ISMUNHK 2023 | 24 - 25 June 2023

INTER-SCHOOL MODEL
UNITED NATIONS HONG KONG

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

CHAIR REPORT

TOPIC: Ensuring safe and effective access to

abortion

By Joseph Lee

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Message from Chairs

Greetings Delegates!

On behalf of the Interschool Model United Nations Secretariat and ourselves, it is a pleasure
to welcome you to the Human Rights Council of ISMUN 2023! We are Belle Tse and Joseph
Lee, both G11 students at Maryknoll Convent School and St. Paul’s Co-educational College
respectively, and we are delighted to be serving as your chairs.

Founded in 2006, the Human Rights Council has the purpose of strengthening the promotion
and protection of human rights worldwide. It is also responsible for responding to human
rights emergencies and ensuring that member nations adhere to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. In the MUN circuit, the HRC is a beginner council which strives to allow
delegates to familiarise themselves with the procedures of MUN and build up a spirit of
diplomacy.

As chairs, we hope that these chair reports will only serve as starting points for delegates to
conduct extensive research through various sources. That being said, we would like delegates
to use ISMUN 2023 as an opportunity to engage in riveting debates, broaden their horizon,
and form strong bonds with other delegates.

At the end of the day, remember to have fun! Should you have any enquiries, feel free to
email the two of us via the email addresses below. We wish you luck in your preparations.
See you all in June :)

Belle Tse (bellextse@gmail.com)

Joseph Lee (josephleemun@gmail.com)
ISMUNHK Executive Committee (info.ismunhk@gmail.com)

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Topic Introduction

Access to abortion remains a highly controversial issue worldwide. While

international human rights bodies have repeatedly stressed that such access is a fundamental
human right, and many countries have already made significant progress in ensuring the
accessibility of abortion care over the past century, abortion access remains severely limited
in some countries, which still impose highly restrictive laws and do not provide affordable
abortion care, resulting in many women and girls to resort to unsafe abortions. Moreover, an
increasing number of countries have experienced backsliding of abortion rights, mainly due
to shifting social attitudes against abortion provision, with new legal restrictions, bureaucratic
barriers and intimidation by anti-abortion pressure groups reducing access to abortion care.
This topic explores how safe and effective access to abortion can be safeguarded, and
navigates how reproductive rights interact and overlap with other fundamental rights such as
the right to life, the freedom of expression and the right to privacy.

Key Terms

Term Definition

Abortion The termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion

of an embryo or foetus.

Reproductive rights The freedom of individuals to control decisions regarding

contraception, abortion, sterilisation, and childbirth.

Right to life The right not to be deprived of one’s life intentionally.

Freedom of expression The freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart
information and ideas without interference by public
authority and regardless of frontiers.

Right to privacy The right to be not subject to arbitrary or unlawful

interference with one’s privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on one’s honour

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and reputation.

Background Information

History of abortion access

The history of abortion access is a complex and multifaceted subject that has evolved
over time. In the 19th century, abortion was generally legal during the early stages of
pregnancy, but this was illegal or heavily restricted later on. In the early 20th century, many
countries began to criminalise abortion, often under pressure from religious and conservative
groups. This led to a rise in unsafe and illegal abortions, which contributed to high rates of
maternal mortality. However, in the mid-20th century, the women’s liberation movement
brought the issue of abortion rights to the forefront of public debate, with many countries
liberalising abortion laws to provide women the right to abortion care in broader
circumstances. A turning point of the abortion rights debate occurred in 1973, when the
United States Supreme Court handed down the landmark judgment of Roe v. Wade, which
established a woman’s constitutional right to choose to have an abortion. This ruling was
highly influential and inspired many countries around the world to enshrine the individual
right to bodily autonomy in law or to expand access to abortion services (Ravindran et al.).
Nevertheless, the ruling was also highly controversial, with many maintaining that the ruling
is inconsistent with foetuses’ right to life. In recent years, some countries continue to restrict
access to abortion, with some jurisdictions even reimposing restrictions on abortion, such as
Poland and some states in the United States after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Current situation of access to abortion

Around the world, 73 million induced abortions take place each year, accounting for
61% of all unintended pregnancies and 29% of all pregnancies. However, 45% of all induced
abortions are considered unsafe, 98% of which happen in developing countries. These unsafe
abortions are often attributed to the lack of legal and/or affordable abortion care, which have
resulted in 4.7–13.2% of all maternal deaths annually. In developing countries alone, 7
million women are treated in hospital facilities each year for complications of unsafe
abortion, amounting to an annual cost of US$ 553 million (World Health Organization).

