r
Ratification
To ratify a treaty or contract means a person or state has officially approved it. It is a formal agreement that is often (but not always) legally binding.
Reproductive Health
In the ICPD Programme of Action, Reproductive Health (or RH) is described as ‘the complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters related to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes.’ Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life, and that they have the capability to reproduce, and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition is the right of all people to be informed about and have access to safe, effective, affordable, and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, including the full range of contraceptives and safe and legal abortion, access to services for prevention, management and treatment of infertility, and to have access to safe and reliable (post) maternal health care services. For reproductive health to be attained and maintained, the reproductive rights of all persons must be respected, protected and fulfilled.
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive Rights (RR) are the rights of all individuals, to attain the highest standard of reproductive health possible, and to decide freely over their own reproductive capacities without discrimination, coercion, or violence. Put more simply, reproductive rights are your rights relating to your reproductive health! For example, having access to scientifically accurate and reliable information surrounding your reproductive health, and having consistent access to sexual and reproductive health commodities and services (e.g. the full range of contraceptives and safe and legal abortion) are considered reproductive rights. Note that reproductive rights embrace certain human rights that are already recognized in national laws, international human rights documents and other consensus documents.
Right Here, Right Now (RHRN)
Right Here Right Now (RHRN) I was a strategic partnership between CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality, Rutgers WPF, dance4life, Hivos, ARROW (the regional partner for Asia), IPPF-ARO (the regional partner for Africa), LACWHN (the regional partner for Latin America and the Caribbean), and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. RHRN was implemented in ten countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan), Africa (Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe), and Latin America (Bolivia and Honduras) and one sub-region, the Caribbean. The RHRN program aimed to strengthen the capacity and collaboration of civil society organizations (CSOs), including youth-led organizations, working on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, to jointly advocate for young people’s SRHR issues at a national, regional, and international level. At the same time we aimed to strengthen the connections between relevant national, regional and international advocacy processes to create a strong movement of CSOs, push for stronger SRHR outcomes for young people, and ensure greater accountability of governments and follow-up on the ground. RHRN ran from 2016 to 2020.
In 20221 the Right Here Right Now 2 (RHRN2) Partnership was created. This is a strategic partnership between CHOICE for Youth & Sexuality, Arrow, Association Marocaine de Planification Familiale, Dance4Life, Reproductive Health Uganda, RNW Media and Rutgers, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. RHRN 2 is implemented in 10 countries, namely Bangladesh, Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Tunisia and Uganda. The partnership was created to allow young people in all their diversity to enjoy their SRHR in gender-just societies - gender justice means ending the inequalities between women and men that are produced and reproduced in all parts of society, such as the family, the community, the market and the state. With young people at the forefront, the partnership seeks to unleash the power of youth to increase public support for young people’s SRHR, improve policies and laws and strengthen civil society. Lobbying and advocacy is the main strategy, supported by mutual capacity strengthening.
Rights
A right is something every person has regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, gender, religion or any other status, that should not be taken away from them. It is a rule about what a person is allowed to do or have. Rights may be put into laws so they have legal protection. The most common rights we talk about are human rights, sexual rights and reproductive rights.
Rights Holders
In a general sense because everyone has human rights, everyone is also a rights-holder. Usually, the term is used to refer to individuals or groups that have particular entitlements in relation to specific duty-bearers. This term is often used in contexts where groups of people do not have their rights recognized, fulfilled, or protected.
Rights, Evidence, Action (REA)
Rights, Evidence, Action was a program of CHOICE together with RNW Media (Love Matters) under the Amplify Change strategic grant. This program is specifically targeted at improving the SRHR of young LGBT persons, and envisions ‘A world where the choices and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of young people – including LGBT- are fulfilled, respected and celebrated’. The program runs in four countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and India. Love Matters and CHOICE aim for a unique collaboration, in which Love Matters uses their online network for engaging young people and advocacy purposes, while CHOICE works on international and national advocacy in Kenya, Uganda and India with partner organisations.
Rio+20
An alternative name for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), which took place in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in June 2012 and resulted in the outcome document ‘The Future We Want’. The name ‘Rio+20’ is a reference to the original Earth Summit that took place in Rio in 1992.