Publications

Originally published by International Commission of Jurists The 268 faith-based, non-governmental, and other civil society organizations listed below call on UN Member States to uphold, preserve, strengthen, and celebrate international refugee, human rights, and humanitarian treaties and reject efforts to undo or undermine legal norms. In recognition of the inalienable human dignity of each person, States built a rules-based system to maintain peace and security and to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. Multilateral refugee, humanitarian, and human rights treaties are central to the objectives enshrined in the UN charter, and essential to preventing and deterring conduct that harms people and threatens global stability and peace. Adherence to treaties has saved lives, upheld human dignity, and protected millions of people from persecution, torture and other human rights abuses. Human rights treaties play a vital role in helping people live safely and protected where they are, reducing the conditions that lead to forced migration. The Refugee Convention, its Protocol and other agreements provide a foundation for states to host refugees and provide critical protection, thereby reducing onward displacement. Indeed, the substantial majority—over two-thirds—of refugees are already hosted in neighboring states and nearly three-fourths are hosted in low- and middle-income states. Treaties and norms that protect people from persecution and other human rights abuses are more necessary than ever. Many of us have witnessed, day in and day out, how international treaties and law save lives and protect people from return to persecution, torture, and other serious human rights abuses. Indeed, the Refugee Convention and its Protocol have protected millions of people from persecution. The sad reality is that today’s global crises and mass displacements often stem from, or are exacerbated by, the failure to adhere to international human rights, refugee and humanitarian conventions and law. We call on States to: Sign and/or deposit instruments of ratification or accession to human rights, refugee, and humanitarian treaties, and encourage other states to do so – including by welcoming those that do so during the UNGA Treaty Event and by marking the upcoming 75th Anniversary of the Refugee Convention through acceding to the Refugee Convention and Protocol and encouraging other states to do so. Celebrate and affirm support for such treaties, and explain the ways they benefit people and states. Share steps taken to fulfill and honor commitments under treaties – such as enactment of implementing legislation, celebrating treaty commitments, measures taken in response to treaty body recommendations or UPR, or creating a national human rights institution. With respect to the Refugee Convention and its Protocol, share steps taken to strengthen asylum systems, support rights protection capacities, or increase cooperation through expanded resettlement and/or aid that helps enable other countries to host large numbers of refugees. Should there be any denunciations, withdrawals, or attempts to reject, “reform,” and/or replace such treaties with frameworks that deny people protection from persecution and human rights abuses, we call on states to express strong disagreement, reiterate support for such treaties, explain their benefits to human lives, peace, and stability, emphasize the negative impacts of actions that undermine such treaties, and urge reversal of such efforts. Many people now safely living in countries around the world are the children and grandchildren of people who fled persecution and found refuge in other countries. Conversely, before states came together to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights treaties and the Refugee Convention and Protocol, millions were abandoned to suffer horrific fates. Too many continue to suffer due to the failures to uphold human rights and humanitarian norms. At this critical crossroads, we call on states to work together and with civil society to strengthen—and reject efforts to undermine—the treaties and norms that protect people from persecution and other human rights abuses. Signed: 11.11.11Acacia Center for JusticeACT AllianceAct for PeaceAdvocate Sunil Kumar ManchandaAl Otro LadoAlianza AmericasAlliance San DiegoAmerican Civil Liberties UnionAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International AustraliaAmormigrant.orgANARApatride NetworkApoyo a Migrantes Venezolanos, A.C.Arrupe Refugee CenterAsia Pacific Refugee Rights Network [APRRN]Asociación de Nicaragüenses en MéxicoAsociación Pop No’j (Guatemala)ASOCIACIÓN PRO DERECHOS HUMANOS DE ESPAÑAAssociation for Legal Intervention (Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej), PolandAsyLexAsylum Seeker Resource CentreAustralia Western Sahara AssociationAVAN Immigrant ServicesAVSI Foundation ETSBangladesh Legal Aid and Services TrustBondeko Refugee Livelihoods CenterBorder Network for Human Rights (BNHR)Boston University International Human Rights ClinicBurke PLLCCAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development)Canadian Association of Refugee LawyersCanadian Council for RefugeesCanadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW)Capital Rainbow RefugeCaritas InternationalisCasa Luz da ColinaCCI OttawaCEDAW RisingCenter for Constitutional RightsCenter for Engagement and Advocacy in the AmericasCenter for Gender & Refugee StudiesCenter for Human Rights and Constitutional LawCenter for Legal Aid Voice in BulgariaCenter for Victims of TortureCenter on Gender and Extreme SentencingCentre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR-Centre)Centre for Research and Social Development IDEASCentretown Community Health CentreCentro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad-Dejusticia (Colombia)Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)Centro para la Observación Migratoria y el Desarrollo Social en el Caribe (OBMICA)Church World ServiceClimate RefugeesClimate Rights InternationalCoalición por VenezuelaCoalition des Volontaires pour la Paix et le Développement, CVPDCoalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons (CRSP)CODHES COLOMBIAColegio de Médicos y Cirujanos de Puerto RicoComite dominicano de derechos humanosCommunity for Children, OrgCommunity Legal Services of Ottawa (CLSO) | Services juridiques communautaires d’Ottawa (SJCO)COMMUNITY MIGRANT RESOURCE CENTRECommunity World Service AsiaCompanion House Assisting Survivors of Torture and TraumaConselho Indigenista Missionário CIMICOOPI – Cooperazione InternazionaleCouncil for Global EqualityDanish Refugee CouncilDarwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy NetworkDesiree AllianceDisability Justice Network of British Columbia (DJNBC)Disability Justice Network of OntarioDISABILITY PEOPLES FORUM UGANDADrylands Learning And Capacity Building Initiative- DLCIDutch Council for RefugeesEast African Centre for Forced Migration and DisplacementEast Bay Sanctuary CovenantEgyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)Empower Youth TrustEncuentros Servicio Jesuita a MigrantesEquality NowEuropean Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)Fe y Alegría VenezuelaFe y JusticiaFeminist Task ForceFlorence Immigrant & Refugee Rights ProjectForum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and TraumaFoundation for the promotion of rightsFranciscans InternationalFrancophonie Canadienne Plurielle (FRAP)Freedom Network USAFundación Crea Tu EspacioFundación Refugiados UnidosGargaar Relief and Development Organization (GREDO)Global Birthing Home FoundationGlobal Campaign for Equal Nationality RightsGlobal Detention ProjectGlobal Justice CenterGlobal Justice Clinic, Western New England University School of LawGlobal RefugeGlobal Strategic Litigation CouncilGroupe d’Appui au Développement et à la Démocratie (GRADE)Grupo Articulador de Organizaciones Lideradas por Personas Refugiadas y Desplazadas Forzadas en Latinoámerica y el Caribe (GARLOS)Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USAHawai’i Institute for Human RightsHealing BridgesHelp Himalayan Youth Foundation IncHelpAge InternationalHemispheric Network for Haitian Migrants’ Rights (Rezo Emisferik pou Dwa Migran Ayisyen)HIASHiggins Brothers Surgicenter for HopeHo’opae Pono Peace ProjectHouse of WelcomeHuman Rights Cities AllianceHuman Rights FirstHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights House FoundationILGA WorldImmigrant Defenders Law CenterImmigrant Legal Advocacy ProjectIndependent DiplomatInsan Association- Defending Human RightsInstitute for Justice and Democracy in HaitiInstitute for the Sustainable Development of Lenca Women in Honduras (IDESMULH)Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI)Instituto Brasileiro de Direitos HumanosInternational Association for Human Rights Advocacy in Geneva (IAHRAG)International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)International Commission of JuristsInternational Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)International Detention Coalition IDCInternational Mayan LeagueInternational Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)International Service for Human RightsIpas USIslamic Relief Kenya OfficeJesuit Refugee ServiceJesuit Social Center (Tokyo)Jewish Activists for Immigration JusticeJFCS East BayJourney Home Community AssociationJust Detention InternationalJustice for Refugees SAJustice in MotionJusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF)Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)Kilómetro 0Kinbrace Community SocietyLa Ruta del ClimaLast Mile4DLatin America/Caribbean Committee – Loretto CommunityLawyers for Good GovernmentLutheran World FederationMADREMassachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy CoalitionMatthew House OttawaMigrant Working Group (MWG)Migration Institute of AustraliaMissionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI)Mosaic Multicultural ConnectionsMPower Change Action FundNational Refugee-led Advisory and Advocacy Group AustraliaNationality For All (NFA)New Women ConnectorsNewcomer Legal Clinic – Lakehead UniversityNorwegian Refugee CouncilOasis Legal ServicesOCASI – Ontario Council of Agencies Serving ImmigrantsOpen DoorsOverseas Services to Survivors of Torture and TraumaOxfamPacific Migration PartnersPacificwinPacificPartners In HealthPax Christi InternationalPax Christi USAPeople Serving People FoundationPerkumpulan Suaka Untuk Perlindungan Hak Pengungsi (SUAKA)PersonalPittsburgh Human Rights City AlliancePlatform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants – PICUMPortland Central America Solidarity CommitteePrograma Casa RefugiadosPromotoras de Derechos en la MigraciónPuntland Minority Women Development OrganizationQuaker United Nations OfficeQuixote CenterRainbow RailroadRainbow Refugee SocietyRed Jesuita con Migrantes Latinoamerica y el Caribe (RJM LAC)Refugee 613Refugee Action Campaign CanberraRefugee Advocacy LabRefugee Communities Advocacy Network NSWRefugee Communities Association of Australia IncRefugee CongressRefugee Consortium of KenyaRefugee Council of AustraliaRefugee Council USARefugee LegalRefugee Solidarity NetworkRefugees as Survivors NZRefugees in LibyaRefugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table (R-SEAT)RefugePointResilient40Robert F. Kennedy Human RightsRohingya Youth Union-RYURohingya Youths Support Network (RYSN)Rose Lokissim AssociationR-SEATRural Australians for RefugeesRural Australians for Refugees Southern HighlandsSafe Passage InternationalSAISIA – Saskatchewan Association of Immigrants Settlement and Integration AgenciesSame SkiesSanta Clara Law – International Human Rights ClinicSave the Children InternationalSCALES Community Legal CentreSecours Islamique France (SIF)Secretariat of the Civil Society Action CommitteeSettlement Services International (SSI)Sin Fronteras IAPSocial Change InstituteSociety of Jesus in BelizeSomali Diaspora in Deutschland (SOMDID) e.V.South Asian Legal Clinic of OntarioSTARTTSStichting VluchtelingSurvivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation ServiceSydney Multicultural Community ServicesSynergies MigrationsSynergy for JusticeTable de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantesTahirih Justice CenterThailand Migration Reform Consortium (TMR)The Alliance for Diplomacy and JusticeThe Global Centre for Social Justice and Advocacy LeadershipThe GOOD GroupThe Legal Resources CentreThe Tasmania OpportunityThe Workers CircleU.S. Campaign for BurmaU.S. Committee for Refugees and ImmigrantsUganda Eyenkya Development Project GroupUniāo Social dos Imigrantes Haitianos (USIH)Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)US CitizenVECINAVOICEVoices in DialogueWashington Brazil OfficeWashington Office on Latin America (WOLA)Western States CenterWind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource CenterWomen in Migration Network (WIMN)Women’s All Points Bulletin WAPBWomen’s Link WorldwideWomen’s National Housing and Homelessness NetworkWomen’s Refugee CommissionWorld’s Youth for Climate JusticeZambian Civil Liberties Union (ZCLU)Zamzam Foundation

