Submission to the UN Human Rights Council for US UPR
Executive Summary
During the United States’ (“US”) second-cycle Universal Periodic Review (“UPR”), multiple recommendations were made with respect to US abortion restrictions on foreign assistance, including the Helms Amendment. The US has failed to take any action on these recommendations, and in fact, in 2017, the Trump Administration entrenched and expanded the scope of these policies further with the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule (or “GGR”, officially termed “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance”). This submission highlights continuing concerns over these US policies which impose blanket prohibitions on abortion services and speech, in violation of US obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights law, customary international law, and UN Security Council Resolutions.