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Despite the negative consequences that unsafe abortion brings to individuals and
societies, a number of countries continue to outlaw abortions, or allow them only under very
exceptional circumstances, such as to save the mother’s life. For example, while all of the 18
countries in the Middle East allow abortions when the life of the mother is threatened, only 4
of them allow it in cases of rape or incest (Thomson).

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Access to abortion and international human rights law

Although international human rights instruments do not explicitly confer a right to
abortion, human rights organisations and international courts have repeatedly ruled that
denying access to abortion care without due process is incompatible with various human
rights treaty provisions. In particular, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that arbitrary
and unreasonable restrictions on access to abortion is a violation of women’s right to health
and by extension right to life (Article 2), and criminalisation of abortion amounts to
stigmatisation of women’s reproductive needs, which is discriminatory (Article 3), and that
state interference in women making reproductive decisions without due process, including
abortion, breaches their right to privacy (Article 17), all of which are enshrined in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (Karen Noelia Llantoy Huamán
v. Peru). In addition, other human rights instruments such as the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) also protect
reproductive rights, though whether the right to abortion falls within the scope of
reproductive rights remains contested. However, it should be noted that while UN treaty
bodies such as the Human Rights Committee can adjudicate on individual complaints, these
rulings are not binding and are often not enforced by individual member states.

Key Clashes

Addressing the criminalisation of and restrictions on access to

abortion
As mentioned, although many countries have enacted provisions to remove
restrictions to abortion, some states continue to place heavy restrictions on abortion access
and criminalise the provision of abortion care in the a broad set of circumstances, including
even when the mother is a victim of rape or that the foetus will have severe disabilities if
born. This divide in member states’ stances on criminalising abortion and appropriate legal
restrictions on abortion care arise from various factors, mainly human rights and ethical
concerns, religious beliefs and social values.

One viewpoint adopted by states in favour of the right to abortion is grounded on

international human rights law such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

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which, among other things, include the right to life, liberty and privacy. Proponents of this
perspective argue that human rights should include the right to make decisions about one's
own body and reproductive health, which is an essential element of women’s human rights.
States holding these views believe that legal restrictions on women’s decision to have an
abortion, or the presence of barriers that prevent abortion care to be provided are unjustified.

On the other hand, opponents of abortion, notably countries in South America and the
Middle East, may argue that the right to life guaranteed by international law extends to
unborn persons. They often cite religious beliefs, such as the beginning that condemn
abortion as grounds of criminalising abortion or allowing abortion only under exceptional
circumstances. These countries’ populations are often predominantly conservative and
oppose abortion, and are likely to denounce any interference by the UN or other human rights
bodies as a violation of national sovereignty, and that such interference counters the will of
the majority of their citizens.

Member states’ obligation to provide abortion care and facilitate its

access
Many argue that apart from decriminalising abortion, a responsible state has the
obligation to provide and facilitate the provision of abortion care as part of its duty to protect
women's health and reproductive rights. This issue is particularly contentious, because while
abortion is legally allowed in some states, it is not widely available nor affordable to the
general population, rendering its access extremely difficult. This is seen in countries such as
Malta, where the state does not provide abortion care, yet conservative social attitudes result
in the medical sector being unwilling to provide abortion care in private settings. This has
ignited the debate as to whether a state, in order to give effect to women’s right to abortion
and reproductive care, has the positive obligation to provide such care, and whether
non-provision of such care amounts to a human rights violation.

Moreover, in recent years, some states face challenges of balancing the right to
reproductive care against the freedom of expression arising from issues such as setting up
buffer zones outside abortion clinics, which safeguard women’s safe access to abortion
clinics without undue interference, yet are seen by some as infringement of the protesters’

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freedom of expression. This raises questions on the extent to which a state is obliged to and
should facilitate the effective access to abortion care.

Guiding Questions for Debate

● Should abortion rights be protected? How do the right to abortion care be balanced
against other human rights? To what extent is religion or social values a valid
justification for restricting this right?
● To what extent do states have the positive obligation to provide or facilitate the
provision of affordable and accessible abortion care? What can be done in light of the
persistent disruption to abortion care services by local pressure groups?
● In view of the situation where many countries heavily restrict abortion access, what
can be done to clarify international human rights instruments on their protection of
abortion rights? What should the UN do to encourage and enforce member states’
non-violation of abortion rights?
● What can the UN and national governments do to expand access to safe abortions, in
particular to those in poverty or living in rural areas? How can the awareness of safe
reproductive care be promoted in member states?

