Deliberation on reproductive rights of
women with special emphasis on abortion
Portfolio: France
Today we are here to discuss a topic that transcends borders, it is a problem
omnipresent in our world which is abortion rights.
So, let's talk about Deliberation of Women's Reproductive Rights with special
emphasis on abortion.
Greetings, distinguished EB and my fellow delegates.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) have both
clearly indicated that women’s right to health includes their sexual and reproductive
health.
Let's first begin by understanding what is reproductive health.
Reproductive health, as described in the Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development, concerns the capability to reproduce
and the freedom to make informed, free and responsible decisions. It also includes
access to a range of reproductive health information, goods, facilities and services to
enable individuals to make informed, free and responsible decisions about their
reproductive behaviour.
The right to sexual and reproductive health is also indivisible from and
interdependent with other human rights. The right to sexual and reproductive health
is an integral part of the right to health enshrined in article 12 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. underpinning the physical and
mental integrity of individuals and their autonomy, such as the rights to life; liberty
and security of person; freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment; privacy and respect for family life; and non-discrimination and equality.
the National Assembly adopted a bill to enshrine the right to abortion in the
Constitution.
A national law made abortion legal in France in 1975
France have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR)
France has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women
We reaffirm the The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
GSL EXTENSION
The Republic of France has always advocated for liberal reproductive rights. In light
of that we have taken several measures in our country as well as globally.
Birth-control has been free in France for those aged between 15 and 18 since 2013,
and for the under-15s since August 2020. For women in other age groups, 65% of
the cost of most contraceptives is covered by the public health system.
Our vision in the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights is that of a
world where these rights are recognized, valued and guaranteed for everyone. It is
that of a world where everyone has access to comprehensive sexuality education
and where no woman needs to risk her life when ending an unwanted pregnancy. It
is that of a world where everyone has full access to quality care and services,
including to modern contraceptives, without facing discrimination or financial
difficulty. Our vision is that of a world where young people no longer have to risk
being subjected to harmful practices such as early or forced marriage or female
genital mutilation, but have access to education and sexual and reproductive health.
Moving on to the world at large, we have funded the American non-governmental
organization (NGO) Ipas who brought together health care leaders and providers
from around West Africa for a study visit in Ghana in January 2016. French Act No.
2014-773 of 7 July 2014 on guidelines and programme priorities relating to
development and international solidarity policy is also one of the major steps we
have taken. In the aforementioned act; France’s actions will focus on the three
following major objectives: • Improving sexual, reproductive, maternal, infant and
child health, as well as population policies in priority Sub-Saharan African countries;
• Adapting health and social protection systems to address growing chronic illnesses
and health problems due to rising living standards and ageing; • Strengthening of
public health surveillance and the capacities of countries to act on environmental and
social health factor
France will also continue to contribute voluntary funds to UNFPA, which supports
family planning policies, ensures continual and reliable supply of high-quality
contraceptives, helps strengthen national health systems and gathers data to
support its interventions. Between 2021 and 2025, we are committing 90 million Euro
to the programme.
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the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development in 1994 further highlighted reproductive and sexual health issues within
the human rights framework.
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes goals and targets to be
achieved in the area of sexual and reproductive health.
considered the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights, the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
Denial of abortion care is nothing short of a true human rights violation
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the
body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted several resolutions on December 15 related
to gender and reproductive rights, providing an important contribution for the
development of global policy. The resolutions were developed in the Third
Committee’s 77th Session
Welcoming the commitment to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all
women and girls contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 14 and
in the agreed conclusions adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women at its
sixty-sixth session
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) urges
the United States of America to adhere to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women in order to respect, protect, fulfil and
promote the human rights of women and girls
On 18 December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages and the following targets: • By
2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births (target 3.1). •
By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and
combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases (target 3.3). • By 2030,
ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including for family
planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national
strategies and programmes (target 3.7)
France’s official policy on reproductive health, as framed by the health ministry, is predicated
on people’s ability to have “responsible, satisfying, and safe sex and their freedom to choose
to have children if and when they wish.” That policy includes contraception, voluntary
termination, and prevention of infertility outside of assisted reproductive technology.
