I've been hearing, of course, that the US is now well-posed to retake a leadership role in promoting international family planning and women's health in the UN context. What I am wondering, and would love to have this group of experts on UN advocacy and international work weigh in on, is how the US retakes that role. During the Bush administration, the US actively worked against the UN's ability to promote women's health abroad, and some European nations stepped up to lead in our absence. What relationships do we need to repair, and how can we build on the work European countries have done? What does it take for the US to so radically shift its position? And how can the US prove its strong commitment to the ICPD now that a new administration has taken power?

By overturning the Global Gag Rule and reinstating UNFPA funding, the Obama Administration has taken immediate actions to ensure the rights and reproductive health of women and girls. But a lot of day-in, day-out slogging is being - and will have to continue to be - done. And, there are quite a few things that must be undone - for example, the Administration's bold move to repeal the HHS regulations initiated by the Bush Administration.

The US can stand tall at this week's UN Conference on Population and Development to secure consensus on a robust action agenda for the world and for U.S. foreign assistance:

• Prioritizing U.S. investment in comprehensive reproductive health services, defined at the ICPD, including care during pregnancy and childbirth, access to contraceptives and safe abortion, and diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS.
• Ensuring access to comprehensive sexuality education that teaches young people how to establish equality in relationships, respect the right to consent in sex and marriage, and end violence and sexual coercion.
• Promoting and protecting the human rights of women at the United Nations and in bilateral relations with other governments.

As Alana says, we know what to do, and as Laurie suggests, we are mobilizing effective alliances for this era of opportunity.

I agree wholeheartedly with Alanna about the difficulty -- and importance -- of getting out of our defensive crouch and setting a proactive agenda. At the same time, we already have an agenda for women's health and rights -- the ICPD Program of Action -- that remains unfinished. The goals of the ICPD remain as urgent as they were 15 years ago when the document was hammered out in Cairo.
The reasons why the ICPD agenda remains unfinished would fill quite a few blog posts. But I do think we have new opportunities to reinvigorate support for that agenda. Today, there is a remarkable alignment of interests among those working for women's rights and health, youth empowerment, global justice and environmental protection. The ICPD agenda is central to all of those concerns -- and there is much to be gained by building new alliances with these movements.

I know this is fraught; many of us in the women's rights and health movement are understandably wary of those who approach reproductive health with other motivations. There is a real danger, for example, that concerns about population growth and the environment could take us back to the days of "population control." That is a danger we must tackle head-on, but it should not deter us from making alliances with environmentalists and others. The greatest danger right now is of not going forward and accomplishing the critically important goals set forth in the ICPD.

I'll take a shot at going first.

There is a reason that George Lucas made prequels to the Stars Wars saga instead of sequels. What exactly do you do once the evil empire is gone? The opportunity we have mirrors the opportunity that the US has in general. We spent an enormous amount of time and energy fighting bad policy. Suddenly, that weight has been lifted. How do we keep our momentum going in a world where we can move forward instead of just trying to avoid sliding back?

I think the answer is to set, and publicize, some ambitious yet achievable goals. We have an opportunity here, but we need something to rally around. Many problems affecting women have solutions that have been proven to work. In particular, getting girls into school and reducing maternal mortality are ripe for serious attention. What we need to do now is push hard to get funding and prioritize education for girls and safer motherhood. Setting challenging targets would be one way to do that.

Among the first executive orders signed by President Obama upon taking to office were eliminating the so-called 'Global Gag Rule' and restoring American funding for the United Nations Population Fund to provide international family planning assistance. I think we all would applaud these two moves, however I cannot but help shake the feeling that this brings us to where we were in 2000. For the past eight years activist communities have been organized around acheieving these twin goals. Now that they have been met what else should the Obama administration do to promote the health and welfare of women worldwide?

Welcome to a new salon-style discussion on global women's issues, co-hosted between UN Dispatch and RH Reality Check.

This is a critical time for global health and development. In January we reached an important milestone when President Obama rescinded the so-called Global Gag Rule that prevented American support from reaching some NGOs that do important family planning work in the developing world. Now that the Global Gag Rule is a thing of the past, there are a number of other important priorities for the health, welfare, and empowerment of women worldwide.

We have gathered an excellent panel of experts to discuss and debate exactly a new international agenda for women and girls might look like. Joining the conversation are:

• Sheryl WuDunn, Co-author (with Nicholas Kristof) of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (forthcoming)
• Laurie Mazur, author and population expert.
• Adrienne Germain, International Women's Health Coalition
• Dacia Ray, International Women's Health Coalition
• Alanna Shaikh, Change.org's Global Health blog
• Vanessa Valenti, Feministing
• Michelle Goldberg, author The Means of Reproduction

I kick off the conversation below. Alanna, Laurie and Adrienne offer their thoughts.