Joint Civil Society Statement on Abortion for 28 September
Since 2017, the Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) has led the mobilisation of civil society groups on International Safe Abortion Day at the UN Human Rights Council in support of a joint statement on abortion. The focus of this year’s statement highlighted the significant impact of economic and political systems on abortion access and the need for a sustainable development model that centres reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for all. This initiative builds on our previous joint statements on abortion to the Council these past 6 years, including last year’s statement signed by over 300 organisations and individuals. You can read the statement here, and watch its delivery during the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
At the 57th session, we also commemorated International Safe Abortion Day, with the joint statement endorsed by 367 organisations and 326 individuals, which called for a new sustainable development model that prioritises equal and equitable access to all resources for all, and values people over profits. This necessarily means that for the UN to be credible and relevant, human rights are not selectively applied, and genocidal regimes and all their backers are held accountable. We demand a human rights system where multinational corporations do not profit over the mass killings of people. We demand a system that centres reproductive justice and bodily autonomy for all. A system that ensures that all marginalised people are able to exercise control over their reproductive lives enables them to fully participate in social, cultural, and political life. A system that recognises and ensures the right of self-determination of all peoples including Palestinian people.
SOURCE: Sexual Rights Initiative, Newsletter, E-mail: 18 October 2024