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Other Countries
USA
The UN women’s rights committee today said that the United States is one of the
only seven countries* in the world that are not parties to the international convention
that protects women’s human rights, including their right to sexual and reproductive
health.
USA Poland decreased access in abortion
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In Kenya, between 2017 and 2020, maternal mortality increased by 55%
Poland:
Constitutional Tribunal ruling (2020): Poland's Constitutional Tribunal ruled in
October 2020 that abortion due to fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional,
effectively further limiting access to legal abortions in the country.
El Salvador:
Complete abortion ban: El Salvador has a complete ban on abortion under all
circumstances, including when the mother's life is at risk or in cases of rape or
incest. Women who are suspected of having abortions, even those who suffer
miscarriages, can face criminal charges, including homicide.
Northern Ireland:
Restrictions on abortion lifted in 2019: While not a court ruling, the UK Parliament
passed a law in 2019 decriminalizing abortion in Northern Ireland. Previously, strict
laws criminalized abortion in almost all cases.
United States:
Hyde Amendment (1976): While not a court ruling, the Hyde Amendment is a federal
provision that bans the use of federal funds for abortion services, except in cases of
rape, incest, or when the woman's life is endangered. This restriction
disproportionately affects low-income women's access to abortion services.
Chile:
Abortion decriminalized in limited circumstances (2017): In 2017, Chile eased its
strict anti-abortion laws, allowing abortion in cases of rape, fetal infeasibility, or when
the mother's life is at risk. However, the law still has significant limitations compared
to other countries.
Nicaragua:
Complete abortion ban: Nicaragua has a total ban on abortion with no exceptions,
including cases where the mother's life is at risk. Violators, including women and
medical professionals, can face severe criminal penalties.
The Philippines
The Committee was concerned that a significant number of the 1.13
million women overseas Filipino workers are exploited in domestic work
and prostitution, often amounting to human trafficking, and that they are
primarily engaged in unskilled and low-paid jobs and are separated from
their families and children for long periods of time. The Committee called
on the State party to strengthen the legal protection of women overseas
Filipino workers, prosecute and sentence those who exploit and abuse
them, including recruiters, and raise awareness of women overseas
workers about their rights.
The Committee expressed concern about the use by the State party of the
Anti-Terror Act (2020) to legitimize acts against women human rights
defenders, land and environment defenders, and journalists, including
"red-tagging" as in the case of Nobel Prize laureate Maria Ressa, which
resulted in intimidation, hate speech, threats, physical assault,
harassment, arrest, and detention. The Committee asked the Philippines
to ensure that women human rights defenders and journalists, including
Maria Ressa, and those advocating for land rights, environmental
protection, indigenous women’s rights and rural women’s rights, can
exercise their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and
association without harassment, surveillance, or undue restriction.
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SOLUTIONS
States must ensure that all individuals have access to justice and to meaningful and
effective remedy in instances in which the right to sexual and reproductive health is
violated. Remedies include, but are not limited to, adequate, effective and prompt
reparation in the form of restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and
guarantees of non-repetition, as appropriate. The effective exercise of the right to
remedy requires funding access to justice and information about the existence of
these remedies. It is also important that the right to sexual and reproductive health
be enshrined in laws and policies and be fully justiciable at the national level, and
that judges, prosecutors and lawyers be made aware of that such a right can be
enforced. When third parties contravene the right to sexual and reproductive health,
States must ensure that such violations are investigated and prosecuted, and that
the perpetrators are held accountable, while the victims of such violations are
provided with remedies.
Social dialogue
The second concern is to bring this question into the social dialogue itself, so that
management and labour can come to grips with the question of equality and make it
a priority in their negotiations on employment and the organization of work. 3.
Recognizing the subnational dimension The third concern is to take the concept of
equality down to the local and regional levels, where it must be introduced in each
employment pool and adopted by all stakeholders.
