|
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
16 June 2010
Joint statement on maternal mortality and morbidity supported by
108 States
Amnesty International
warmly welcomes the joint statement on Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity and Human Rights made during 14thsession of
the Human Rights Council on Monday 14 June, on behalf of an
overwhelming 108 States from all UN regions and political
groups.
The statement was
made during a panel discussion on maternal mortality and morbidity
organised to discuss the thematic study by the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights on preventable maternal mortality and
morbidity and human rights. Amnesty International also
addressed the Council during the panel discussion.
Amnesty International
supports the important call in the joint statement for the High
Commissioner for Human Rights to take the study to the High-level
Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium
Development Goals, to be held in New York in September, to further
discussions on the importance of integrating a human rights
perspective into realising the MDGs.
Maternal mortality
and morbidity is a central human rights issue affecting not only
women and girls, but also men and children all around the
world.
As noted in the panel
discussion, according to WHO, each year more than half a million
women die of pregnancy and child birth-related complications, while
a further 10 million women suffer chronic injuries, infections,
disease and disability related to pregnancy and birth. Yet
Millennium Development Goal 5 on improving maternal health is the
furthest from realization.
Most maternal deaths and
injuries are the result of human rights violations faced
by women and girls. Women and girls have the right to life, but die
in large numbers because of poverty and injustice. They have the
right to the highest attainable standard of health, but face legal,
economic and social obstacles in access to health care. Women and
girls have the right to determine whether and when they become
pregnant, yet they are often denied access to family planning,
contraception and information, and the ability to control their own
bodies.
Renewed efforts by all
are required to address maternal mortality
grounded in a framework of gender equality and non-discrimination.
This is not just a legal obligation, but an essential requirement
for any successful initiative to reduce maternal mortality and
morbidity.
The September
High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly provides a
crucial opportunity for all governments to agree concrete
strategies to ensure that laws, policies and programmes aimed at
achieving Millennium Development Goal 5 are consistent with their
obligations under international law and pledges made at the Beijing
and Cairo World Conferences.
Amnesty International
encourages China, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation,
Saudi Arabia and other Human Rights Council members and observer
States that declined to support the joint statement to contribute
positively to efforts at the September High-level Plenary Meeting
to bring a human rights perspective to measures aimed at achieving
Millennium Development Goal 5.
Public Document
****************************************
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St.,
London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
Burkina Faso, Colombia and New
Zealand, as well as the following countries: Albania, Algeria,
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bolivia, Botswana, Bulgaria,
Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte
D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Gabon, Ghana, Germany,
Guinea, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India,
Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lichtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Mexico,
Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal,
Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland,
Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia,
Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United
Kingdom, United States of America, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela,
Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia.
|
