New collaboration between the UN and OAS likely to increase abortion pressure in the Americas
Thursday, December 4, 2014
 
The new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid of Jordan, and the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Tracy Robinson of Jamaica, signed a declaration that seeks to enhance cooperation in the area of human rights among the two human rights entities. The collaboration will include: "assisting governments of OAS member States in the implementation of recommendations of international human rights mechanisms, including human rights treaty bodies, Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, and the Universal Periodic Review, and of IACHR recommendations when appropriate".

Pro-life advocates know that non-binding recommendations on abortion are frequently issued by activists serving on treaty monitoring bodies and on other human rights committees to advance a radical pro-abortion agenda despite that fact that no international treaty recognizes abortion as a human right. This is especially true during reviews of countries from Latin America and the Caribbean.   

The Center for Family and Human Rights at the UN recently reported on pro-abortion pressure from the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) stating, "Latin America is the target of 74% of UPR abortion pressure", explaining: "The vast majority of recommendations to expand abortion and strip away protections for the unborn come from Europe and are targeted at Latin America." Treaty bodies frequently recommend that countries "liberalize abortion laws", "consider liberalizing abortion laws", or "make abortion more accessible". 

The cooperation declaration seeks to establish a mechanism in the context of "standard setting" that will result in each body taking into account the recommendations issued by other human rights mechanisms in their own work and include "cross-references to such instruments and recommendations" in "reports and action plans".  The issues and concerns highlighted in recommendations will receive unprecedented attention and pressure even though recommendations are not binding and governments are not obligated to accept and implement the recommendations that it receives. 

Given the current manipulation of select treaties by pro-abortion strategists in attempts to pressure countries to overturn pro-life laws, this new collaboration will likely serve as a power tool in the pro-abortion toolbox. It comes amid recent calls for the legalization of abortion in all countries of the Americas by the MESECVI, the OAS body that oversees implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women. 

Countries in the region need to be alerted to this new mode of operation that will likely increase pressure to legalize abortion as UN and OAS human rights bodies busy themselves  "assisting governments of OAS member States in the implementation of recommendations". Countries need to be reminded that recommendations are mere observations by members of human rights committees and are not compulsory. Countries need to just say "No" to pro-abortion pressure.

  

PNCI offers its own recommendation: The IACHR and OHCHR should ensure that signatories to the American Convention on Human Rights are compliant with Article 4- Right to Life, (section 1): Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life;  

 

Human rights bodies need to pursue authentic human rights, including protecting unborn children from the arbitrary violence of abortion.


 


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