Introduction

Human rights apply to everyone regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. 

They entitle us to life itself and to the basic things we need to stay alive, like food and health. Others entitle us to things that enhance our lives, such as education, leisure, and cultural participation.  

These rights are  universal, interconnected and indivisible. This means that they depend on one another, and they can’t be treated in isolation. When one right is violated, it undermines all other rights. 

Reproductive rights

Reproductive rights are human rights.

Simply put, we can’t fully exercise many of our human rights without reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are fundamental to our ability to be healthy, to be free, to live and to thrive. Human rights considered key to reproductive rights include:

• The right to life. 
• The right to liberty and security of person. 
• The right to health, including sexual and reproductive health .
• The right to decide the number and spacing of children. 
• The right to consent to marriage and to equality in marriage. 
• The right to privacy. 
• The right to equality and non-discrimination. 
• The right to be free from practices that harm women and girls. 
• The right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. 
• The right to be free from sexual and gender-based violence.
• The right to access sexual and reproductive health education and family planning. 
• The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.

Some of these rights deal directly with reproduction. Others address it implicitly, with certain reproductive rights falling under their broader protections.

For example, think about the fact that some people can access any health services they need, while those with uteruses face fierce interference and legal barriers. Their access to that care is not just a matter of health but also of equality and non-discrimination.

Or think about what kind of information we need to make informed decisions about our health. A lack of education violates the ability to make informed choices about our bodies and lives.

Human rights law

Human rights are protected by international law.

Human rights are protected by a body of treaties and legal documents known as international human rights law.  

The seeds of international human rights law were planted in 1945, with the creation of the United Nations. In its Charter, the UN takes responsibility for promoting “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms.” 

These were further elaborated upon in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1948, the UN General Assembly—which is composed of all countries belonging to the UN—agreed on a list of basic civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights to be universally protected. People from all different legal and cultural backgrounds contributed to its drafting. This was a significant milestone in human history: the first time these fundamental rights had been laid out.  

While the Declaration still forms the basis of international human rights standards today, these have been expanded and refined through a series of core human rights treaties. These treaties deal specifically with issues like women’s rights, children’s rights, disability rights, racial equality., and migration. UN treaty bodies and experts also develop norms and guidance to help Member States implement human rights obligations.

Accountability systems

There are systems in place to protect human rights.

All governments have ratified at least one human rights treaty that obligates them to protect reproductive rights. This means they’ve agreed to enact laws and policies and refrain from undermining the rights that the treaty outlines. Each core human rights treaty has an independent committee of experts that monitors its implementation and provides guidance to governments on how to better protect the rights it outlines.

To strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights, the UN established the Human Rights Council in 2006. This is an intergovernmental body where governments come together to discuss and address human rights issues worldwide.

One of its key mechanisms is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which is a process that examines the human rights records of all 193 UN member states. Based on  inputs from the government itself, from other UN mechanisms and UN entities, and from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Center for Reproductive Rights, Member States give each other recommendations on how to improve their implementation of human rights obligations. It’s then up to the government to implement those recommendations through laws and policies at the national level. 

When the Human Rights Council has particular concerns about a specific country or issue, it can negotiate and adopt resolutions to address the concern. This might mean establishing a Special Procedure on a country or thematic issue, or—in the case of more serious country situations—a Fact-Finding Mission or Commission of Inquiry to investigate human rights violations. It can also mandate the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to report on specific country or thematic situations.

In all cases, human rights advocates and NGOs like the Center can share information about specific violations with these mechanisms. The mechanisms report back to the Human Rights Council and, in some cases, also to the General Assembly. Collectively, their work serves to monitor, investigate and prevent human rights violations, and advance respect and protection of human rights. Thematic Special Procedures can further human rights norms and standards through their reports to the Council, and country mechanisms can further accountability for violators.

Rights violations

Governments can—and must—be held accountable for human rights violations.

Each core human rights treaty sets out obligations that governments must respect when they ratify it. The committees of experts monitoring implementation can also act as “quasi-judicial bodies,” able to investigate individual cases, assess rights violations, suggest forms of reparation, and recommend measures governments must take to prevent similar violations in the future.

Europe, Africa, and the Americas each have their own human rights agreements and courts. These systems set regional standards and can help bring government violations to light. Reproductive rights advocates have won major victories on abortion, forced sterilization and other issues at the regional level.