The European Union's Duty Under International
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S DUTY UNDER INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW TO ENSURE NON-DISCRIMINATORY MEDICAL CARE TO WOMEN AND GIRLS RAPED IN ARMED CONFLICT, INCLUDING ACCESS TO SAFE ABORTION SERVICES Excerpts of EU, International, and National Laws, Policies & Practices Relevant to this Duty Updated as of February 27, 2014 Preface The duty of the European Union (EU) to respect international law—and in particular international humanitarian law as established in the Geneva Conventions and its Additional Protocols—is firmly rooted in its laws, regulations, and guidelines. For women and girls raped in armed conflict, abortion is a legal right under international humanitarian law (“IHL”). This is because they are persons “wounded and sick” under the Geneva Conventions, entitled “to the fullest extent practicable and with the least possible delay the medical care and attention required by their condition,” with no adverse distinction made “on any grounds other than medical ones,” under common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, its Additional Protocols and customary international law.i Denying abortions to women and girls impregnated by rape in armed conflict, while providing male rape victims and all other persons “wounded and sick” in armed conflict the medical care required by their condition, is unlawful discrimination under the Geneva Conventions. Forcing childbearing on female victims of war rape is also cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under IHL. Therefore, IHL imposes an absolute and affirmative duty to provide the option of abortion to rape victims in humanitarian aid settings. These IHL protections are further supported by international human rights law. The Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee have both declared the denial of abortion to be torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in certain situations.
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