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A number of subtopics are included in the Reproductive Rights section:
Abortion:The right to have an abortion is one of the most controversial in international law. The abortion materials included on this site outline the controversy and identify the sources of the right to abortion under both human rights and humanitarian law.
Adolescents: Adolescents around the world have special reproductive and sexual rights, needs and concerns. These include issues such as early marriage, the right to know (access to information about sexual and reproductive health and rights), HIV/AIDS, and abortion.
Female Genital Cutting (FGC): Female genital cutting includes all procedures which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-therapeutic reasons. Materials included discuss the international legal standards and international movements to eradicate female genital cutting.
HIV/AIDS: The sexual and economic subordination of women leaves them more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, less likely to receive appropriate care, and more likely to suffer discrimination because of their condition. Materials on HIV/AIDS discuss how the HIV/AIDS pandemic is affecting women's human rights, the international human rights laws which are applicable to the violations occurring, and the international response to these violations.
Reproductive Freedom: The International Conference on Population and Development (the Cairo Conference, 1996) testified to the centrality of reproductive self-determination to the dignity of women. Materials on this topic explore the meaning and importance of the right to "reproductive freedom" under international law.
Right to Know: Reproductive rights cannot be fully exercised unless women have sufficient information about their sexual and reproductive rights. Materials on this topic explore how the right to know under international law imposes a positive obligation on governments to provide information about reproductive health and choice, beyond the duty to refrain from interfering with the communication of such information by others.
Safe Motherhood: The rate of preventable maternal mortality is a symptom of the larger social injustice of discrimination against women and violation of women's human rights. The hundreds of thousands of avoidable maternal deaths each year serves as continuing evidence of the unstated presumption of many societies that the lives of mothers are expendable and that women do not matter. Materials included on this site examine how ensuring safe motherhood to reduce avoidable maternal death is not only a matter of effective health interventions, but also a matter of social justice.
Health and Human Rights
Title
Health and Human Rights
This site provides tables of contents and article abstracts from 1994 to the present from the journal Health and Human Rights. The articles in this journal examine issues at the nexus of health and human rights, including "the impact of public health programs and policies on human rights, the health consequences of human rights violations, the importance of health for the realization of human rights, and the ways in which promotion of human rights can be incorporated as an integral part of public health strategies". Volumes that may be of particular interest are: volume 1(4) which focuses on women's health and human rights; volumes 2(4) and 3(1), which focus on HIV/AIDS and human rights; and volume 4(2), which focuses on reproductive and sexual rights. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Overview, International]
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network promotes the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS on both domestic and international levels through research, legal and policy analysis, education, advocacy and community mobilization. In the website's Women and HIV/AIDS section, the Legal Network includes papers and publications, a literature review, an annotated bibliography and links that focus on women's human rights and HIV/AIDS. The website also provides information and resources on related topics such as pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, HIV testing and discrimination against children, and prostitution. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - HIV/AIDS, International]
The Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health produces policy-oriented research with the goal of improving the status of women's health in Canada. Although there is some domestic focus, the Gender and HIV/AIDS section takes a primarily international approach to women and HIV/AIDS, and calls for Canadian politicians to take greater leadership on a global level. The website provides information about the Centre's programs, conferences and activities. It also lists various publications and bibliographies on the topics of gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - HIV/AIDS, International]
The Center for Reproductive Rights "uses the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect and fulfill". The site contains information on the Center's projects in the United States and world-wide. It also provides online access to an extensive collection of publications and documents, including shadow reports on reproductive rights, fact sheets, newsletters and full-text articles. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Reproductive Freedom, International]
This site provides links to the full text or selected relevant provisions of domestic laws related to population issues. Laws from 1974 onwards are included. In addition to a general women's human rights section, the site provides laws from around the world that are relevant to reproductive rights, including laws on abortion, HIV/AIDS, and female genital mutilation. [Descriptors: Implementing Women's Rights - Domestic System, International]
Healing the Sacred Yoni in the land of Isis: Female Genital Mutilation is Banned (again) in Egypt
Healing the Sacred Yoni in the land of Isis: Female Genital Mutilation is Banned (again) in Egypt Dillon, Susan Reproductive Rights
This article examines the debate surrounding female genital mutilation (FGM) in Egypt where approximately 97 percent of women have undergone this practice. It shows that in 1997, the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt overturned a lower ruling and upheld the 1996 Health Minister's decree banning FGM. It reviews comparative legal efforts in African and European countries banning FGM and looks into the gradual concerns of the international health community. It is argued the experience in other countries suggest that a multiapproach might be sensitive to the practices and be more efficient than a legal attack. Due to the long-term support to FGM, without cultural comprehensive sensitive campaigns, the author argues the ban will remain unenforceable. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Female Genital Cutting, International - Africa]
HOUSTON JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 22 (22) HOUSTON JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, 289-326 (2000).
