PHM-Exch> Joint NGO Statement on Special Rapporteur on Health report to the Gral Assembly

Tue Oct 25 09:53:54 PDT 2011

From: rajat khosla <rajat.khosla at gmail.com>

**

 As you may know Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health,
presented his report (A/66/254) to the UN General Assembly yesterday Oct 24.
Please find below a joint statement issued by several NGOs on this occasion.

Please forward this widely to your networks and groups.

Many thanks

Best wishes
Rajat

****

STATEMENT BY HUMAN RIGHTS, WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND HEALTH GROUPS ON THE OCCASION
OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT BY ANAND GROVER, UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON
THE RIGHT TO HEALTH, TO THE 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:

   1. 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.

   1. 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.

   1. 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.

*****

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

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