Europe needs new policies to better cater to the needs of our brothers and sisters on the move and it needs to rediscover its Christian identity as it strives to build a peaceful and just future. These are concepts expressed by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, as he spoke with gratitude of Pope Francis’ letter marking a series of important anniversaries that define the European continent as we know it.
Cardinal Hollerich, President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU (COMECE) was commenting on the Pope’s letter to Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Tuesday. In it, the Pope retraces the history and values of Europe and talks of his dream for fraternity and solidarity among nations amid a period marked by individualistic tendencies.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Hollerich expresses how “thrilled” he is that Pope Francis, “a Pope [from] outside of the European continent, has such a wonderful undertsnding of Europe and can give us such an encouragement.”
There are “so many” policies that need to be considered, says the Cardinal highlighting that one issue the Holy Father mentions in his letter as he looks to the “Europe of the future” is the welcoming of migrants “and the people who have to leave their countries” for various reasons.
Cardinal Hollerich recalls numerous reports COMECE has received over the last few days, specifically mentioning news regarding the actions of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, “at the Greek border, pushing people back into the Mediterranean sea, next to the Libyan border”.
“Surely their policies must change”, he says.
Listen to our interview with Cardinal Hollerich
Cardinal Hollerich continues by stating that “it is more than a change of policy” that is needed. What needs to change, he says, is how we view the European Union: it is important to “gain a spirit of the founders and have a full view of Europe”.
“We should never forget that Schuman chose to start with the economic part of European integration”, says Hollerich. Though this economic aspect has “developed very much”, he says, there lies the “great danger of the European Union” being reduced from a vision of “European integration to mere economics”, and that could lead to a “reduction of men and women to simple agents of the economy or consumers”.
Cardinal Hollerich expresses joy at hearing Pope Francis say that Europe needs to rediscover its identity. He explains that, to him, this means that “We have a history, and not everything is bad”. Noting that there are “many” bad points, such as the two great wars of the last century, Hollerich states that “we are not the slaves of history”. There is so much that Europe can give to the world, and we must do this with “a new humility,” something that must be done “together, with our sisters and brothers of other continents.”
Finally, Archbishop Hollerich says “I think it’s beautiful that the Pope highlights a certain European identity which stems from culture and religion – also the cultural part of religion – but which does not linger to the past like a slave.”
“We can build a future.”, he concludes: “We are called to build a future. Not only for us, but for the whole world.”
The twins from Grand Forks, who led the U.S. women’s hockey team to Olympic gold in 2018, wrote a book detailing their journey.
The book is titled: Dare to Make History: Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equality.
It will be released Feb. 23 — one day past the third anniversary of the gold-medal game in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The book is already available for pre-order on Amazon.
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“It alternates between my voice and Mo’s voice,” Jocelyne said. “We close with one voice. In true fashion with how we’ve lived our lives together and accomplished our dreams together, there’s probably no other way we could write a book.”
The book details not only their rise as hockey players from Grand Forks to the world’s stage with the U.S. Olympic Team, but it also details their fight for gender equality with USA Hockey.
In 2017, the U.S. team threatened to boycott the World Championship, which was scheduled for Plymouth, Mich., unless certain equality issues were met by USA Hockey. The two sides came to an agreement before the tournament and the American team went on to win gold.
The following year, they went to the Olympic Games and won the country’s first gold in women’s hockey in 20 years in dramatic fashion.
Trailing Canada 2-1 late in the third period, Monique Lamoureux-Morado scored the game-tying goal. Then, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the game-winner with a dazzling move in the shootout.
Jocelyne said the book has been about 18 months in the making.
“One of our friends and mentors, David Cohen, who helped us get involved with the work we did with Comcast, basically encouraged us that our story would be interesting enough for a book,” Jocelyne said. “He helped us put a proposal together. You have to get a book agent to shop a proposal to publishers. We are fortunate enough that Radius thought the proposal was interesting enough to support our book.”
Both Jocelyne and Monique wrote the book while raising young children. They worked with a collaborator on it.
“We would be working from home, typing away together, editing pages together,” Jocelyne said. “It was definitely an interesting process and a unique one. At times, we were reading the same pages over and over and over.”
