Including Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

"The Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (YCSRR) recognizes the human rights violations integral to child, early and forced marriage as well negative implications related to poverty, education, health and sexual and reproductive health and rights."

The YCSRR aims to "ensure that the sexual and reproductive rights of all young people are respected, guaranteed and promoted, and strives to secure the meaningful participation of young people in decision-making that affects their lives, by advocating, generating knowledge, sharing information, building partnerships and training young activists with a focus on the regional and international levels."

According to YCSRR, the Post-2015 Development Agenda process has become an important platform to advocate for human rights. In working toward ensuring that the sexual and reproductive rights of all young people are respected, guaranteed, and promoted, they have produced a peer reviewed series of briefs. The series "Including Youth in the Post-2015 Development Agenda" is intended to make clear the connections between sexual and reproductive rights and development issues that are central to youth and must be included in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Each brief includes definitions, background information, and recommendations.

All of the factsheets are available online and in PDF format under the following titles (as of August 2014):

• "Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Poverty
• Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Human Rights
• Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)
• Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and HIV
• Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health
• Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Child, Early & Forced  Marriage"

For example: the YCSRR brief "Youth Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Child, Early & Forced  Marriage" addresses issues of SRR and "highlights some of the important connections between child, early and forced marriage, sexual and reproductive rights and the Post-2015 Development Agenda" to support and enable youth SRR advocacy on the contents of the next agenda.

Recommendations for points of advocacy in this factsheet include the following:

1. "Governments must strengthen existing laws and take measures to enforce laws on child, early and forced marriage that prohibit marriage without full and informed consent, including increasing awareness on laws and effective prosecution.
2. Governments must respect, protect and promote choice and individual agency and decision-making, ensuring full and informed consent to marriage and enabling individuals to make decisions on matters of their marriage and lives.
3. Governments must ensure access to education for all, including special attention to ensure access to quality secondary education for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. Comprehensive and human rights based sexuality education should be a key component, which builds knowledge on sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender discrimination, relationships, contraceptives and other life skills.
4. Governments must ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and young people irrespective of marital status, including information on and access to contraceptives and safe and legal abortion, which are confidential and non-judgmental.
5. Governments must create or ensure policies and programs which focus on empowering and building leadership among adolescent girls, coupled with education and economic empowerment.
6. Governments must take measures to end gender based discrimination and ensure gender equality by taking legal and policy measures to respect, protect and fulfill women’s human rights and freedom, including the removal of structural and political barriers.
7. Programs to end child, early and forced marriage should emphasize building enabling environments and supportive networks to advocate at community level by mobilizing boys, parents, leaders and teachers at school."