Towards a Human Rights-Based Approach to CEFMU Laws

The CEFMU and Sexuality Working Group (SWG) and UNFPA held the expert convening Towards a Human Rights-Based Approach to CEFMU Laws at the United Nations in Geneva. 

We hosted 50 participants from around the world – from civil society, UN agencies, human rights mechanisms, academia, Member States, donors – whose work focuses on CEFMU, sexuality, and women’s and girls’ rights, and bodily autonomy, and who have expertise in law, policy, research, programming, and advocacy.  

The objectives of the convening were: 

• To foster dialogue and shared learning on evidence and legal frameworks related to CEFMU, including their implementation and unintended consequences, to strengthen collective action and advance the rights and agency of adolescent girls, and

• To collaboratively develop proposals for legal and policy reforms that more closely align with human rights standards in order to strengthen prevention and response to CEFMU while advancing adolescent girls’ rights, agency, and protection.

The convening’s discussions will feed into a forthcoming publication (March 2026) that outlines key elements and principles for human rights-based, gender-transformative legal systems for CEFMU. This publication will support policy- and lawmakers, as well as advocates, to develop, implement, and advocate for CEFMU-related laws that support adolescent girls’ and young women’s agency, bodily autonomy, rights, and opportunities.

The day after the convening, the SWG participated in a one-day consultation held by the UN Office of the High Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR). SWG members spoke on a panel and made recommendations for OHCHR’s forthcoming guidelines to Member States on CEFMU programming, law, and policy.

Please see photos and key documents from the convening below.