For nearly two weeks, young Nigerians have been taking to the streets in protest against police brutality and calling on the government to shut down a notorious police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
They accuse this police unit, originally formed in 1992 to deal with cases of armed robbery and other criminal activity, of crimes including torture, extortion, illegal arrests and extrajudicial killings.
The youths also extended their demands to include calls for an end to corruption and better governance in light of the high level of economic inequality in the country, marked with sharp contrasts between the rich and poor. According to the World Poverty Clock, just over half of Nigeria’s approximately 200 million people live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than two dollars daily.
Pope Francis, during the Sunday Angelus, appealed for an end to the violent clashes in Nigeria between security forces and #endSARS protesters demonstrating against police brutality.
“Let us pray to the Lord,” the Pope said, “so that any form of violence might be avoided, in the constant search for social harmony in the promotion of justice and the common good.”
#endSARS protests
On 3 October, a video alleging that a SARS official had shot a young man and made off with his Lexus SUV went viral on the internet. Within hours the video had generated public outcry across social media platforms. Over the following days, as more Nigerians shared their own experiences of brutality with the hashtag #endSARS, the online protests moved into the streets. By 8 October, protesters across several states in the country began to organize daily mass demonstrations.
Though the protests which saw thousands of young Nigerians gathered in select venues were mostly peaceful, some of the protesters accuse authorities of hiring hoodlums to disrupt the demonstrations by confronting protesters and causing damage to property. Many of the people allegedly hired to discredit the protests are unemployed with little to no job prospects, fall easy prey to manipulation by people willing to pay them.
As the protests continued to gain momentum, the #endSARS protesters were, in some areas, met with resistance by security personnel who deployed tear gas canisters, water cannons and live ammunition to disperse the crowds.
According to Amnesty International, at least 10 protesters had been killed by 15 October. However, a defining moment for the protests was the evening of 20 October when witnesses and Amnesty International reported that at least 12 people were killed and many others injured when soldiers opened fire on a crowd of mostly peaceful protesters in the Lekki suburb of Lagos.
Two days later, President Mohammadu Buhari addressed the nation calling for an end to the protests but made no mention of the shooting deaths of the protesters in Lagos. Although first appearing to be responding to the demands of the protesters, the Nigerian government drastically shifted to employing measures to end the protests.
Over the last few days, the protests have taken a different and sometimes violent turn. Mobs of Nigerians have overrun and looted several government-owned warehouses containing food allegedly meant to be distributed during the Covid-19 lockdown earlier this year. In states such as Lagos, Kogi and Kaduna, among others, storage facilities holding tons of relief materials have been broken into and emptied out. There have also been recent instances of arson as private and government-owned properties have been set ablaze by angry crowds.
Many victims of police violence
Many Nigerian youths – the demographic propelling the protests – report being profiled and targeted for appearing to be fashionable, well off, having body tattoos, expensive phones or for sporting hairstyles considered different from the perceived norm.
A 2020 report by Amnesty International titled: “Nigeria, Time to End Impunity”, details horrifying cases from 82 people recounting their experiences of torture, extortion, sexual violence, seizure of money and property, illegal arrests and extrajudicial killings from officials of the SARS police unit.
“I want a Nigeria where there is hope, love, peace and unity,” a participant at the protests told Vatican News, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
In his opinion, the #endSARS protests began in reaction to long-running instances of violence, brutality and impunity of members of the Nigerian Police Force. A member of his family had also been a victim of police brutality from SARS.
“My cousin was harassed this year, he almost got shot… I was crying when he told me about it. I cannot imagine losing my cousin – that’s the only cousin I have – to a policeman and no one would do anything about it.”
Clampdown on protests
He recounts the terrifying experience of being present during the shooting on Tuesday evening.
“We were a peaceful bunch of people; we did not kill anyone; we didn’t spoil property…They were shooting at us…They were shooting at peaceful protesters,” he said.
He recalls that the lights around the Lekki protest venue were turned off before the shooting started around 6:43 pm. In response, the protesters sat on the ground waving the national flag and singing the national anthem, hoping that the soldiers would respect the flag and stop shooting.
