06.22.2016
How the Helms Amendment Hurts Women Raped in War
Related Publications
Legal Filings
10.22.2024
Amicus Brief — United States v. Idaho (October 2024)
Idaho’s “Defense of Life Act” (“Act” or “Idaho’s Law”), a near-total abortion ban, restricts access to necessary emergency reproductive healthcare, exacerbating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and otherwise negatively impacting pregnant people. The law’s narrow exception for life-saving care will not prevent or mitigate these harms and will leave patients without access to emergency reproductive healthcare. The United States has ratified several human rights treaties that require it to guarantee access to safe and legal reproductive health services, in particular in emergencies or acute medical crises governed by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”). Under these treaties, the U.S. is required to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to life; freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; non-discrimination; and privacy. Idaho’s draconian abortion law fails to respect these rights and violates the U.S.’s treaty obligations. This violation of the U.S.’s treaty obligations militates in favor of affirming the preliminary injunction issued by the District Court. Causing the U.S. to violate its international obligations will result in irreparable harm and is not in the public interest.
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UN/Government Submissions
06.13.2024
Statement: US House Hearing on Liberia War Crimes Court
Letters
06.06.2024
Letter to the UN, Security Council and Member States on Women’s Rights in Afghanistan
Letters
05.22.2024
Joint NGO Letter to President Biden on the International Criminal Court
UN/Government Submissions
01.05.2024
Submission to UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar — Gendered Impacts of the Coup
Gender-discriminatory laws and policies, and impunity for sexual and gender-based crimes, have long been the norm in Myanmar. Since independence in 1948, successive military regimes have perpetuated systemic discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The 2021 military coup greatly exacerbated gender-based discrimination and violence against women and people with diverse gender identities, and put an immediate end to any attempts to reform or eliminate these structural barriers to equality.
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11.27.2023
Open letter on EU and several European states’ concerning decision to suspend and review of funding to Palestinian and Israeli NGOs
Advocacy Resources
10.30.2023
In Geneva, United States Dodges Key Questions on its Abortion Rights Record
On October 17-18 in Geneva, the United States government faced questions from civil society and the Human Rights Committee on the country’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition to questions on immigrants’ rights, racial discrimination, and more, US officials were pressed repeatedly on the state of abortion access in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
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