Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in International Development Assistance

The plan establishes that strong sexual and reproductive rights are crucial for people's bodily autonomy and that abortion rights must be defended, while Sweden should increase aid and strengthen the UN. As global resistance to women's and girls' rights grows, the counter-proposal's demand for higher priority and more resources to SRHR follows directly from the party's feminist core position.

• sexual and reproductive rightsdecisive»sexuella och reproduktiva rättigheter är avgörande för människors« (party programme ↗)“sexual and reproductive rights are crucial for people's”
• increased aid and UN support»Sverige ska öka biståndet, stärka FN och skriva under kärnvapenkonventionen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall increase aid, strengthen the UN and sign the nuclear weapons convention.”
• defend abortion rights»Aborträtten är en viktig« (party programme ↗)“The right to abortion is important”

flags: citat_blockerat

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto is explicit: girls' and women's rights must be strengthened globally and safe abortions must be a right for women throughout the world. The party programme calls for a feminist foreign policy and a one-per-cent target for aid. Prioritizing SRHR higher with more resources when global opposition grows is therefore what the plan requires, not an issue it leaves open.

• right to safe abortionsdecisive»Säkra aborter måste vara en rättighet för kvinnor i hela världen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Safe abortions must be a right for women throughout the world.”
• women's rights globally»Flickors och kvinnors rättigheter måste stärkas globalt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Girls' and women's rights must be strengthened globally.”
• feminist foreign policy»Feministisk utrikespolitik med fokus på kvinnors rättigheter, representation och« (party programme ↗)“Feminist foreign policy with a focus on women's rights, representation and”
• one-per-cent target for aid»Enprocentmål för biståndet.« (party programme ↗)“One-per-cent target for aid.”

The election manifesto commits the party to developing and strengthening feminist foreign and development policy and to aid exceeding one percent of GNI, and the party programme to strengthening women's and girls' empowerment. The counter-proposal's demand for higher priority for SRHR, more resources and international cooperation against resistance follows directly from this, particularly as the programme notes that progress for women's rights is threatened. The SRHR concept is not used in the plan, therefore inferred.

• feminist development policydecisive»utveckla och förstärka Sveriges feministiska utrikes- och utvecklingspolitik« (2022 manifesto ↗)“develop and strengthen Sweden's feminist foreign and development policy”
• women's empowerment»stärker kvinnors och flickors ekonomiska egenmakt och roll som förändringsaktörer« (party programme ↗)“strengthens women's and girls' economic empowerment and role as agents of change”
• progress is threatened»krafter vinner mark. De framsteg som gjorts för kvinnors, minoriteters och« (party programme ↗)“forces are gaining ground. The progress made for women's, minorities' and”
• the one-percent target»att mer än 1 procent av Sveriges bruttonationalinkomst fortsatt ska gå till bistånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“that more than 1 percent of Sweden's gross national income shall continue to go to development aid”

The party programme establishes that the Centre Party is a feminist party and that violations of women's bodily integrity must never be accepted, regardless of where they occur. The election manifesto wants to constitutionally protect the right to abortion and reproductive health and warns against authoritarian movements that restrict women's rights. That SRHR is given higher priority with more resources and international cooperation against this resistance follows from these commitments.

• reproductive rightsdecisive»grundlagsskydda rätten till abort och reproduktiv hälsa« (2022 manifesto ↗)“constitutionally protect the right to abortion and reproductive health”
• feminist foundation»Centerpartiet är ett feministiskt parti« (party programme ↗)“The Centre Party is a feminist party”
• resist authoritarian backlash»inskränka kvinnors, minoriteters och HBTQI-personers rättigheter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“restrict the rights of women, minorities and LGBTQ people”
• women's rights globally»Det gäller oavsett om det sker i Sverige eller i andra länder« (party programme ↗)“Whether it happens in Sweden or in other countries”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan states that gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights shall be prioritized in development aid and that Sweden shall long-term work for abortion rights to be recognized as a human right. It also explicitly points to the repeated threats against women's right to abortion. Prioritizing SRHR higher with more resources against the growing opposition thus follows from the plan's own commitments.

