ECUADOR, NICARAGUA, PERU – Recent rulings on the sexual violation of six girls and refusal of abortion, one by the OHCHR Committee on the Rights of the Child, two by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and three by the UN Human Rights Committee, all regarding pregnancies in adolescence resulting from sexual violation and refused abortions because they were illegal, offer hope

News | Ecuador |

ECUADOR, NICARAGUA, PERU

Six recent rulings, one by the OHCHR Committee on the Rights of the Child, two by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and three by the UN Human Rights Committee, regarding pregnancies in adolescence resulting from sexual violation and refused abortions, offer hope

– Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – Camila v. Peru: This case addressed the international responsibility of Peru for the harm caused to a pregnant girl, survivor of sexual violence, who was denied access to therapeutic abortion and was criminalized for an obstetric emergency. The CRC called on States to implement recommendations to prevent similar cases, protect vulnerable girls, and eliminate the criminalization of abortion in all cases for girls and adolescents.

– Inter-American Court of Human Rights – Paola Guzmán Albarracín v. Ecuador: In 2020, the Court held Ecuador accountable for failing to investigate and sanction the sexual violence suffered by Paola, a teenager who died by suicide after years of harassment and violence by her school’s vice-principal. The Court recognized for the first time that CSE is part of the human right to education. Additionally, it determined that this is a fundamental tool in enabling children and adolescents to understand the implications of sexual and affective relationships, particularly regarding consent and the exercise of freedoms concerning their SRHR.

– Inter-American Court of Human Rights – Manuela v. El Salvador: In 2021, the Court determined the violation of the rights of Manuela, a woman convicted after suffering an obstetric emergency, recognizing the case within the context of absolute criminalization of abortion in El Salvador. The Court established that in obstetric emergencies, including abortion, the duty to maintain professional secrecy prevails over the duty to report. It also mandated States to provide non-discriminatory medical care, which implies that the alleged commission of a crime by a patient under no circumstances can condition their medical attention. Furthermore, the Court ordered the implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).

SOURCE: Amnesty International, Center for Reproductive Rights, Human Rights Watch + one more at:  https://reliefweb.int/report/ecuador/regional-statement-compliance-international-obligations-human-rights-sexual-rights-and-reproductive-rights, 17 January 2025

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Human Rights Committee announces rulings on three of four pending cases of young girls

Of the four cases that were pending at the UN Human Rights Committee, three involving Norma from Ecuador and Lucia and Susana from Nicaragua, were announced on 20 January 2025. The three girls are survivors of sexual violence and were forced to continue pregnancies resulting from these violations. The decisions of the Human Rights Committee will create critical international obligations on the part of states in protecting the rights of girls and adolescents, by requiring access to voluntary termination of pregnancy.

Susana, who is Nicaraguan, was 13-years-old when she became pregnant by her grandfather, who had repeatedly raped her. When she found out, Susana said she did not want to continue the pregnancy, and, with the help of her grandmother, pled five times for the complaint against her aggressor to be accepted. In Nicaragua, which totally bans abortion and has normalized human rights violations, voices like Susana’s are not heard. She was forced into motherhood, while her aggressor was never prosecuted. However, this month Susana finally got justice.

The Committee delivered three groundbreaking rulings, holding Ecuador and Nicaragua responsible for grave human rights violations against the three young survivors of rape who were forced into motherhood. Despite Ecuador’s laws allowing abortion when the life and health of a mother are at risk, Norma was denied an abortion. Everyone, and with greater emphasis on girls, has the right to be free from sexual violence and free to make their own choices about pregnancy in such cases.

The Committee ordered the countries to reform their laws to ensure safe, legal, and effective access to abortion, especially when a pregnancy results from sexual violence or poses a risk to the life or health of the pregnant girl. The Committee also made a call for removal of barriers to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare services and to prevent sexual violence.

These rulings arose from international litigation initiated in 2019 by the Movimiento Son Niñas No Madres (They Are Girls, Not Mothers), a coalition of more than a dozen organizations. The litigation was based on evidence in the report Stolen Lives by Planned Parenthood Global, which documented how in Latin America forced pregnancies compounded the experience of rape among young girls.

Nicaragua and Ecuador were given six months to report on the implementation of their obligations, as contained in the rulings.

SOURCE: Context, by Enid Muthoni, Lori Adelman, 29 January 2025.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The case of Fatima at the Human Rights Committee is apparently still pending. The official original texts of the hearings as reported by the human rights bodies on all the above cases are in Spanish only, as far as I know, at least so far. Information on the case of Fatima and any corrections to the above would be welcome.]