“It doesn’t start in New York and it doesn’t end in New York”: my journey as a UN youth delegate

Neisha, Plan International and UK Youth Delegate to the UN Commission on Population and Development, on the importance of ensuring more young people have their voices heard in international spaces.

This April, the 58th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD58) took place at the UN headquarters in New York. During this session, I joined the UK’s delegation as their youth delegate with a focus on advising on sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

The week was filled with high-level dialogues, strategy meetings, and UN side-events. My highlight was giving the UK’s National Statement after co-creating it with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. I am proud that we were able to represent the UK’s strong stance on SRHR, young voices, and the need to support women and girls in humanitarian crises.

The power of young people in multilateral spaces

I was also in Plan International’s delegation with two other youth delegates. Together, we formulated our advocacy priorities for CPD58 which included ensuring the SRHR of women and girls in humanitarian crises. During a side-event on sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence in crisis responses, I highlighted how international actors should be supporting the incredible work already being done by community-led groups so that community groups can lead. This event was particularly significant as it was the only CPD58 side event around this crucial topic.

Meeting other youth delegates from across the world, even hosting youth delegates for breakfast at the UK Mission, showed me the power of unity among young people in multilateral spaces. I was especially inspired by a youth delegate who told me they had been encouraged to censor their advocacy because someone else held different views. Despite this, they stood strong on their values and spoke out for marginalised groups. I believe this is incredibly important to see in these spaces; a key part of diplomacy is respecting the views of others.

Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights

One saying that I’ve kept with me throughout this journey, starting from finding out I had been selected and up to today, is “it doesn’t start in New York and it doesn’t end in New York”. I spent the three months before CPD58 learning about the UN and the commission, deepening my advocacy and diplomacy skills, and enhancing my understanding of SRHR. CPD58 ignited a passion in me to push for a world where all women and girls, in all their diversity, can thrive.

CPD58 did not end with a consensus. This means we have no outcome document because not all member states could agree on one. On behalf of 36 countries, including the UK, South Africa presented a joint closing statement reaffirming the importance of universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. There is still much to be done to make this a reality for all women and girls. Uncomfortable conversations need to become the new norm. If we do not have these discussions, the taboos and stigmas, which maintain attitudes that hold women and girls back, will continue. Challenging stigma is a small but mighty step we can all take among our friends, family members, colleagues, and in all the spaces we are in.

Accessibility remains a barrier which is stopping young people and women in all their diversity from meaningfully participating in multilateral and international spaces such as the UN. Two incredible youth advocates from Togo and Sierra Leone, who I had the pleasure of collaborating with in my delegation, were unable to attend CPD58 due to visa inequity. I was able to bring their insights and experiences as a panellist at a side-event on maternal mortality, but this is not enough; they should have had the same opportunity to be in these spaces telling their own stories.

I left CPD58 with many learnings, be it on the landscape of the CPD, SRHR policy, and multilateralism, all of which I will take with me as I move forward in my career. We all have a part to play in progressing SRHR and ensuring young people have their voices heard in international spaces. It doesn’t start with you, and it doesn’t end with you.