HRC50 - Dili Model United Nations and SRI Statement to Timor-Leste UPR outcome

Published on июля 01, 2022

Human Rights Council - 50th Session, Item 6

Outcome of the Universal Periodic Review – Timor-Leste

 

Thank you President

Action Canada makes this statement on behalf of Dili Model United Nations and the Sexual Rights Initiative.

We welcome the adoption of the UPR report for Timor-Leste and commend the Government for accepting a number of the recommendations received on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Adolescents and young people in Timor-Leste still lack basic information to make informed decisions about their bodies and their lives. We call on the Government to fulfill the commitments it made at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 to ensure young people, in and out of school, have access to age-appropriate, culturally relevant and evidence-based information on sexual and reproductive health and rights, through the effective introduction and expansion of comprehensive sexuality education programs.

In this regard, we applaud the government for accepting recommendations from Uruguay and the Netherlands calling for increased availability of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services and information, including on HIV, sexually transmitted infections and access to family planning services. Access to these services is a fundamental right for us, adolescents and young people, and an integral part of achieving universal access to health​, as well as a means to realize a gender equal, just and sustainable society.

Adolescent girls and young women continue to bear the brunt of gender inequality in Timor-Leste, with adolescent pregnancy and early marriage impeding them from accessing or continuing education. While we welcome the Government’s acceptance of several recommendations calling for intensified efforts to address gender-based violence against women and girls and to providing care and protection to the survivors, we regret the decision to not support recommendations on ending child marriage.

Finally, we stand ready to monitor and to work with the Government towards the full implementation of the UPR recommendations and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

Thank you.