Many of the injured had to be taken to hospitals by the protesters themselves as the soldiers would not allow the ambulances through to them on the protest grounds. The shooting, he said, lasted for about thirty minutes.
Humanity before conflict
Regarding the Pope’s appeal for peaceful protests in Nigeria on Sunday, he welcomes it as a sign of the Pope’s care for the country.
“We are meant to love each other. We are meant to be there for each other,” he said.
“Humanity comes before any conflict – that’s how it should be,” he added. Young people are dying and the government is trying to sweep this under the carpet. We need all the help we can get.”
He dreams of a Nigeria full of hope, love, peace and unity. A nation where “the child of anyone can become someone without knowing anyone.”
The government’s response
The Nigerian police chief, on Saturday, ordered the mobilization of security personnel to regions of the country where the protesters were beginning to get disruptive.
Despite not mentioning the 20 October shooting deaths in his address to the nation, Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina said in a statement on Sunday that the President vows to ensure justice for “the peaceful protesters who lost their lives.” Adesina also reiterated the President’s call for “peace, brotherhood and inter-communal harmony,” urging Nigerians “not to turn against one another in hate.”
Although the government announced the disbandment of SARS on 11 October, police authorities, in the same breath, announced its replacement with a Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT). This announcement did not pacify the protesters who continued their demonstrations, accusing the government of an empty renaming exercise without proper structural reforms.
“It is very heartbreaking. Since then the people have not been happy…children are mourning, parents are mourning.”
Those words of grief were expressed by Bishop Agapitus Nfon of Kumba, as he gave a grim description of the reaction of the people of Kumba after gunmen attacked a private school and killed at least six school children on Saturday.
Bishop Nfon, in an interview with Vatican News, explained the situation in Kumba, and highlighted the long-running conflict in the country’s North-West and South-West regions.
During the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis expressed sorrow over the tragic murders, and prayed that the “tormented regions of the North-west and South-west of the country may find peace.” The Pope also expressed his nearness to the families, the city of Kumba and the whole of Cameroon.
Bishop Nfon thanked Pope Francis for “condemning” the barbaric attack, adding that it will go a long way to touch many hearts.
“Many people will know that the Church is against what is happening,” the Bishop said. “And the people in the Diocese of Kumba will feel very consoled by the words of the Holy Father.”
Fear and sorrow
The Bishop explained that since the Saturday tragic murders, children in the region have not been going to school, even though schools remain open, due to a mixture of fear and sorrow. He noted that many of the people have been in mourning for the victims of the heinous act.
“They have stayed home because of fright; they are very frightened,” he said. However, he expressed his desire to see the children return to school after they have come to terms with the sad event.
Some schools in Cameroon have only recently reopened following a four-year shut down due to the ongoing fight by groups calling for the creation of an independent state to be known as Ambazonia.
Socio-political situation
Cameroon’s four-year conflict has not been without its casualties. Bishop Nfon pointed out that the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda, made up of five dioceses in the northwest and southwest region, has been particularly hard-hit in the crisis.
He explained that some of the people live in the bushes and some others have become internally displaced in towns around the country. Many others, – about 50,000 – have fled into neighboring Nigeria as refugees, fleeing from the suffering and the insecurity that the conflict has brought in its wake.
“The civilians, the innocent people are sandwiched,” Bishop Nfon explained. “They are really suffering. They are afraid of the military and those fighting for independence. They are in misery.”
Appeal of the Bishops
Bishop Nfon said that at the beginning of the conflict in the North-West and South-West regions of the country, the Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda wrote a memorandum explaining the situation and suggesting possible steps to quell the tensions. But he said their efforts were mostly ignored by all parties.
“Our message was that there should be inclusive dialogue between the government and those fighting for independence,” said the Bishop, adding that even the leaders of the independence movement who are in prison should be released and allowed to participate in negotiations with the government.
In October 2019, the Cameroonian government, in an attempt to end the crisis, called for talks dubbed “National Dialogue.” The government also granted “special status” to the English-speaking North-West and South-West regions in December 2019.
Bishop Nfon, however, said this dialogue initiative of the government was “not a dialogue”, because the representatives of those concerned were not present.