Protecting Reproductive Rights of
Women in Vulnerable Situations
including Women in Conflict Zones,
Women of Color and Economically
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“Protecting reproductive rights of women in vulnerable situations”
This is a topic that requires our attention and so let me start by mentioning the efforts
taken by the French government to protect women’s rights at large. the government
announced that free contraception, previously available only to girls under 18, would
be extended to women up to the age 25, beginning in 2022.
In August, France’s interior minister announced a series of measures to address domestic
violence, including the appointment of officers specializing in domestic violence to each
police station and each gendarmerie brigade across France. He noted that domestic
violence “is becoming the primary reason for police and gendarme intervention,” with
400,000 police interventions in 2020.
Different categories of women in vulnerable situations are;
Adolescent girls are both biologically and psychosocially more vulnerable than boys
to sexual abuse, violence and prostitution, and to the consequences of unprotected
and premature sexual relations. The trend towards early sexual experience,
combined with a lack of information and services, increases the risk of unwanted and
too early pregnancy, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well
as unsafe abortions The human rights of women include their right to have control
over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including
sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.
Migrants and displaced persons in many parts of the world have limited access to
reproductive health care and many face specific serious threats to their reproductive
health and rights. Services must be particularly sensitive to the needs of individual
women and adolescents and responsive to their often powerless situation, with
particular attention to those who are victims of sexual violence.
France, 83.3% of legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender
equality under the SDG indicator, with a focus on violence against women, are in
place. The adolescent birth rate is 8.6 per 1,000 women aged 15–19 as of 2018, up
from 8 per 1,000 in 2017. As of February 2021, 39.5% of seats in parliament were
held by women. In 2005, 95.5% of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) had
their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods.
Refugees and internally displaced wormen are exposed to particularly high levels of
sexual violence. In addition, they are more likely to have reduced access to
contraceptives. As a result, compared with the general population, refugees and
IDPs may more commonly experience unintended pregnancies and, thus, may have
a greater need for abortion services. However, refugees and IDPs face substantial
barriers to accessing safe abortion care, which increase their chances of turning to
unsafe abortion. There are numerous reasons why unsafe abortion is prevalent
among refugees and IDPs: They may lack information about the legality or
availability of sale abortion services in their new environment, or abortion may be
highly stigmatized in their culture or in their host culture, which could prevent them
from seeking sale and legal services.
I will also be addressing the topic of unsafe abortions in my further speeches.
Many of these women and girls flee countries such as Syria and Afghanistan, where they
were subject to persecution and sexual and gender-based violence, including war-related
violence.
UNHCR, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Women’s Refugee
Commission recently assessed protection risks for women and girls on their journey
to Greece and onwards in Europe. They established that women and girls, especially
those travelling alone, face particularly high risks of certain forms of violence,
including sexual violence by smugglers, criminal groups and individuals in countries
along the route. Concerns were expressed about the lack of awareness on the part
of the authorities and humanitarian actors of the occurrence of sexual and gender-
based violence affecting this group.
Contrary to this, The Geneva Consensus Declaration is the document that backs a
strategic international coalition made up of 36 nations. First signed in 2020 and
reaffirmed in 2021 and 2022, the document seeks to protect the sovereign right of
nations to support their own core values through national policy and legislation.
Basically, undermining the sexual and reproductive health.
Six out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies end in an induced abortion.
Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia, offer no
coverage or reimbursement for any women or for any methods of contraception, when
contraceptives are used to prevent unplanned pregnancy. Others, such as Germany, the
Netherlands and Sweden, cover the costs of contraception for adolescent girls and young
women but not for older women. Some, such as Italy and Poland, cover only specific, very
limited contraceptive methods.
controlling immigration while improving integration," the French government presented a bill
in a Council of Ministers on Wednesday, February 1. It is the second immigration bill, the
second under Emmanuel Macron's presidency after the so-called "Collomb" law of 2018.
Ensuring Comprehensive Legal
Framework for Women's
Reproductive Rights and the de
facto
Whilst talking about reproductive rights, we must also address the legal frameworks,
or lack of, and the actual situation to get a clearer understanding of the situation.
