Human rights committee blames Guatemala for forcing girl who was raped to carry out her pregnancy

By Sonia Pérez D., The Associated Press
Jun 5, 2025

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A panel of independent experts who make up the United Nations Human Rights Committee said Thursday they found that Guatemala violated the rights of a 14-year-old girl who was raped and forced to continue her pregnancy.

A former director of a government-run daycare facility she had attended as a child raped her on multiple occasions beginning in 2009 when she was 13 and no longer attended the center, but she was denied access to abortion, forced to carry out the birth and care for the child, treatment the committee compared to torture.

Continued: https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/06/05/human-rights-committee-blames-guatemala-for-forcing-girl-who-was-raped-to-carry-out-her-pregnancy/

05.06.2025

Center of Reproductive Rights

Hélène Tigroudja

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

rape and abortion

UN Human Rights Committee

UN Ruling: Ecuador and Nicaragua Must Legalize Abortion to End Violations of Girls’ Human Rights

The Human Rights Committee recognizes that abortion bans violated the rights of girls who survived sexual violence and were forced into motherhood.

22.01.2025
Center for Reproductive Rights

(PRESS STATEMENT) — In a major victory for girls’ and women’s rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled Monday that Ecuador and Nicaragua violated the human rights of three girls who were forced into motherhood due to abortion bans in those States. In its decision, the Committee recognized that forced pregnancies and forced motherhood disrupts the personal, family, educational, and professional goals of girls, and constitutes a form of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment by severely restricting their right to a dignified life.

The cases of Norma (Ecuador), and Susana and Lucia (Nicaragua), were brought before the Committee in 2019 by the Center for Reproductive Rights and allied organizations. The girls were 12 and 13 years old when they became pregnant after being raped by men in positions of power and authority whom they trusted (the biological father, the grandfather, and a priest, respectively).

Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/un-ruling-ecuador-and-nicaragua-must-legalize-abortion-to-end-violations-of-girls-human-rights/

‘Forced Motherhood’: Honduras Reported To UN For Abortion Ban

By AFP - Agence France Presse
April 10, 2024

An Indigenous woman has reported her country, Honduras, to the UN Human Rights Committee for denying her an abortion after she was raped, rights groups said Wednesday.

It is the first time the Central American country has been brought before the UN for its absolute abortion ban which has meant "forced motherhood" for countless women and girls, said the Center for Reproductive Rights, an NGO supporting the case brought by the woman identified only as Fausia.

Continued: https://www.barrons.com/news/forced-motherhood-honduras-reported-to-un-for-abortion-ban-b3817b30

10.04.2024

UN Human Rights Committee

Reproductive health advocates take the fight for abortion rights to the United Nations

Oct 26, 2023
By Kaitlyn Kennedy

Geneva, Switzerland - As a slew of abortion bans take effect around the US, advocates are fighting back during the 139th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

They argued that guaranteeing access to abortion falls within the scope of the US' international obligations, as bans can deprive pregnant people of their right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Continued: https://www.tag24.com/topic/abortion-rights/reproductive-health-advocates-take-the-fight-for-abortion-rights-to-the-united-nations-2988945

USA – It’s Time to Call Abortion Bans What They Are—Torture and Cruelty

The US must learn from other countries where denials of abortion are considered intentional, state-inflicted torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

By Payal Shah and Akila Radhakrishnan
June 9, 2023

On August 24, 2022, Mayron Hollis sought an abortion after receiving news that her pregnancy was endangering her life and its continuation would likely result in uterine rupture and organ damage. Unfortunately, August 24 was also the day that Tennessee’s near-total ban on abortion went into effect. Denied care in her own state and unable to travel to one where she could get the care she needed, Hollis was forced to endure a dangerous pregnancy and birth, where she ultimately suffered severe hemorrhaging and lost her uterus, destroying her ability to give birth to any more children.

There are many terms to describe Mayron Hollis’s experience of being denied an abortion in Tennessee—harrowing, agonizing, unconscionable—but we should also call it what it is: torture and cruelty.

Continued: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/abortion-bans-torture-cruelty/

UN urged to intervene over destruction of US abortion rights

Exclusive: letter from human rights groups says overturning of the constitutional right violates US’s obligations as a UN member state

Poppy Noor
Thu 2 Mar 2023

Top human rights organizations are calling on the United Nations to intervene over the destruction of abortion rights in the US.

In a letter shared in advance with the Guardian and sent on Thursday by nearly 200 organizations and experts, the authors detail how, since the overturning of the federal constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, some 22 million women and girls of reproductive age live in states where abortion access is now either banned or inaccessible.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/02/destruction-us-abortion-laws-human-rights-violation-un

UNHRC asks PH to decriminalize abortion as data show ban ineffective, deadly

By: Cristina Eloisa Baclig
November 07, 2022

MANILA, Philippines—The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) called on the Philippine government to decriminalize abortion and improve sexual and reproductive health services such as post-abortion healthcare in the country.

UNHRC, in a recently released concluding observation at its 136th session, said it acknowledged the Philippines’ “efforts to reduce unsafe abortion and maternal mortality.”

Continued: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1690191/unhrc-asks-ph-to-decriminalize-abortion-as-data-show-ban-ineffective-deadly

Philippines told: Decriminalize abortion, legalize divorce, pass anti-discrimination law

Xave Gregorio - Philstar.com
November 5, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The UN Human Rights Committee is pushing for the Philippines to pass a flurry of legislative reforms aimed at keeping the country in line with an international treaty on civil and political rights.

Among the proposals being brought forward by the UN panel composed of human rights experts are the decriminalization of abortion, the legalization of divorce and the enactment of a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

Continued: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/11/05/2221718/philippines-told-decriminalize-abortion-legalize-divorce-pass-anti-discrimination-law

05.11.2022

Featured

News

decriminalization of abortion

UN Human Rights Committee

What does the Roe v. Wade ruling mean for investors?

11 August 2022
By Remi Fernandez, Specialist, Human Rights & Social Issues, and Betina Vaz Boni, Senior Analyst, Governance, PRI

The US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, has raised pressing questions about the role of investors and their investee companies in contributing to the political landscape, and how decent work and human rights can be ensured for everyone.

The ruling ended the constitutional right to an abortion in the US and will impact other aspects of reproductive rights such as contraception, sexual health and sex education. There are also concerns that this ruling may set a precedent when it comes to other civil and human rights such as same-sex marriage.

Continued: https://www.unpri.org/pri-blog/what-does-the-roe-v-wade-ruling-mean-for-investors/10383.article

11.08.2022

Featured

News

abortion and investors

Betina Vaz Boni

International Labour Organisation

PRI

Remi Fernandez

Roe v. Wade

UN Human Rights Committee

How the U.S. compares with the rest of the world on abortion rights

Jul 1, 2022
PBS

The past 50 years have been characterized by an unmistakable trend toward the liberalization of abortion laws, particularly in the industrialized world.

Each year, around 73 million abortions take place worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. This translates to about 39 abortions per 1,000 women globally, a rate that has stayed roughly the same since 1990. Notably, rates have diverged between countries with fewer restrictions and those with more: Between 1990–94 and 2015–19, the average abortion rate in countries with generally legal abortion (excluding China and India) declined by 43 percent.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-the-u-s-compares-with-the-rest-of-the-world-on-abortion-rights

01.07.2022