Accountability Toolkit. U.N. Standards on Sexual And
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accountABILITY: U.N. Standards on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities © 2017 Women Enabled International Printed in the United States Cover image depicts three women in silhouette—one using a forearm crutch, one using a wheelchair, and one without any mobility aids—approaching a United Nations building in Geneva through a corridor of flags from countries around the world. Photo credit: “The “Allée des drapeaux” ("Flags Way") at the Palais des Nations, seat of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).” Photographer: Jean-Marc Ferré. Copyright © United Nations 2015. Any part of this publication may be copied, translated, or adapted with permission from the authors, provided that the parts copied are distributed free or at cost (not for profit) and Women Enabled International is acknowledged as the author. Any commercial reproduction requires prior written permission from the authors. Women Enabled International would appreciate receiving a copy of any materials in which information from this publication is used. Women Enabled International 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW, 10th Floor Washington, D.C. 20009 United States Tel. 1.202.630.3818 [email protected] www.womenenabled.org Contents Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... ii Using this Briefing Paper .......................................................................................................... 1 Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities: An Overview .............................................................. 2 Human Rights Committee ........................................................................................................ 6 General Comments .......................................................................................................... 6 Concluding Observations ................................................................................................. 6 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 11 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 12 Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ...................................................... 13 General Comments ........................................................................................................ 13 Concluding Observations ............................................................................................... 14 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 19 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 19 Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ...................................................... 20 General Comments ........................................................................................................ 20 Concluding Observations ............................................................................................... 21 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 24 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 24 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women .................................. 26 General Recommendations ........................................................................................... 26 Concluding Observations ............................................................................................... 28 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 38 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 39 Committee on the Rights of the Child ................................................................................. 41 General Comments ........................................................................................................ 41 Concluding Observations ............................................................................................... 43 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 50 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 50 Committee against Torture ................................................................................................... 52 General Comments ........................................................................................................ 52 Concluding Observations ............................................................................................... 52 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 56 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 56 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination .................................................. 57 General Comments ........................................................................................................ 57 Concluding Observations ............................................................................................... 57 Individual Complaints ..................................................................................................... 59 Gaps in the Standards ................................................................................................... 59 Thematic Reports by U.N. Special Procedures ................................................................... 60 Acknowledgments This briefing paper is a publication of Women Enabled International (WEI) and was conceptualized by Stephanie Ortoleva and Suzannah Phillips of WEI. Suzannah Phillips and Amanda McRae of WEI authored the briefing paper, with editing support from Stephanie Ortoleva. Extensive background research for this briefing paper was conducted with the generous pro bono support of: Dechert LLP (Linda Bartosch, Claire Bentley, Marie Bouchard, John Bumgarner, Sarah Burke, Stephanie Capistron, Shannon Cleary, Anna Do, Xenia Garofalo, Stephanie Kakoschke, Alvin Knight, Paul Lee, Laurel Neale, Jingjing Wu), who researched relevant concluding observations by all U.N. treaty bodies; Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP (Sarah Jane Allen, Nicole Antonopoulos, Kevin Benedicto, Robert M. Brecht Jr., Emily Calmeyer, Nicholas Frontera, Albert C. Gilbert, IV, Theresa Kradjian, Shoshana Lucich, Tim Slind, Allison Soilihi, and Alison Westwood), who researched relevant general comments/recommendations; Latham & Watkins LLP (Sharon Lau, Andrew Mamo, Dolynn Yap, and Alex Ye), who researched individual complaints; Dentons (Isobel Phillips), who researched general recommendations and individual complaints of the CEDAW Committee; and Jennifer Davidson and Kailey Mrosak, pro bono interns from the University of Virgina School of Law, who researched general comments and individual complaints by the CRPD Committee. WEI is also grateful to Dechert LLP pro bono attorneys Glenn Gundersen and Prerna Soni for their guidance on protecting WEI’s intellectual property. The accountABILITY Toolkit is dedicated to the millions of disabled women and girls around the world who routinely encounter multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. This Toolkit is a call to action, urging and empowering us to collectively raise our voices to demand that international human rights standards protect the rights of all women and girls, regardless of ability. Special thanks to the Channel Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and an anonymous donor, whose generous support made the publication of this briefing paper possible, and Translators without Borders for translating this publication into Spanish. ii | Women Enabled International Using this Briefing Paper As discussed in accountABILITY: Using U.N. Human Rights Mechanisms to Advance the Rights of Women and Girls with Disabilities (“accountABILITY Advocacy Guide”), the U.N. treaty bodies are independent human rights experts whose job it is to (1) monitor whether governments are meeting their international legal obligations under the relevant treaty, and (2) interpret the meaning and content of the corresponding human rights treaty through the development of General Comments/Recommendations, Concluding Observations, and, in some instances, Individual Complaints. Together, these three types of documents make up the “jurisprudence” of the treaty body. By looking at this jurisprudence, we can better understand what types of actions violate international human rights law and what governments must do to meet their international legal obligations. When we engage in international human rights advocacy—for instance, when we submit written information like shadow reports—our advocacy is strengthened with an analysis of the existing human rights standards on an issue. When we can demonstrate that treaty bodies have previously interpreted international human rights obligations in a way that supports what we are saying, we are more persuasive, treaty bodies may