• SRHR prioritized in aiddecisive»samt jämställdhet och sexuell och reproduktiv hälsa och rättigheter samt hbtqipersoners rättigheter prioriteras.« (party programme ↗)“and gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights and LGBTQI+ persons' rights are prioritized.”
• abortion as a human right»Sverige ska arbeta långsiktigt för att rätten till abort erkänns internationellt som en del av de mänskliga rättigheterna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden shall work long-term for the right to abortion to be recognized internationally as part of human rights.”
• threats against abortion rights globally»Det handlar bland annat om upprepade hot mot kvinnors rätt till abort och om rätten för den som verkligen fruktar krig och förföljelse att söka en fristad.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It concerns among other things repeated threats against women's right to abortion and the right for those who truly fear war and persecution to seek sanctuary.”
• gender equality in aid»Den svenska biståndspolitiken måste genomgå stora reformer med fokus på demokrati, jämställdhet och minskad korruption.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish aid policy must undergo major reforms with focus on democracy, gender equality and reduced corruption.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan states that women's situation shall be prioritized in development cooperation and that equality and improved conditions for women are both goals and means in aid, and that EU cooperation shall be used against the sexual enslavement of women and children. This speaks for higher prioritization of girls' and women's health and rights. However, the plan's own approach is preventive work and support that enables pregnancies to be carried to term, which makes the support conditional.

• women prioritized in aiddecisive»prioriteras i utvecklingssamarbetet.« (party programme ↗)“prioritized in development cooperation.”
• equality as goal and means»kvinnor och män samt att förbättra kvinnors villkor är både mål och medel i detta arbete« (party programme ↗)“women and men and to improve women's conditions are both goals and means in this work”
• counter trafficking of women»sexualiserade slavhandeln med kvinnor och barn« (party programme ↗)“sexual enslavement of women and children”
• prevention before abortion»Målet ska emellertid vara ett samhälle där aborter inte efterfrågas.« (party programme ↗)“The goal should however be a society where abortions are not sought.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan abolishes the one-per-cent target and ties aid volume to results and a reasonable budget framework, while the focus should be humanitarian aid, democracy, rule of law and economic development. A requirement for higher priority and more resources to SRHR and central UN bodies goes against that focus. Aid should be concentrated where it does the most good, not broadened with new earmarks.

• abolished one-per-cent targetdecisive»• Avskaffa enprocentmålet och ersätta det med en fyraårig budgetram för biståndet som skapar förutsägbarhet och resultatfokus« (2022 manifesto ↗)“• Abolish the one-per-cent target and replace it with a four-year budget framework for aid that creates predictability and results focus”
• aid's direction»Svensk biståndspolitik ska vara inriktad på humanitärt« (party programme ↗)“Swedish aid policy should be directed toward humanitarian”
• focused aid»• Fokusera det svenska biståndet till de länder, organisationer och tematiska områden där det gör störst nytta« (2022 manifesto ↗)“• Focus Swedish aid on the countries, organisations and thematic areas where it does the most good”
• humanitarian prioritisation»• Öka andelen humanitärt bistånd i den svenska biståndsbudgeten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“• Increase the share of humanitarian aid in the Swedish aid budget”

The plan's decisive aid commitment is that international aid be significantly reduced, made more efficient and concentrated to humanitarian emergency aid, and that funds be freed up for Swedish welfare and security. The counter-proposal demands instead more resources and higher prioritization of SRHR as well as expanded support to UN bodies. The plan certainly wants to improve vulnerable women's living situation, but within reduced and strictly focused aid.

• sharply reduced aiddecisive»Överlag måste det internationella biståndet kraftigt minska och insatserna effektiviseras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“On the whole, international aid must be significantly reduced and efforts must be made more efficient.”
• emergency aid in focus»Fokusera biståndet till humanitärt katastrofbistånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Focus aid on humanitarian emergency assistance.”
• Swedish welfare before aid»Minska svenskt bistånd till förmån för svensk välfärd och trygghet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce Swedish aid in favour of Swedish welfare and security.”
• support for vulnerable women»för att förbättra utsatta barn och ansatta kvinnors livssituation i fattiga eller förtryckta delar av världen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“in order to improve vulnerable children and vulnerable women's life situation in poor or oppressed parts of the world.”