Resolution 2467 (2019) [S/RES/2467(2019)] – Positions conflict-related sexual
violence as firmly rooted in the broader women, peace and security agenda; stresses
justice and accountability efforts; calls for support and protection to women’s civil
society organizations; and calls for attention to the issues of children born of rape
The 3rd International Strategy for Gender Equality (2018-2022) is a steering tool
designed to coordinate France’s efforts to improve the situation of women around the
world. The strategy is the international embodiment of the President’s commitment to
make gender equality the great national cause of his term
The Global Survivors Fund, supporting victims of conflict-related sexual violence
France announced a contribution of €6.2 million to the Fund between 2020 and
2022.
Contrary to this, The Geneva Consensus Declaration is the document that backs a
strategic international coalition made up of 36 nations. First signed in 2020 and
reaffirmed in 2021 and 2022, the document seeks to protect the sovereign right of
nations to support their own core values through national policy and legislation.
Basically, undermining the sexual and reproductive health.
Around 45% of all abortions are unsafe
Unsafe abortion is a leading – but preventable – cause of maternal deaths and
morbidities. It can lead to physical and mental health complications and social and
financial burdens for women, communities and health systems.
Lack of access to safe, timely, affordable and respectful abortion care is a critical
public health and human rights issue.
Of all unsafe abortions, one third were performed under the least safe conditions,
i.e., by untrained persons using dangerous and invasive methods.
Developing countries bear the burden of 97% of all unsafe abortions. More than half
of all unsafe abortions occur in Asia, most of them in south and central Asia. In Latin
American and Africa, the majority (approximately 3 out of 4) of all abortions are
unsafe. In Africa, nearly half of all abortions occur under the least safe
circumstances
France, 83.3% of legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender
equality under the SDG indicator, with a focus on violence against women, are in
place. The adolescent birth rate is 8.6 per 1,000 women aged 15–19 as of 2018, up
from 8 per 1,000 in 2017. As of February 2021, 39.5% of seats in parliament were
held by women. In 2005, 95.5% of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) had
their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods.
Prevention of unwanted pregnancies must always be given the highest priority and
every attempt should be made to eliminate the need for abortion
Acts of violence against women also include forced sterilization and forced abortion,
coercive/forced use of contraceptives, female infanticide and prenatal sex selection
Deliberation on the role of education and awareness in
promoting women’s sexual and reproductive rights,
especially among marginalized groups
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Education and awareness plays a major role in promoting and protecting
reproductive rights.
Young women and adolescents across Europe face a wide range of specific
challenges in relation to the enjoyment of their sexual and reproductive health and
rights. For example, data indicates that although many adolescents are sexually
active, high numbers still do not use condoms or other effective methods of
contraception to offset the risks of early pregnancy and exposure to sexually
transmitted infections including HIV.20 Ensuring that young women and adolescents
across Europe have access to age-appropriate, evidence-based comprehensive
sexuality education (CSE) and information is a critical component of the measures
that are necessary to effectively address these and other challenges. However,
although several European countries have now established sexuality education
programmes of some kind, many of these programmes fall short of international
human rights requirements and the WHO Standards for Sexuality Education in
Europe.
Although it is critical that comprehensive sexuality education be provided as part of
mandatory school curricula, in some member states, such as Bulgaria, Lithuania,
Poland and Romania, sexuality education either remains voluntary or policies allow
children to be withdrawn from classes. Moreover, in some parts of Europe, dedicated
and comprehensive curricula or guidelines for the provision of holistic sexuality
education are lacking. Where this is the case, although some aspects of relevant
information may at times be provided in the context of biology, health or social
science classes, this does not always ensure Women’s sexual and reproductive
health and rights in Europe – concerns, challenges and deficits the provision of
comprehensive and holistic education and information regarding sexuality,
reproduction and relationships.
Deliberation on the role of stigma and misinformation in
preventing women and girls from accessing safe and
legal abortion.
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Teen pregnancy, abortion and parental consent:
balancing reproductive rights and parental involvement
