Volume 7, Number 14

March 26, 2004

UN Commission on Human Rights to Debate Abortion, Homosexuality

By Douglas A. Sylva, Ph.D.

     (NEW YORK - C-FAM) During its current session in Geneva, the UN Commission on Human Rights will consider whether to endorse the findings of a report that calls for the expansion of international reproductive rights to encompass abortion, as well as for the creation of new international "sexual rights," including broad rights for "men who have sex with men, lesbians, transsexual and bisexual people."

     The report was written by international legal scholar Paul Hunt, who is now serving as the Commission's "Special Rapporteur" on physical and mental health, an expert selected by the Commission to provide it with legal recommendations on the subject.

     In the report, Hunt argues that states are obliged to help women to procure abortions. Hunt writes, "Women with unwanted pregnancies should be offered reliable information and compassionate counselling including information on where and when a pregnancy may be terminated legally." States must also improve access to abortion, presumably by funding the creation of new abortion clinics. According to Hunt, "public health systems should train and equip health service providers and take other measures to ensure that such abortions are not only safe but accessible." Overall, states must work to eliminate "unsafe" abortions, presumably by removing all legal restrictions on abortions.

     Hunt also endorses new "sexual rights," such as rights for homosexuals. Hunt writes that "the Special Rapporteur has no doubt that the correct understanding of fundamental human rights principles, as well as existing human rights norms, leads ineluctably to the recognition of sexual rights as human rights. Sexual rights include the right of all persons to express their sexual orientation." Hunt calls for legal protections for "same-sex relations," and appears to endorse limitations on freedom of speech in order to address the "stigma" faced by "sexual minorities." Such restrictions on freedom of speech have already been established in Canada and some of the countries of northern Europe.

     Last year, the Commission deferred a resolution introduced by Brazil to extend the international definition of discrimination to include discrimination based upon sexual orientation. It is expected that the resolution will be reintroduced during this session, amidst great controversy, and Hunt's report could be seen as an effort to bolster its chance of success. Hunt bluntly asserts that "discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is impermissible under international human rights law."

     Hunt seems to consider this report to be an essential component of efforts to expand upon the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo in 1994. "Looking back at ICPD after 10 years," he writes, "the Special Rapporteur is concerned about some limitations in relation to the definitions adopted.As part of the 10-year review, it is timely to examine ICPD critically. It is in that context that the Special Rapporteur makes the following observations" concerning "sexual rights."

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