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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