14 November 2012: The African Regional Youth Forum, organized by Benin’s Ministries of Development and Youth and supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), sought to engage African young people in reviewing the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Beyond 2014 process and the post-2015 development agenda.

Thomas Yayi Boni, President of Benin, and UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin opened the three-day event in Cotonou, Benin, attended by around 150 participants from 23 African countries, UN agencies and other partners. According to UNFPA, the Forum called on governments to adopt national development frameworks that include sexual and reproductive health and rights of youth, promote the empowerment of marginalized youth and young girls, and give access to better jobs for youth.

The recommendations will be taken to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Beyond 2014 Global Youth Forum in Bali, Indonesia, on 4-6 December 2012.

On the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the ICPD process beyond 2014, UNFPA said participants asked the UN system to advocate to governments to include the sexual and reproductive health of youth as a development priority. [UNFPA Press Release] [ICPD Beyond 2014 Website]