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Healing the Sacred Yoni in the land of Isis: Female Genital Mutilation is Banned (again) in Egypt
Female Genital Surgeries and Multicultural Feminism: The Ties That Bind; The Differences That Distance
Female Genital Surgeries and Multicultural Feminism: The Ties That Bind; The Differences That Distance Gunning, Isabelle R. Reproductive Rights
This paper examines, through a three-step approach, "culturally challenging" practices of female genital surgeries (FGS). It reviews ways in which the popularization of FGS has raised questions about how this issue is framed, as well as how Westerners and non-Westerners are represented in the popular consciousness. It also explores the positive aspects as well as the pitfalls of using the legal system in combatting surgeries. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Female Genital Cutting, International]
THIRD WORLD LEGAL STUDIES THIRD WORLD LEGAL STUDIES, 17-47 (1994-95)
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Female Genital Surgeries and Multicultural Feminism: The Ties That Bind; The Differences That Distance
Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform
Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform Cook, Rebecca J. Dickens, Bernard M. Reproductive Rights
This article proposed that the legal approach to abortion is evolving from criminal prohibition towards accommodation as a life-preserving and health-perserving option, particularly in light of data on maternal mortality and morbidity. The authors assert that the modern momentum for liberalization comes from international adoption of the concept of reproductive health, and wider recognition that the resort to safe and dignified healthcare is a major human right. They outline how respect for women's reproductive self-determination legitimates abortion as a choice when family planning services have failed, been inaccessible or been denied by rape. The authors conclude that recognition of women's rights of equal citizenship with men requires that their choices for self-determination be legally respected, not criminalized. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Abortion, International]
HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY 25(1) HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY 1-59 (2003)
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Human Rights Dynamics of Abortion Law Reform
Human Rights and Sexuality: First Steps Towards Articulating a Rights Framework for Claims to Sexual Rights and Freedoms
Human Rights and Sexuality: First Steps Towards Articulating a Rights Framework for Claims to Sexual Rights and Freedoms Miller, Alice Reproductive Rights
This article offers a critique of the approach in international law to issues relating to sexuality and makes the case for the recognition of a universal human right to sexuality. It is argued that such a rights approach would mean that other human rights principles such as non-discrimination would be applicable and governments would necessarily have to meet a higher burden in justifying limitations on sexuality. Various obstacles to the adoption of a sexuality rights approach are also discussed. The article concludes by presenting various models and strategies for bringing the right to sexuality to the fore in international law. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Overview, International]
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW PROCEEDINGS 93 AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW PROCEEDINGS, 288-303 (1999)
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Human Rights and Sexuality: First Steps Towards Articulating a Rights Framework for Claims to Sexual Rights and Freedoms
A Successful Case is Made for Granting Refugee Status to a Woman Fleeing Her Own Country to Protect Her Daughter from Female Genital Mutilation
A Successful Case is Made for Granting Refugee Status to a Woman Fleeing Her Own Country to Protect Her Daughter from Female Genital Mutilation Rice, James Migration Reproductive Rights
This article discusses the significance of the 1996 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) decision in the case of Elizebeth Kuma. In this case, the threat of female genital cutting (FGC) to the applicant's three-year-old daughter was considered sufficient grounds for recognition of her refugee status. According to the author, the ruling built on recent national developments in asylum law and sent a clear message regarding the UNHCR's stance on FGC. Because the reasoning for UNHCR rulings are not publicly available, the author refers to the various obligations found in international human rights instruments such as the Women's Convention, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention Against Torture (CAT) that could be used to support the decision. [Descriptors: Migration - Refugees and Immigration, Reproductive Rights - Female Genital Cutting, International]
ACROSS BOARDERS GONZAGA INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL 1 ACROSS BORDERS GONZAGA INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, 1(2000)
