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http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15944&LangID=E
Paraguay – Failure to Protect 10-Year-Old Girl
Pregnant from Rape – UN Experts
GENEVA (11 May 2015) – A group of United Nations human rights experts*
today said that the Government of Paraguay has failed in its responsibility to
act with due diligence in the case a 10-year old girl child, who has been
refused access to treatments to save her life and preserve her health,
including safe and therapeutic abortion in a timely manner.
The girl child’s 23-week pregnancy, established about three weeks ago,
is the result of repeated sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by a close
relative. Abortion law in Paraguay is restrictive and only authorises the
termination of a pregnancy when the life of the woman or the girl is at serious
risk. It does not provide any other exceptions, especially in cases of rape,
incest or unviable foetus.
“The Paraguayan authorities’ decision results in grave violations of the
rights to life, to health, and to physical and mental integrity of the girl as
well as her right to education, jeopardising her economic and social
opportunities”, the experts warned.
“Despite requests made by the girl’s mother and medical experts to
terminate this pregnancy which puts the girl’s life at risk, the State has
failed to take measures to protect the health as well as the physical and
mental integrity and even the life of the 10-year old girl,” they said. “No
proper interdisciplinary and independent expert assessment with the aim to
insure the girl’s best interests was carried out before overturning life-saving
treatments, including abortion.”
According to the World Health Organisation, child pregnancies are
extremely dangerous for the health of the pregnant girl and may lead to
complications and death in some cases. The bodies of young girls are not fully
developed to carry on with a pregnancy, the experts recalled.
In Latin America, the risk of maternal death is four times higher among
adolescents under 16 years old. 65% of cases of obstetric fistula occur in the
pregnancies of adolescents, with serious consequences for their lives,
resulting in severe health problems and social exclusion. Early pregnancies are
also dangerous for the baby, with a mortality rate 50% higher.
“We welcome the decision to establish last Friday a multidisciplinary
panel of experts to assess the overall health of the girl and to give an
opinion on the risks and recommendations to ensure her health. We call on the
Paraguayan authorities to ensure that the panel of experts, recently authorised
by a judge, promptly assess in an objective and integral manner the girl’s
situation, taking into account her physical and psychological health and all
options available to protect her human rights,” they said.
The UN experts also urged the Government to respect the best interest of
the girl child and duly fulfil its international obligations taking urgent
measures to protect the life and health of this 10-year old girl, by
guaranteeing her access to all necessary health care, as well as adequate
reparation and rehabilitation measures.
Although the girl’s mother had reported these sexual abuses in 2014, the
UN experts “deplore the authorities’ unresponsiveness to take action to prevent
the reoccurrence of such abuses and deeply regret that the State has failed in
its responsibility to act with due diligence and protect the child.”
Furthermore, the experts expressed concern that the mother is currently
detained, on allegedly unfair grounds, and is separated from the child.
It is crucial that the alleged rapist, who has just been arrested, be
duly prosecuted.
(*) The experts: Ms. Emna Aouij,
Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against
women in law and in practice, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, Special
Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Mr. Dainius
Pûras, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the
highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and Mr. Juan
E. Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment .The United Nations human rights experts are
part of what it is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human
Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring
mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country
situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’
experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a
salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization
and serve in their individual capacity. Learn more, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/Welcomepage.aspx
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Paraguay: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/LACRegion/Pages/PYIndex.aspx
For further information and media requests, please contact
Ms. Claire Mathellié (+41 22 917 9151 / wgdiscriminationwomen@ohchr.org)