Our coalition recently developed a joint submission to the UN Human Rights Council before the USA’s upcoming 4th Universal Periodic Review. This submission focused on the significant deterioration of sexual and reproductive rights and justice across the country since the elimination of a federal right to abortion and amid a broader undermining of rights in the USA.

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.

Summary of Argument Idaho’s near-total abortion ban restricts access to necessary emergency reproductive healthcare, exacerbating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and otherwise negatively impacting people capable of pregnancy in Idaho. The law’s narrow exception for life-saving care will not prevent or mitigate these harms in practice, and will leave patients in Idaho without access to emergency reproductive healthcare. The United States has ratified several human rights treaties—including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), and the Convention Against Torture (CAT)—which require it to guarantee access to safe and legal abortion services, in particular in emergencies or acute medical crises governed by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). In accordance with the United States’ obligations under these treaties, the federal government—and therefore each state—is required to respect, protect and fulfil individuals’ international human rights to life; health; privacy; non-discrimination; and to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. These rights are directly jeopardized by Idaho’s draconian abortion law.

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.

The June 2022 Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated federal constitutional protection for access to abortion in the United States. Following Dobbs, more than a dozen states fully banned abortion, and many others passed or proposed increased restrictions. On October 17-18, 2023, the Human Rights Committee will review US compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the impact of Dobbs on its human rights obligations.

