutions will
He expressed great appreciation for a large
come from the global South.
number of non-members missions present
Participants echoed the call made by panelists whom PPD will reach out for the possibility
for practical solutions and actions on South- of membership. The Executive Director also
South cooperation efforts and committed to be invited the non-members to participate as
more engaged with the PPD office in Geneva. observers in the upcoming annual Inter-
Ministerial meeting in Indonesia, where formal
Panellists once again acknowledged and
discussion on new members to the PPD will
appreciated the work of PPD and its member
take place.
countries and partner organizations, hoping
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Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing Report
Conclusion
In closing, the Chair thanked all the panelists re-emphasized the need to follow up on the
and the participants for the rich and valuable implementation of practical steps discussed.
briefing and insightful contributions. The He suggested a follow up with the missions in
Geneva missions are now more informed about the coming months.
the work of PPD.
It is hoped that this event will set the pace to
strengthen the agenda for mobilizing health
“We will follow up for concrete work diplomacy and South-South cooperation in
in Geneva, since PPD deals with cross- population and development issues, and that
sectoral issues that are strategic. We the Geneva Ambassadors’ Briefing will become
will see how we can together initiate an annual event taking place after the Inter-
cooperation and promote better Ministerial Conference of PPD.
policy decisions in meetings within
The briefing concluded with a final thanks
UN agencies in Geneva, such as WHO,
and applause.
ILO, WIPO, WTO, IOM and others.”
Ambassador of Indonesia
“PPD has a convenor’s role in Geneva.
Health is a very topical issue and
It brought attention to the Dakar Call for
has impact on the work of several
Action which reaffirms previous commitments
organizations, including WHO, WIPO,
among PPD member countries. It recognized
WTO, and the Human Rights Council.
the ever-increasing need for South-South
China strongly supports PPD’s role
cooperation towards comprehensive and
in health diplomacy as a convenor
collective achievement of the 2030 Sustainable
among the developing countries in
Development Agenda.
capacity building and making the
The meeting gave opportunity to kickstart a
voice of developing countries heard in
diplomatic movement around many significant
all these organizations.”
issues of population and development that
require concerted efforts, including at the level Ambassador of China
of permanent missions in Geneva. The Chair
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