WUNRN
STATEMENT BY HUMAN RIGHTS, WOMEN’S RIGHTS & HEALTH GROUPS ON THE REPORT BY THE UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO HEALTH, RE: SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, TO UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
24 October 2011
We, the undersigned human rights, women’s rights and health organizations, welcome the report (A/66/254) of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, to the UN General Assembly presented on 24 October 2011 as a milestone in the struggle for the full realization of the right to health for all.
The report exposes the many detrimental effects on individuals’ health, equality, bodily integrity, dignity, and decision-making capacity resulting from criminal laws and other misguided legal restrictions that governments frequently impose in violation of sexual and reproductive rights: restrictions on abortion, restrictions on contraception, the criminalization of women’s conduct on the basis that they are pregnant (such as criminal sanctions for drug use or alcohol consumption during pregnancy) and restrictions on access to full, complete, and accurate information on sexual and reproductive health.
The majority of states which spoke during the General Assembly’s interactive dialogue on the report expressed the view that it makes a useful contribution to existing guidance on implementing the right to health. In a joint statement with the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS, UNFPA stated that the report supports states’ efforts to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. Our organisations welcome such responses in support of the report and its importance within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.
We believe this report is of fundamental importance in securing the right to health, in particular because:
- The report consolidates years of health and human
rights legal analysis by many UN experts, who are mandated by UN Member States
to promote the full and equal enjoyment of human rights by all persons.
These studies jointly support the conclusion that criminal law is often an
inappropriate tool for regulating sexual and reproductive health matters.
- The report uses empirical evidence compiled by UN
technical agencies to support the conclusion that the misuse of criminal
laws and punitive policies in the area of sexual and reproductive health
cause disproportionate suffering for women; people engaging in same sex
sexual conduct; people identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender persons; those living with HIV or AIDS; and other groups who
already suffer discrimination.
- The report contains clear and detailed recommendations
for States, including a call to immediately decriminalize abortion, ensure
access to a full range of modern contraceptive methods, and facilitate
access to full, complete, and accurate information on sexual and
reproductive health.
Our own research and experience supports the conclusions of this report as well as the validity of its recommendations. We look forward to working with States to further the implementation of these recommendations in the fulfilment of their international human rights obligations.
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Action Canada for Population and Development
AKAHATA
Amnesty International
ARC International
Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women
Association for Women’s Rights in Development
Catholics for Choice
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Women's Global Leadership
CREA
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland
GREFELS (Research Group on Women and Laws in Senegal)
Human Rights Watch
INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre, Sri Lanka
International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organisations (IFHHRO)
International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)
International Planned Parenthood Federation
International Women’s Health Coalition
Ipas
Irish Family Planning Association
Marie Stopes International
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Physicians for Human Rights
Sexual Rights Initiative
Shirkat
Gah Women's Resource Centre
Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition
Women Living Under Muslim Laws International Solidarity Network - Africa and Middle East
Women's Learning Partnership International Coalition for Rights, Development & Peace
_____________________________________________________________
Rights, Not
Criminalization, for Girls and Women, Says UN Health Expert
Demonstrating against the abortion ban in
By Stephanie
Schlitt, Amnesty International’s Researcher and Policy Advisor on Gender -
October 24, 2011
At the United Nations
General Assembly, the UN’s expert on the right to health, Anand Grover, will
present a ground-breaking report. The report exposes how states are putting
women’s and girls’ lives and health at risk through criminal laws and other
misguided legal restrictions that deny girls and women access to sexual and
reproductive health information and services and the ability to make decisions
about their sexual and reproductive lives.
The report concludes
that restrictions on abortion and contraception, the criminalization of
pregnant women’s conduct (such as making drug use when pregnant a criminal
offence), as well as restrictions on access to information on sexual and
reproductive health violate girls’ and women’s rights to sexual and
reproductive health. This report supports earlier UN expert findings that such
laws place states in breach of their international human rights obligations.
For almost eight years at Amnesty International I have worked to
support research and campaigning on gender-related issues. I am in the middle
of my first pregnancy just now. Being here at the UN to see this report being
presented feels all the more poignant because of this. As I read the report, my
thoughts turned to the girls and women all over the world whose experience of
sexuality and reproduction is shaped by laws and policies that allow the state,
and the people around them, to subject them to pressure, fear, intimidation,
pain, suffering and punishment.
In Indonesia Amnesty
International’s research has highlighted a number of legal provisions,
including in the Criminal Code, which restrict access to sexual and
reproductive rights, or have a chilling effect on the provision of sexual and
reproductive health information and services. Some Indonesian activists
expressed particular concerns about the new Pornography Law (No. 44/2008) which
they said could prevent them from disseminating information on sex education
free from the threat of criminalization. One activist told Amnesty
International: “If people feel uncomfortable and think I am promoting sex, this
can be a problem… it always depends on community leaders… if they are very
fundamentalist then there is a high chance [we will be arrested].”
In 2008, draconian
legal provisions came into force in
The UN expert’s
recommendations echo calls made by international human rights bodies and public
health experts. But most importantly, the report reflects the demands of girls
and women and those active for the protection of their human rights. On 28
September, hundreds of Nicaraguans marched against the abortion ban. Two young
girls held a banner saying “Motherhood: Only if I can and only if I am
willing.” Amnesty International supports their demand. So does the Special Rapporteur
in his report. Let’s hope more governments hear these voices, adhere to their
international legal obligations and take the actions recommended in the report
presented today!