“How do you dialogue with people who are not there?” he asked.
Appealing for an end to the violence, the Bishop urged the military forces and “the boys fighting in the bushes” to put down their arms, because “we cannot discuss, we cannot find peace, we cannot find justice, we cannot find tranquility in a society when they are fighting.”
Britain must spell out how far it wants to diverge from European Union rules if it wants access to the bloc’s financial market from January, a top European Commission official said on Tuesday.
Britain has left the EU and access under transition arrangements ends on Dec. 31. Future access for the City of London hinges on UK financial rules staying aligned or “equivalent” to regulation in the bloc.
John Berrigan, head of the European Commission’s financial services unit, said Brussels has asked London for more clarification on Britain’s intentions to work out what is an “acceptable level” of divergence.
“We are almost ready,” Berrigan told the European Parliament.
“There will be divergence… but we have to get some mutual understanding of how much divergence is likely to happen, and is that going to be sufficient to allow us to maintain an equivalence arrangement.”
Brussels has granted temporary access for UK clearing houses, but chunks of stock and derivatives trading would move from London to the bloc without equivalence.
Separately, Britain and the EU are discussing a trade deal which would contain only limited references to financial services to avoid tying the bloc’s hands, Berrigan said.
“We see our regulatory cooperation in the financial services field outside the agreement,” he said.
It would consist of a “forum” similar to what the bloc has with the United States to assess potential divergence in rules ahead of time, he said.
“What we don’t want is an equivalence regime that is constantly under threat,” he said.
“We will need at the outset the direction of travel the UK want to go… so we don’t have to keep talking in emergencies about whether equivalence can be maintained or not.”
Britain has said that while it won’t weaken its high regulatory standards, it won’t be a “rule taker” or copy every EU regulation word-for-word to obtain market access.
Berrigan said market participants are generally ready for the “unavoidably fragmenting event” that full Brexit will be in January.
No trade deal would make future cooperation in financial services far more challenging, he added.
(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Alison Williams and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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On the occasion of the feast of All Souls on November 2, Pope Francis will preside at Holy Mass for deceased faithful in the Vatican’s Teutonic Cemetery.
A communiqué from the Holy See Press Office said it would be strictly private, without the participation of the faithful. Following the celebration, the Pope will pray in the cemetery before going to the Vatican Grottoes to remember deceased Pontiffs.
On the morning of November 5, at 11.00 a.m., Pope Francis will preside at Holy Mass for deceased Cardinals and Bishops.
Like the other liturgical celebrations in the coming months, the Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica, with a very limited participation of faithful and, will follow strict measures put in place in recent months to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Last year, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for the Feast of All Souls at the Roman Catacombs of Priscilla, which was known as the regina catacumbarum – the “queen of the catacombs”.
In 2018, the Pope left the Vatican to celebrate Mass for All Souls Day at the Laurentino Cemetery, which includes a burial site for deceased children and unborn babies.
On November 2, 2017, Pope Francis paid homage to war dead while on a visit to the American military cemetery in Nettuno.
The COMECE Assembly to gather with Cardinal Parolin in light of Pope’s recent message on Europe
“I dream of a Europe that is a family and a community, a Europe that is a friend to each and all, a Europe that is inclusive and generous. Europe, find yourself! Be yourself!”, writes Pope Francis on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of COMECE and on the eve of the Assembly of EU Bishops which is starting today.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary since the establishment of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), Pope Francis returns to reflect on Europe once more in a letter addressed to H. Em. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness, who will be participating in the Autumn Assembly of the Bishops of the European Union to start today, Wednesday 28 October 2020.
The Holy Father calls on all of us to rediscover the path of fraternity that inspired and guided the founders of modern Europe. “Europe, find yourself! Rediscover your most deeply-rooted ideals. Be yourself! I dream of a Europe that is a family and a community, a Europe that is a friend to each and all, a Europe that is inclusive and generous”, states the Holy Father also referring to some of Europe’s most pressuring challenges.
H. Em. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, welcomes the words of Pope Francis and considers them “an encouragement to keep working in dialogue with the EU institutions to build a better world reflecting the dreams of peace and Common Good”.
