This gathering carried a symbolic weight as it celebrated the first anniversary of SHE & Rights, launched in 2024. With the slogan “Abortion rights are human rights – 1st Year Anniversary Special SHE & Rights Session,” the event reaffirmed the urgency of defending sexual and reproductive rights in the face of growing anti-rights and anti-gender pressures.

The initiative was co-organized by several leading actors: the Center for Global Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) 2025, the Family Planning News Network (FPNN), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive

Rights (WGNRR), the Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media), and CNS.

The session brought together high-profile speakers, including: Dr. Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health; Dr. Mabel Bianco, physician activist and founding president of FEIM (Argentina);Dr. Suchitra Dalvie, co-founder and coordinator of the Asia Safe Abortion Partnership (ASAP);Nelly Munyasia, Executive Director of the Reproductive Health Network Kenya; Debanjana Choudhuri, Executive Director; Shobha Shukla, founder and Executive Director of CNS, also SHE & Rights coordinator.

Through this mobilization, organizers and participants emphasized that the right to abortion is a fundamental human right, intrinsically linked to gender equality and the right to health. Their call aims to strengthen global commitments to ensure this right is recognized, protected, and guaranteed across all regions of the world.babacar sene journal Agropasteur