Key Parties Involved

Key Parties Involvement

United States The United States supports abortion rights as part of its
foreign policy on the federal level. It has repeatedly
advocated for the right to abortion and family planning to
be respected internationally. The landmark Supreme Court
case of Roe v. Wade in 1973, which recognised the right to
choose to have an abortion in the country, was regarded as
a pioneer of securing abortion rights around the world.
However, this topic has proven to be politically and
legally contentious, with varying degrees of restrictions on

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abortion rights being enacted on the state level over the

past decades. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the
Roe v. Wade decision, with human rights groups raising
concerns that this would cause a ripple effect that results
in the rollback of abortion rights across the globe.

Ireland Ireland has historically constitutionally banned most cases

of abortion and have faced multiple cases of litigation
before the European Court of Human Rights for its
abortion laws and the restrictions it placed on women
seeking abortions abroad. However, Ireland emerged as
one of the recent examples of liberalisation of abortion
laws, with voters voting overwhelmingly in favour of
repealing the constitutional abortion ban in 2018. This has
resulted in abortion laws that are considered to be
progressive among developed countries to be passed. The
country’s administration now supports abortion rights.

Yemen Yemen has one of the strictest abortion laws in the Middle
East and around the world. Abortions are only permitted
on the grounds of saving the life of the mother. The
country has passed laws explicitly recognising the right of
children to include embryos and practises a fundamentalist
interpretation of Sharia law when it comes to abortion.

Possible Solutions

Clarifying rights in relation to abortion in international human rights

instruments
One possible solution to the topic is to clarify the ambiguity of abortion-related rights
and to remove the perceived “conflict” between the right to life and the right of women to
seek abortions in international human rights instruments such as the ICCPR. This can be done
by enacting an optional protocol that clearly defines the meaning of life to only include born

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persons and unborn persons that have attained the standard of foetal viability (commonly
understood as 24 weeks of gestation), and to explicitly define the right to privacy and
reproductive rights to include a right to abortion in relevant conventions. This can provide
greater clarity and consistency in the protection of women's reproductive rights, and to
provide a framework for states to develop and implement policies that respect and promote
these rights.

Increase UN funding to promote and aid the access to safe abortions

and reproductive care
Another possible solution is to increase funding to relevant UN institutions such as
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to
empower them to promote and aid the access to safe abortions and reproductive care. This
can help to ensure that women have access to the information, services, and care they need to
make informed decisions about their reproductive health, and to ensure that they can access
safe and effective abortion services when necessary.

Past Efforts

Efforts by UN public health bodies to promote access to reproductive

care and to minimise unsafe abortions
Over the years, ​The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has played a key role
in promoting family planning and reproductive rights so as to reduce the number of unsafe
abortions performed across the globe, particularly in developing countries. While the UNFPA
does not endorse or promote abortion, it supports a range of initiatives aimed at improving
access to reproductive health services by working with national governments and NGOs.

In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains guidelines on safe

abortion, which provide evidence-based recommendations for the provision of safe and
effective abortion services. The guidelines aim to improve the quality of abortion care and to
reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with unsafe abortion.

Inclusion of reproductive rights in wider UN debates

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Moreover, abortion rights have also surfaced as part of discussions related to wider
human development within UN institutions. For example, In 1994, the International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) recognized the importance of
reproductive health and rights as a fundamental human right. In 2015, the UN adopted the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with SDG 5 calling for gender equality and the
empowerment of women and girls to have access to reproductive health services and family
planning, which includes safe and effective access to abortion services when necessary.

Bibliography

Ravindran, TK Sundari, et al. “The reversal of Roe v. Wade will have impacts that reach far

beyond the US.” Knowable Magazine, 31 August 2022,

https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2022/us-abortion-decision-alread

y-having-global-impacts. Accessed 27 April 2023.

Thomson, Stéphanie. “The countries that don't allow abortion to even rape victims.” The

World Economic Forum, 16 June 2016,

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/06/the-countries-where-even-rape-victims-can

-t-get-abortions/. Accessed 27 April 2023.

United Nations Human Rights Committee. Karen Noelia Llantoy Huamán v. Peru.

CCPR/C/85/D/1153/2003, 22 November 2005,

https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/DER/G05/451/53/PDF/G0545153.pdf?

OpenElement. Accessed 27 April 2023.

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World Health Organization. “Abortion: Key Facts.” World Health Organization (WHO), 25

November 2021, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion.

Accessed 27 April 2023.

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