Agreement Strengthens Protection of Reproductive Health and Rights in Nine CIS Countries

ST. PETERSBURG -- UNFPA and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed a cooperation agreement on advancing reproductive health and rights in the region.

The agreement was signed by Regional Director Thea Fierens on behalf of UNFPA and by the Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. A former governor of Saint Petersburg, Ms. Matvienko is the first woman in the country’s history to hold what is considered to be the third most influential political tenure in the state.

“We now have more reason than ever to believe that the sun is shining brighter for the women, youth and families of this vast part of the world, even on white summer nights”, said Ms. Fierens at the signing ceremony.

The agreement is based on the organizations’ mutual interest in empowering women and youth in their reproductive health and rights. It makes possible a range of shared initiatives aimed at moving this objective forward, such as the development of a model law on reproductive health and rights that would serve as a standard for future policymaking in the Commonwealth of Independent States (which comprise Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Ukraine).

“We welcome the continuation of our very positive collaboration with UNFPA. It is very important that we will have a law model on reproductive health and rights in a region where demographic indicators are so markedly distinct”, said Ms. Matvienko following the signing ceremony.