Call for the United Kingdom to Protect the Right to Abortion of Female Victims of Rape and Forced Pregnancy in Armed Conflict
The Global Justice Center urges the UK—as a key leader in the United Nations (“UN”) and European Union (“EU”) and the second largest bilateral donor of humanitarian assistance in the world—to take global leadership to ensure the rights of female war rape survivors. Such leadership should include guaranteeing the right of women and girls impregnated by war rape to safe abortion and leading all donor states to comply with the Security Council’s call for an end to discriminatory medical treatment of these women and girls.
The UK position on abortion for those made pregnant by rape in armed conflict, announced on 9 January 2013—that the option of abortion is a necessary component of medical care for women and girls impregnated by war rape—represents an enormous global step forward in recognizing the rights of female victims of war. It is essential that the UK urgently take the next step: translate this policy commitment into concrete action.