In light of this new comprehensive message on Europe, COMECE Bishop Delegates will exchange on some of EU’s most pressuring challenges mentioned by the Holy Father, including the care for the most vulnerable members of our societies through just social and economic policies, migration and asylum policies and sustainable human development.
The COMECE Assembly will also discuss the contribution of the Catholic Church for a speedy and fair recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic through ecological, social and contributive justice.
Another crucial point in the agenda of the event will be the role of the Church in the EU and the implementation ofArticle 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), also in the context of Pope Francis’ call for“a healthy secularism, where God and Caesar remain distinct but not opposed, […] where believers are free to profess their faith in public and to put forward their own point of view in society”.
Due to the sanitary measures recently adopted by the authorities of the Brussels Region, the Mass for Europe has been cancelled. The dialogue session with Mr Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission, has also been removed from the programme of the Assembly. The Bishops of the EU wish him a prompt recovery from Covid-19.
The COMECE Assembly will take place exclusively in a digital format and Chatham House Rules will be applied. Journalists and media operators interested in covering the event are invited to contact theCOMECE Communication Officer.
New Delhi: European Parliamentarians have raised concerns over Pakistan’s continued persecution of Christian and Hindu religious minorities and in particular the abuse of girls from these communities.
After the forced abduction, conversion and marriage of Christian girl Huma Younus, another 14-year-old Catholic girl has been kidnapped in Pakistan, forced to marry the kidnapper, renounce her faith, and convert to Islam.
Every year more than 1 500 Christian girls and women are kidnapped in the same way in Pakistan. The judicial system seems to be part of the problem, as Pakistani courts often rule in favour of the perpetrators.
For families, obtaining the return of their children is becoming an increasingly long and complex legal battle, due to the constant tension in Pakistan between civil law and Islamic religious Sharia law, and the difficulties minorities experience in having their fundamental rights recognised.
On 30 June 2020, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Fulvio Martusciello, Miriam Lexmann, Francois-Xavier Bellamy, Massimiliano Salini, Gheorghe-Vlad Nistor, Michaela Sojdrova, Salvatore De Meo, Adam Kosa, Milan Zver and Ivan Stefanec of the Group of the European People’s Party tabled a parliamentary question to the Vice-President of the Commission and High Representative (VP/HR) of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
“The Government of Pakistan must take the matter seriously, and take all the necessary measures to stop the forced marriages and conversions of Christian and Hindu girls” the parliamentarians insisted in their statement to the European Commission.
The MEPs asked the Commission “what tools does the VP/HR want to put in place to safeguard freedom of religion and belief, including that of Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan?” and “how does the VP/HR intend to tackle and solve the problem of the continuing kidnappings of Christian and Hindu girls in Pakistan?”
On 21 October, VP/HR Josep Borrell formally responded on behalf of the European Commission. He stated that “freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), including the problem of forced conversions, is among the top human rights priorities of the EU in Pakistan” and that “it is regularly addressed through high-level political contacts and constitutes a key element of EU advocacy within the scope of the Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance as part of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+)”.
He explained that “being a standing agenda item of the Human Rights Sub-Group of the EU-Pakistan Joint Commission, it was discussed in its latest session in November 2019, and also raised by EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore with Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari on 27 June 2020”.
VP/HR Borrell reported that “within the GSP+ monitoring process, the Commission sent a list of salient issues to Pakistan in June 2020 specifically inquiring about the adoption process of the Christian Marriage and Divorce Act, and, the implementation of the Hindu Marriage Act and the various Child Marriage Restraint Acts, given that most cases of forced conversion concern underage girls”.
He underlined that “a joint Commission services/European External Action Service GSP+ monitoring mission to Pakistan is planned to take place as soon as conditions allow”.
EU VP/HR Borrell also highlighted that “the EU has recently supported the monitoring of the situation of FoRB and provided legal aid to FoRB cases and strategic litigation under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)” and that “the EU, both in headquarters and through the EU Delegation and Member States missions, follows closely individual cases and seeks to assist through political advocacy and legal aid”.
