Center Presenting at the Women Deliver 2023 Conference

Center for Reproductive Rights leaders will discuss their work to increase access to abortion worldwide and to amplify the goals of the global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) movement when they join with 6,000 advocates from 166 countries at the Women Deliver 2023 Conference: Spaces, Solidarity, and Solutions. 

The three-day conference, taking place July 17 to 20 in Kigali, Rwanda, will bring together grassroots and youth advocates and representatives from multilateral governments, the private sector, and philanthropies to address issues affecting the wellbeing of women and girls and to catalyze action to advance gender equality. 

Among the Center’s speakers are Nancy Northup, president and CEO, who will talk about the organization’s work to guarantee access to safe and legal abortion and launch the newly revamped World’s Abortion Laws Map, and Catalina Martínez Coral, senior regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean and a prominent member of the Causa Justa movement, who will facilitate a discussion with reproductive rights leaders from Colombia, México, Nepal and Uganda. 

Rwanda was selected as Women Deliver Conference host country for its commitment to gender equality and girls’ and women’s health and rights.

Center Engagement Includes Booth and Key Roles in Multiple Sessions 

Highlights of the Center’s engagement at the conference include:

• A booth featuring the Center’s newly revamped, interactive World’s Abortion Laws Map, the definitive global record on the status of abortion laws in every country worldwide. 
• A discussion by Nancy Northup on urgent SRHR challenges—specifically the right to bodily autonomy—and the global impact of abortion restrictions at “Plenary 3: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.” 
• A concurrent session, “Abortion Progress Around the World,” led by Catalina Martínez Coral about the work of feminist organizations and coalitions to destigmatize abortion and galvanize support for gender equality. 
• A networking side event—sponsored by the Center and Devex—about the Center’s global work on reproductive rights, that will bring together SRHR leaders and key stakeholders to celebrate advancements and strategize new ways to secure rights protections.  
• An invitation-only, networking side event—led by Salima Namusobya, Senior Regional Director, Africa—about using strategic litigation to safeguard women and girls’ SRHR in Africa.  
• Additional events including a United Nations Population Fund preconference session on bodily autonomy and a UN Women concurrent session, both featuring Catalina Martínez Coral; and a  concurrent session on the climate crisis and SRHR featuring Alejandra Coll, Advocacy Adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

About Women Deliver 

Women Deliver is a leading global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women, in all their intersecting identities. Its advocacy drives investment—political and financial—in the lives of girls and women worldwide. 

As one of the largest multi-sectoral convenings to advance gender equality, the Women Deliver 2023 Conference has sexual and reproductive health and rights at its core. The conference brings grassroots advocates and decision-makers together to break barriers, address challenges and identify opportunities to advance gender equality and improve the wellbeing of girls and women. 

About Rwanda, Host Country for the Women Deliver 2023 Conference 

An African country with a population of 13 million, Rwanda is a leader in representing women in decision-making with more than 60 percent of its parliamentary seats and 46 percent of cabinet positions occupied by women. The World Economic Forum ranks the country first in Africa and sixth globally as a leader in closing gender gaps. Gender equality and women’s empowerment inform both Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (2017-2024) and Vision 2050, and its Constitution guarantees equal rights for women and men and stipulates a quota of 30 percent representation of women in all decision-making bodies. Additionally, the country has achieved near Universal Health Coverage and its leaders have made specific commitments to achieve family planning, maternal health, digital access and other gender equity goals.