regional updates

ASTRA Youth Network Report Launch in the European Parliament.On 12 January 2011, ASTRA Network and ASTRA Youth together with MEPs Sophie in 't Veld and Antonyia Parvanova organised a launch event of the Astra Youth Report on ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Adolescents in Central and Eastern Europe and Balkan Countries’ in the European Parliament. The aim of the report and of the launch event was to highlight the problem and to raise awareness about sexual education in the Central and Eastern Europe and Balkan Countries’ on the European Union level and to bring attention of the EU policy makers to the situation of sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people in these countries. The report covers issues related to the sexual education, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS, abortion, contraception, youth health care and evaluation of official data and legal issues. The data in the reports is provided for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Macedonia, Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The most important issue arising from the reports is the lack of the sexual education in all of the countries covered by the report. According to the study, in none of these countries young people receive reliable and science based sexual education in schools. The existing curricula are most often influenced by ideology and/or religion while the term “sex” is constantly avoided and limited by access to contraception.

The report is available here: ASTRA Youth

EU’s Hungarian Presidency recognises MDGs in six-month programme. The programme of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, entitled ‘Strong Europe’ has been released. Although this 56-page document does not make specific reference to heath in development, it does include the MDGs. It states there is a ‘need to elaborate on the progress of commitments made by EU member states towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals’, of which health is central and in particular MDG 5 (improving maternal health and universal access to contraception), has a long way to go and needs urgent attention.

To access the full programme, please see: EU2011

Russian Orthodox Church calls for abortion restrictions.Russia is battling a demographic crisis, with its population dropping by almost six million since 1993, and the government has tried to boost the birth rate by offering mothers cash payouts for the birth of each child. Abortion rates remain high in Russia, due to factors including a lack of free contraceptives and a low take-up of the birth control pill. Abortions are provided for free by law. In 2009, 1.29 million abortions were registered, against 1.76 million births, according to figures released by the state statistics agency, which do not include backstreet abortions. The socially influential Russian Orthodox Church opposes abortion unless the woman's life is in danger. The Russian Orthodox Church appealed to the Russian government to restrict women's rights to abortion to cut high abortion rates in a list of policy suggestions published Monday. Abortions should not be covered by compulsory health insurance, unless the woman's life is in danger, the Church said in a list of suggestions published on its website and sent to the government ahead of a debate on family policy. Women should be told of "all the negative consequences and risks" and should have a compulsory cooling-off period after agreeing to have an abortion, the Church said in its suggestions to improve family and child policies. Representatives of so-called "traditional faiths," a term that in Russia usually refers to Orthodox Christianity, Judaism and Islam, should consult women at "crisis centres" in maternity hospitals, the Church suggested.

Source: AFP

Anti-choice campaign in Macedonia.The Government of Macedonia launched a new media campaign against abortions, under the motto “Choose Life, You Have the Right to Choose”, with serious of print media ads and two videos that focus exclusively on the negative consequences of abortions. The information provided to the citizens is one-sided and doesn’t cover other aspects of termination of pregnancies. Human rights experts fear that the campaign aims to prepare the public opinion for an outright ban on abortions. This is not the first anti-abortion campaign in Macedonia. In 2007, the Government claimed it didn’t know who was behind the posters with the message “Don’t abort” and a picture of a bloody foetus, that covered downtown Skopje. Last year, the “Revita” NGO from Bitola launched an anti-abortion campaign and a special website, www.abortusne.org.mk, dedicated to the fight against the right to abortion. Pro-choice organizations called the Government to stopping and withdrawing the campaign.

Source:ASTRA Secretariat

Poland : Parliament passes Gender Quota Bill.The Polish Parliament has approved a bill which aims at promoting gender equality in the country’s political life. According to the new legislation, at least 35 percent of all candidates on the lists of all parties running for seats in the 460-seat lower house must be women. The rule will not apply to elections to the 100-seat upper house, the Senate. Currently women account for some 20 percent of deputies in the lower house and for only 8 percent of senators. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for autumn in 2011.

Source:Federation for Women and Family Planning

European Parliament asks Lithuania to reconsider homophobic laws.The European Parliament called on Lithuanian MPs to reject an amendment to the Lithuanian Code of Administrative Offences. The proposed amendment would punish the ‘public promotion of homosexual relations’ with fines from €580 to €2,900.Since 2009, Lithuania has amended its legislation to ban minors from accessing information on homosexuality, censor mentions of sexual orientation in advertising, and withdraw sexual orientation from the list of grounds protected by its educational equal opportunity policy. The EP’s resolution calls on Lithuanian law-makers to reject the proposed amendment put forward by MP Petras Gražulis of the Order and Justice party, and review previously-passed homophobic laws. The resolution also welcomes positive developments in Lithuania, such as previous presidential vetoes on homophobic laws, and the inclusion of sexual orientation as a motive for hate crime. The European Parliament had already expressed its concern at the Law on the Protection of Minors from the Detrimental Effects of Information in September 2009.

More:ILGA

Birth rate drops in Ukraine for first time in many years, population loss grows, says statistics service.A total of 456,900 babies were born in Ukraine over the first eleven months of 2010, which is 14,500 less year-over-year, while population loss increased from 172,600 in 2009 to 181,500 people year-over-year. According to the State Service of Statistics of Ukraine, a reduction in the birth rate and growth in population loss was recorded last year for the first time since 2005. At the same time, the death rate also started to drop: in January through November 2009 some 644,000 people died in Ukraine, in comparison to 638,400 people year over year. The state statistics service also reported that the population of Ukraine was 45,795,911 people, as of December 1, 2010.

Source:Ukraine General Newswire

Chechnya: HIV-Negative Status Needed To Marry.The spiritual leaders of Muslim Chechnya have ordered that all couples who plan to marry prove they are HIV-negative, sparking outrage from activists and residents who say it violates Russian law." Any potential bride or groom is obliged to receive a medical certificate proving they are HIV-negative," the Chechen mufti's press service informed. An imam can only approve of a marriage once the HIV-negative certificate is obtained. The order comes after the mufti and other spiritual heads demanded last year a total shutdown of all eateries during the holy month of Ramadan and ordered bands of armed men to harass women who did not wear headscarves. The mufti's orders have no legal weight but are generally followed because he is a respected spiritual leader and because of his ties to Chechnya's hardline leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

Source:Interfax