Sexual Rights related Recommendations at UPR39

Published on December 02, 2021
The 39th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was held in Geneva, from November 1-12, 2021. Thirteen countries were reviewed during UPR39: Antigua and Barbuda, Eswatini, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Suriname, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Adoption of UPR Outcomes: February/March 2022

The UPR outcome for each State reviewed during UPR39 will be adopted at the 49th session of the HRC (February/March 2022). The outcome report indicates which recommendations the State agrees to implement and its responses to other recommendations. This is the only opportunity for civil society to make an oral statement during the official UPR process. The SRI, in collaboration with partners and allies, will work to ensure that sexual and reproductive rights are visible during this segment of the UPR process.

The intervening period is an opportunity to engage in dialogue with States on accepting relevant recommendations – and, at the same time, not accepting those recommendations that are inconsistent with human rights norms and standards. It is also a means for gaining the support of media and the general public.

Below are some sexual rights related highlights from each UPR39 review. Click here for the full list of recommendations made related to sexual rights, including State responses to date. 

Explainer on Terminology

  • Accepted Recommendation: State agrees to implement the recommendation

  • Deferred Recommendation: State will announce in February/March if it agrees to implement the recommendation

  • Noted Recommendation: State does not agree to implement the recommendation
     

Click here for the full list of UPR39 Sexual Rights Recommendations

 

Antigua and Barbuda

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Establish a mandate to promote and protect women's rights to provide an independent alternative to the Office of the Ombudsman to address sexual harassment and discrimination against women as they still remain in a special position of vulnerability prone to violence, rape and sexual harassment. (Marshall Islands)
  • Take all necessary steps to end the discrimination and stigmatisation of LGBTI+ people, including the adoption of legislation that explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (Ireland)
  • Consider legalizing abortion in cases of rape, incest, threats to the life or health of the pregnant woman and severe foetal impairment; decriminalize it in all other cases; and ensure access for women to safe, high-quality and affordable abortion-related care, including post-abortion care in cases of complications resulting from unsafe abortions. (South Africa)
  • Revise the Health and Family Life Education curriculum in line with the United Nations technical guidelines, and train teachers to ensure effective provision of the curriculum. (Iceland)
  • Continue to provide adequate resources towards the initiatives which have started to help teenage mothers finish their secondary school education, at classes that can accommodate the unique challenges of being a young single mother. (Bahamas)
  • Step up the fight against gender-based violence and sexual violence, and classify marital rape as a crime in the Sexual Offenses Law. (Spain)

 

Eswatini

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Take the necessary steps to combat discrimination and violence against women and children, and on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. (Fiji)
  • Decriminalise abortion and guarantee the provision of, and access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and goods, including safe abortion and post-abortion care, and modern contraceptives.        (Netherlands)
  • Implement commitments made at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 to deliver quality health services, in particular maternal and neonatal care services at all levels of care by improving the supply-chain management for reproductive health commodities in both public and private health facilities. (Slovenia)
  • Repeal laws that do not allow safe abortions, affordable contraceptives, or reproductive rights. (South Africa)
  • Provide access to comprehensive sexuality education as part of the school curriculum. (Denmark)

 

Greece

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Improve access to health services for persons with disabilities, particularly in sexual and reproductive health services.   (Malaysia)
  • Enhance measures to prevent and combat violence against women, and extend those measures to reach women migrants and refugees living in camps and temporary accommodation. (Indonesia)

 

Hungary

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Repeal the articles of the "Anti-Paedophilia Law" that prohibit the representation of gender identity other than the sex of birth, the change of sex and homosexuality. (Spain)
  • Revert the current ban on legal gender recognition and develop a procedure for recognition based on personal autonomy and self-identification. (Iceland)
  • Streamline gender equality policies by providing education to youth in sexual and reproductive health rights and improving access to relevant services. (Cyprus)
  • Guarantee the right of children to comprehensive sexuality education, including on the full diversity of sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex characteristics. (Iceland)

 

Ireland

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Ensure that the three-year review of the Health Act 2018 on the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy is comprehensive and focused on providing a human rights-compliant framework for abortion, including by identifying and eliminating barriers impacting marginalized groups. (Austria)
  • Work to eliminate barriers to accessing reproductive health services. (Canada)
  • Develop a health care protocol for intersex children, based on human rights, that ensures that children and parents are informed about all options and that children participate in decision-making, thus avoiding subjecting intersex children to interventions irreversible and medically unnecessary surgical procedures.(Chile)
  • Expand access to abortion and repeal the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. (Iceland)
  • Implement the commitment made at the Nairobi Summit on the International Conference on Population and Development to prioritise the implementation of the National Sexual Health Strategy by ensuring that everyone has access to appropriate sexual health education and information, that high quality sexual health services are available and affordable, and that good quality data is available to guide the delivery of services. (Panama)
  • Collect the data and conduct independent and effective investigations into all allegations, and ensure that victims obtain redress, regarding the reports of acts of violence and mistreatment in Catholic reform institutions and vocational schools, as well as in mother and baby homes and Magdalen laundries administered by the Catholic Church. (Luxembourg)

 

Papua New Guinea

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Amend the Criminal Code with a view to repealing provisions that criminalise same-sex sexual relations between consenting adults. (Argentina)
  • Ensure that women and girls have adequate access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services. (Bahamas)
  • Fully ensure sexual and reproductive health rights. (Germany)
  • Decriminalize abortion and ensure universal and safe access to abortion and other sexual and reproductive health and rights. (Iceland)
  • Strengthen the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat violence and abuses against women and girls, including domestic violence and sorcery related violence, also by creating safe spaces for victims of violence and prosecuting perpetrators. (Italy)