The study was carried out on chicken produced by the companies and purchased from Aldi, Lidl and other discount supermarkets across Europe — in France, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Spain — as well as from the producers themselves.
Overall, Germanwatch researchers found that the most contaminated chickens were produced by Germany’s PHW Group, which butchers roughly 4.5 million chickens per week (59% of samples tested), followed by France’s LDC Group (57%) and the Netherlands’ Plukon Food Group (36%).
The threat posed by the presence of such pathogens is that humans may become infected while handling or consuming the tainted meat, yet the presence of antimicrobials in the chicken effectively renders antibiotics useless in fighting the infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that critically important antimicrobials (CIA HP) like quinolones are of primary importance to human health. This group of antibiotics is used as a last line of defense when all other antibiotics prove ineffective. The Germanwatch report found traces of CIA HP in 35% of its samples.
The report points out that a lack of uniform EU rules has allowed the grave health risk of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in meat to flourish across Europe. Germanwatch argues that the tests show “the need for an EU-wide ban on CIA HP antibiotics in industrial livestock production.”
The group argues that such antibiotics should be reserved for human use only and have no place in food production. Resistance rates in the US, says the NGO, have decreased significantly since the use of quinolones in poultry production was banned in 2005.
There are other ways
The Germanwatch report suggests that beyond banning the use of specific antibiotics, producers should practice more animal-friendly husbandry, thus avoiding the need to administer them in the first place.
The report’s authors conclude by advising consumers to “avoid cheap chicken and switch to organic products from smaller, farm-based livestock farms,” where few or no traces of antibiotics are to be found.
In a statement on Tuesday, the rights experts also called on the Polish authorities to safeguard the rights of men and women protesting against the ruling.
#Poland has slammed door shut on legal and safe abortions on account of protection of the right to life of the unborn in violation of its international human rights obligations – UN experts stand in solidarity with women, in their quest for equality. Read: https://t.co/lgbX56hIKZpic.twitter.com/2JjTe3ZHAe
Across the country, thousands have taken to the streets in protest of last Thursday’s ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court.
According to the experts, with the court verdict, Poland has “effectively slammed the door shut” on legal abortion for women in the country. It is estimated that currently 98 per cent of all legal abortions in the country are performed on the grounds of severe and irreversible impairment of the foetus.
“Poland has decided to sacrifice women’s human right to safe and legal health services for termination of pregnancy on account of protection of the right to life of the unborn in violation of its international human rights obligations,” they said.
The ruling will have “devastating consequences for women and adolescent girls” in need of such terminations, especially those who are socio-economically disadvantaged and migrant women in irregular situations who do not have the means to go abroad for abortion services, they said.
Before the ruling, Poland had already one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, made even more restrictive in practice with serious barriers and stigma, according to the rights experts. Termination of pregnancy was permitted in three circumstances only: risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman; severe and irreversible impairment of the foetus; or pregnancy as a result of a prohibited act.
Decision ‘clearly against’ human rights standards
The experts highlighted that international human rights mechanisms have clearly recognized women’s right to abortion in cases of fatal foetal impairment and that States have to provide for termination of pregnancy in such cases as the lack of access constitutes, inter alia, a violation of the right to be free from inhuman treatment.
It cannot be justified by invoking the protection of the right to life, as the right to life and all other human rights under international human rights law are accorded to those who have been born — Human rights experts
International human rights mechanisms recognize women’s right to access safe and legal abortion as necessary for the protection of women’s dignity and equality and implicit in the right to equality, right to private life, right to be free from inhuman treatment and the right to the highest attainable standards, they said, adding that the decision of the Constitution Court “clearly goes against these standards.”
“It cannot be justified by invoking the protection of the right to life, as the right to life and all other human rights under international human rights law are accorded to those who have been born,” the experts said.
“Those who believe that personhood commences at the time of conception have the freedom to act in accordance with their beliefs but not to impose their beliefs on others through the legal system.”
‘Politicization’ leads to discrimination
The rights experts also pointed out that the “instrumentalization” and “politicization” of women’s bodies and health leads to discrimination against them, particularly in relation to their right to access health services and the resulting preventable ill health, including maternal mortality and morbidity.
The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
