Position Paper

Committee: UNW

Country: Canada

Agenda: Assertion of reproductive rights

Like every other nation Canada believes that the reproductive rights are the basic women
empowerment that every country in the world should avail. However, the global status of women’s and
girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights is disturbing: 214 million women worldwide want, but
lack access to, contraception; more than 800 women die daily from preventable causes related to
pregnancy and childbirth; and same-sex relationships between consenting adults are still illegal in 76
countries globally. Canada aims for a vision of a society in which women attain their full potential and
are able to participate as equal partners in all spheres of life and influence the process of social change.

Canada’s history has been shaped by countless determined women who worked to promote and uphold
gender equality in Canada. Women championed a number of important human rights that have become
core Canadian values — Canada is one such of a country which has made a successful progress from
women not having the right to vote back in the 20th century to one of the best places in the world to be
a woman.

Canada was recognized for its strong record for gender equality. In a survey of 370 gender experts from
around the globe, Canada was ranked the #1 country for women to live and work. Women in Canada
have a higher quality of life, better job opportunities and more freedoms than in any other country in
the world. The poll asked international NGOs, journalists, lawyers, academics and other specialists to
rank the best and worst G20 countries for women under six categories:

1.workplace opportunities 2.access to resources 3.participation in politics

4.quality of health 5.freedom from violence 6.freedom from trafficking and slavery

While hard-won gains for sexual and reproductive health and rights often face backlash and set-backs,
the Canadian government, together with other countries, is determined to change the status quo. This is
a fragile moment for the rights of women, girls, and trans people. Threats to our sexual and
reproductive health and rights have been compounded by the policies and practices of governments
worldwide—including the U.S. administration—that threaten sexual and reproductive rights.

Canada has managed to overcome 9 out of 10 fields where women face issues. However, the report
notes that “slow progress has been made in closing the pay equality gap.” Equal pay is linked to
reproductive health. The global pay gap across the world between men and women will take 202 years
to close, because it is so vast and the pace of change so slow, according to the World Economic Forum.
The WEF found that on average women across the world are paid just 63% of what men earn. There is
not a single country where women are paid as much as men. And how is this related to the agenda?
reproductive health care can be costly. Without insurance coverage, birth control can cost as much as
$1,080 a year. Women seeking an abortion also face steep costs. In fact, more than half of women who
get abortions spend the equivalent of more than one-third of their monthly income on the procedure
and its associated costs. A woman who is already paid 80 cents or less for every dollar paid to a man
may not be able to pay for the reproductive health care she needs, she may be forced to use birth
control inconsistently or incorrectly, or she may have to forgo basic necessities such as food, rent, or
utilities in order to save up enough money to afford the health care she needs. If a woman is unable to
afford the reproductive health care she needs, it could force her and her family into economic instability
or poverty. Access to reproductive health care services is linked to greater educational and employment
opportunities for women, as well as higher lifetime earnings for them and their families Equal pay, an
important factor of economic stability – not just for women and their families but for the larger
economy– is also an important factor in the realization of reproductive freedom for women. Both equal
pay and reproductive freedom work together to further – or hinder – the economic success of women
and their families.. And therefore our current priority is to resolve this key issue, the only field that
restricts the nation from becoming No.1. So far, Canada has made quite an impressive progress of
reducing the pay gap percentage from 56% in 1976 to 29% in 2014.

But it is not enough and will never be enough for Canada alone to stand No.1, the real aim is to stand
together as the United Nations and empower women from all around the world. Canada has spent
around 49.4 million over 13years to establish SDG 5 units, 3 million to stop FGM in African nation, co-
sponsored the first ever UNGA resolution to address child marriage. As of April 2019 Canada has
upcoming 123 projects in 51 countries along with 58 partners with the contribution on 594 million
dollars. Canada has helped and is looking forward to help other countries to overcome issues that we
successfully resolved earlier.

This maybe a different perspective but it sure is an important one. We went a long way but we are not
there yet.