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Affiliation
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Professor of Preventive Medicine and Law, and Director, Program on Global Health and Human Rights, Institute for Global Health, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA. |
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Abstract
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In the 25 years since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), human rights legal standards have developed significantly, and those involved in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programming have largely come to see the importance of rights to achieve their goals. Many national legal systems have made clear commitments and increased implementation in relevant areas, such as maternal health, abortion, sexuality education, sexual health, contraception, reproductive morbidities, gender-based violence, and with specific attention to the needs and rights of marginalised populations.
New challenges have nonetheless emerged, ranging from outright resistance and ideological attacks against gender equality and sexuality, to lack of political will and funding reductions. Rather than focus on these threats, this moment demands that we stand strong behind the human rights framework and legal guarantees that exist and ensure the positive role that rights play in programming and service delivery is championed.
International and regional human rights standards
The strong human rights standards developed in the last 25 years have resulted in significant impacts on national law and policy-making, and programme implementation. These standards demand states take affirmative steps toward respecting, protecting, and fulfilling human rights including non-discrimination, health, life, freedom from ill treatment, gender-based violence and harmful practices, information, and privacy, as well as ensuring participation, transparency and accountability in how laws, policies and programmes are developed and implemented.1
Human rights standards have not only underscored the right to sexual and reproductive health as an integral part of the right to health, and in relation to the rights noted above, but also clarified their content and meaning. This includes that states must eliminate barriers to sexual and reproductive health services (e.g. parental or spousal/partner authorisation requirements), affirm the accessibility and affordability of services (e.g. contraception, including emergency contraception), and decriminalise sexual and reproductive health services (e.g. abortion), and states are to be held accountable if they fail. Importantly, with regard to adolescents, human rights bodies have noted a presumption of capacity to seek and have access to sexual and reproductive health services, including the ability to make autonomous and informed decisions regarding their reproductive health.2
Parallel to these international developments, strong human rights standards have emerged in many regions and countries. One landmark in this regard is the Maputo Protocol, which has had a significant impact on affirming sexual and reproductive health and rights across Africa. The Protocol has spurred health legislation and policies for improved access to services, increased health financing and investments, strengthened monitoring, evaluation and accountability, along with ensuring gender equality, women’s and girls’ empowerment, and respect of human rights.3 It also inspired further commitments and campaigns, such as the African Union’s Common Position on Ending Child Marriage, as well as the Saleema Initiative on ending female genital mutilation ...
Language: en |