In 1994, at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), icons and activists from around the world mobilized behind an unprecedented global agreement, the ICPD Programme of Action. For the first time, 179 governments committed to social and economic development that upholds human dignity and empowers people to chart their own futures. The ICPD was the culmination of a global movement to uphold the basic right of all couples and individuals to freely and responsibly make their own decisions about the number and spacing of their children, and to have the information, education and means to do so.

The Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development put individual rights and well-being at the centre of reproductive health, which became the mission of UNFPA. Since then, health-care systems around the world have taken steps to provide more people with the information and services they need to plan their families, give birth safely, avoid or treat sexually transmitted infections, and address infertility and reproductive health cancers. While gaps remain, the stage has been set for further expansion of services: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes sexual and reproductive health as essential to equitable development and women’s empowerment.

IThe share of women who die giving life is smaller than ever before. Yet a global target on reducing maternal deaths has not been met. For many women, basic care during pregnancy and childbirth is still out of reach. And preventable maternal deaths and complications during delivery point to continued health system failures. People from health care, philanthropies, civil society and elsewhere join UNFPA in the drive to make motherhood safe, without exception.

Access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning is a human right. All men and women should have information and a range of quality contraceptive options to make the best choices based on their circumstances and responsibilities. The unmet need for family planning has declined dramatically over the past 50 years, as evidenced by slowing fertility rates in much of the world. Still, 232 million women who would like to prevent pregnancy remain without family planning, with adverse consequences for their lives and aspirations.

All forms of progress and change hinge on gender equality. Realizing sexual and reproductive health on an equal basis frees people to claim other rights, such as going to school, finding a decent job or having a say in their family and community. Since no country has yet achieved gender equality, UNFPA walks shoulder-to-shoulder with activists on the front lines in the continued struggle to end all forms of gender discrimination, once and for all.

Gender-based violence is a violation of human rights that appears in every society and community, flourishing from deeply rooted gender discrimination. Domestic abuse, rape and other sexual violations and sexual harassment are among many forms taking a terrible toll on the health, rights and dignity of people everywhere. Courageous activists are standing up to this scourge.

They are the present and the future, already powerful leaders and our best hope for transformative change. UNFPA celebrates the largest generation of young people in history, in all their diversity and possibility. Many were born around or after the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, growing up in a world with both great possibilities and acute risks. They deserve every opportunity to make their own choices, and realize their potential and aspirations for their lives and their world.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and human rights. In 1968, the international community agreed that couples and individuals have a right to plan their families. Twenty-six years later, at the International Conference on Population and Development, 179 countries agreed that only by realizing rights, universally, can we end inequalities and achieve inclusive, sustainable development. Today, everything that UNFPA does is aimed at upholding rights.

Every woman and girl has the right to health and the integrity of her body. Yet many harmful practices violate these rights and cause great suffering. The International Conference on Population and Development’s call to governments and communities to stop unnecessary and dangerous practices marked a turning point in prioritizing women’s rights. UNFPA and civil society organizations around the world champion the right of women and girls to make choices about their bodies, and to live free from violations such as female genital mutilation and child marriage.

The 50 years since the founding of UNFPA and the 25 years since the International Conference on Population and Development have seen the endorsement of reproductive rights and their increasing integration into laws and practices. Yet reproductive rights and choices remain under threat. Reproductive justice takes an active stand on not just defining rights, but claiming them in everyday life, for everyone. It links social, political, economic and reproductive rights, calling, for instance, for equal access to family planning services as well as the decent work that provides the time and resources to access those services. In short, it is about real choices for making real change.