{"id":2475,"date":"2019-09-24T10:07:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T10:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csbronline.org\/?p=2475"},"modified":"2019-10-24T10:49:33","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T10:49:33","slug":"joint-cso-statement-on-safe-legal-abortion-un-hrc42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csbronline.org\/?p=2475","title":{"rendered":"Joint CSO Statement on Safe & Legal Abortion @ UN HRC42"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


CSBR joined 316 organizations and 506 individuals to affirm the right to safe and legal abortion at UN HRC 42. Read the statement below.<\/em>

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

42ND<\/sup> SESSION OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTERNATIONAL SAFE ABORTION DAY – 28 SEPTEMBER 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that a shorter version of this statement was delivered orally on 23 September 2019 to fit the time requirements of the Human Rights Council. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you, President. I deliver this statement on behalf of 317 organizations[i]<\/a> and 506 individuals.[ii]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, States explicitly agreed to prioritize the realization of women\u2019s human rights and recognized that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Yet, 26 years later, women and girls\u2019 human rights and bodily autonomy continue to be routinely violated, including through the denial, criminalization and stigmatization of access to safe and legal abortion – all of which is rooted in the discrimination, oppression, violence and coercion affecting the material conditions that shape people\u2019s lives and ability to exercise their bodily autonomy and human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1994, Black feminists came together as the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice, in reaction to the white supremacy, colonialism and capitalism they observed shaping reproductive politics and inherent in the broader population control narratives. Reproductive justice is centered on the rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination, and to parent and not to parent in safe and healthy environments.[iii]<\/sup><\/a> It is rooted in an intersectional analysis and moving beyond an individualistic conception of \u201cchoice\u201d to instead place emphasis on the material conditions necessary to exercise reproductive rights. Reproductive justice also addresses the legacy of population control informed by white supremacy and replacement theory, which has resurfaced in current populist politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reproductive justice is achieved when all people are able to enjoy their right to bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive self-determination. It requires people to enjoy economic, social, and cultural rights and freedoms, and the ability to make and exercise choices not limited by oppression, discrimination, stigma, coercion, violence, lack of opportunities or possible consequences. Treaty bodies and special procedures have echoed this need and recognized that the realization of women\u2019s reproductive rights depends on the material conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age, and on power structures and resource distribution at all levels[iv]<\/sup><\/a> – in other words, the social and other determinants of health.[v]<\/sup><\/a> These include access to housing, safe drinking water, effective sanitation systems, access to justice, and freedom from violence, among other factors, and impact the agency that individuals can exercise with respect to their sexual and reproductive health.[vi]<\/sup><\/a> Our discussions on abortion and sexual and reproductive rights cannot continue ignoring these factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The realization of reproductive justice, the right to bodily autonomy and substantive equality also requires freedom from control and interference by State and non-State actors, including private companies, donors and multinational corporations, including criminalization of sexual and reproductive behaviors and decisions, restrictive abortion laws, punitive sanctions, and legal restrictions to regulate women\u2019s control over their own bodies.[vii]<\/sup><\/a> These laws, policies and practices typically target and disproportionately impact women of color, women from the Global South, women with disabilities, women living in poverty, migrant women, ethnic minorities and indigenous women, women living with HIV, young women and adolescents, sex workers and gender-non-conforming persons based on racial, class, disability and gender stereotypes.[viii]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, on 28 September, International Safe Abortion Day, we urge States to respect, protect and fulfill women and girls\u2019 human rights and realize reproductive justice for all. We call on states to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n