Introduction Since the United States (US) was last reviewed by the Human Rights Committee (HRC) nearly a decade ago in 2014, there have been significant developments in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for women, girls, and people who can become pregnant living in the US, including the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022. This decision overturned the constitutional right to abortion in the US after 50 years of precedent following the US Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Human rights experts warned before the Dobbs decision that overturning Roe would violate the rights of women, girls, and all people who can become pregnant in the US, as well as healthcare providers’ rights. Following the decision, the experts noted that whereas the restrictive new legal environment would not reduce the need for abortions, it would be guaranteed to increase the number of women and girls seeking clandestine and unsafe abortions, particularly for people of color and those living in poverty, and would fuel abortion stigma, leading to abuse of people in need of post-abortion care. They added: The decision to continue a pregnancy or terminate it must fundamentally and primarily be a woman’s decision as it will shape her whole future personal life and family life. The right of a woman to make autonomous decisions about her own body and reproductive functions is at the very core of her fundamental right to equality, non-discrimination, health, and privacy. As our submission details below, the restrictive environment around abortion in the US now also violates the rights to life and to be free of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment (CIDT), as well as rights to free expression and movement, as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The undersigned organizations call on the Biden administration to update the United States’ fifth periodic report to the UN Human Rights Committee under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee will be basing its review on this report, which was submitted by the Trump administration on January 15, 2021. This report version lacks updates on existing U.S. policies, as well as a commitment to expand protections for marginalized communities, especially non-citizens, in the context of reproductive health and access to medical care. It is critical — and consistent with the Biden administration’s policy commitments — to address the gaps between current U.S. policies and the ICCPR.

Executive Summary Following the United States (US) Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in June 2022, people in the US who can become pregnant are facing an unprecedented human rights crisis. In Dobbs, the Supreme Court overturned the constitutionally protected right to access abortion, leaving the question of whether and how to regulate abortion to individual states. Approximately 22 million women and girls of reproductive age in the US now live in states where abortion access is heavily restricted, and often totally inaccessible. This briefing paper details the intensifying human rights emergency caused by the decision, and discusses the ways that Dobbs contravenes the US’ international human rights obligations. The consequences of the Dobbs decision are wide ranging. Restrictions on access to healthcare places women’s lives and health at risk, leading to increased maternal mortality and morbidity, a climate of fear among healthcare providers, and reduced access to all forms of care. Dobbs also enables penalization and criminalization of healthcare, with providers, patients, and third parties at risk of prosecution or civil suit for their involvement in private healthcare decisions. Relatedly, the decision opens the door to widespread infringement of privacy rights as digital surveillance is expanded to detect violations of new regulations. New bans also infringe on freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, restricting the ability of physicians to counsel patients and clergy to provide pastoral care to their congregants. Finally, the harms of Dobbs violate principles of equality and non-discrimination; they fall disproportionately on marginalized populations including Black, indigenous, and people of color; people with disabilities; immigrants; and those living in poverty. By overturning the established constitutional protection for access to abortion and through the passage of restrictive state laws, the US is in violation of its obligations under international law, codified in a number of human rights treaties to which it is a party or a signatory. These human rights obligations include, but are not limited to, the rights to: life; health; privacy; liberty and security of person; to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief; equality and non-discrimination; and to seek, receive, and impart information. A version of this briefing paper was submitted to UN special procedures mandate holders in March 2023. The submission, cosigned by nearly 200 human rights, reproductive justice, and other concerned groups and individuals, requested urgent action from the UN mandate holders to examine the situation, engage with civil society, and call on the US to uphold its international human rights obligations. Less than a year on from this catastrophic legal decision, it is now apparent that the consequences are even worse than feared. Women and girls in need of reproductive healthcare are being met with systematic refusals, onerous financial burdens, stigma, fear of violence, and criminalization. Thousands are being forced to remain pregnant against their will. Part II of this briefing paper outlines the consequences of Dobbs on the fundamental human rights of women and girls, as well as the disproportionate impact it has on certain demographics made vulnerable by systemic oppressions. This factual summary includes input from physicians in various states as part of fact-gathering efforts conducted by a number of organizations involved in this submission. Part III discusses the ways in which Dobbs contravenes the US’ international obligations. Part IV sets forth our Conclusion and Calls to Action.