 

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Consider adopting legislation which provides full and effective protection against discrimination and prohibits direct, indirect and intersecting discrimination, including measures for its effective implementation, with a particular emphasis on discrimination on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression. (Chile)
  • Address negative cultural attitudes by health workers against adolescent girls seeking contraceptive services while respecting confidentiality and their right to privacy. (Panama)
  • Continue efforts to strengthen laws against sexual crimes and prohibit marital rape and sexual harassment in the Penal Code. (Costa Rica)
  • Implement legislation on sexual and gender-based violence, including marital rape and other forms of domestic violence and family violence; and ensure victim-survivors can access justice, support mechanisms and necessary services. (Australia)
  • Urgently create a safe and functional institution for victims of gender-based violence and sexual abuse and implement capacity building training for police officers and other law enforcement officials in gender-based violence and sexual abuse reporting. (Panama)

 

Samoa

Accepted Recommendations 

  • Improve access to health care including sexual reproductive health services particularly for women in rural areas. (Malaysia)
  • Adopt a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health policy and comprehensive sexuality education for adolescents covering all aspects of prevention, including the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and early pregnancies, and eliminate the age limit for testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. (Luxembourg)
  • Maintain the commitment to end all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls, including violent threats, intimidation, harassment and abuse, both verbal and physical. (Chile)

Noted Recommendations

  • Repeal all provisions from the Penal Code that criminalize and punish relations between person of the same sex, and that the necessary measures be adopted to combat the stigma suffered by LGBTQI+ people, and that put their physical and moral integrity at risk. (Spain)
  • Completely decriminalize abortion and guarantee the right to abortion. (France)

 

Suriname

Accepted Recommendations 

  • Provide access to safe and affordable contraceptives, family planning services and adequate information on sexual and reproductive health. (Belgium)
  • Seek training for law enforcement and judicial officers to ensure accountability for gender-based violence and discrimination against LGBTI communities. (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Deferred Recommendations

  • Review and make compatible with applicable law, all policies and measures on gender recording in the deeds of the Civil Registry, to allow supplementing the registers of birth following gender and sex re-assignment. (Iceland)
  • Advance in the development and implementation of measures to guarantee access to education and medical services in the field of sexual and reproductive health appropriate for each age group. (Colombia)
  • Develop a comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education program, focusing on the prevention of adolescent pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. (Mexico)
  • Decriminalize abortion in all circumstances and remove legal, administrative and practical barriers to accessing safe and legal abortion services in order to comply (inter alia) with Article 36 paragraph 2 of the Constitution of Suriname.(Netherlands)

 

Tajikistan

Deferred Recommendations 

  • Introduce legislation to criminalise all forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence, marital rape and sexual assault within and outside marriage, and ensure that this legislation is enforced. (Norway)
  • Criminalize domestic and intimate partner violence, generate statistics on this matter, establish shelters for victims, and provide them with legal, medical and psychosocial assistance. (Mexico)
  • Provide effective protection against all forms of discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, both in law and in practice, and conduct awareness-raising campaigns to combat the stigma affecting LGTBQI people. (Argentina)
  • Continue taking measures to ensure right to health including for specific groups such as women by providing quality, affordable and accessible health services including those relating to sexual reproductive health. (Malaysia)

 

Thailand

Accepted Recommendations

  • Combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, especially in education, employment and health. (Mexico)
  • Include the right to non-discrimination of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in sexual health education. (Finland)
  • Facilitate access to sexual and reproductive health services for all, including migrant workers, which includes integrated SGBV services, information and education campaigns, and migrant-friendly health services. (Malaysia)

Deferred Recommendations

  • Guarantee the right to access adequate standard of health services for all, including sex workers. (Finland)
  • Develop a national plan to guarantee access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all, including regular and irregular migrant workers. (Iceland)
  • Classify child, early and forced marriages as forms of sexual exploitation, and eliminate article 277 of the Penal Code in order to prevent girls who are victims of sexual abuse from marrying the perpetrator of the crime in order to condone the penalty. (Ecuador)

 

Trinidad and Tobago

Accepted Recommendations

  • Provide effective access for women to comprehensive information and services on sexual and reproductive health. (Malaysia)
  • Strengthen measures to combat violence against women by creating specialized police units to investigate these crimes and mitigate impunity. (Brazil)

Noted Recommendations

  • Adopt the additional measures necessary to guarantee the full enjoyment of human rights by groups in vulnerable situations who suffer discrimination, especially because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. (Argentina)
  • Revise the Health and Family Life Education curriculum and integrate comprehensive sexuality education in line with international standards. (Iceland)
  • Consider amending the Offences Against the Person Act by legalizing abortion in cases of rape, incest and serious foetal malformation and decriminalizing it in all other cases. (Spain)
  • Encourage the public and parliamentary debates necessary for the revision of the law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy under a human rights approach, especially to allow this procedure in cases of rape, incest, fetal malformation or when pregnancy threatens the women’s life or health. (Uruguay)

 

Tanzania

Accepted Recommendations

  • Review laws and policies to ensure that girls who fall pregnant whilst at school, are married or young mothers can re-enter the formal education system. (Slovenia)

Deferred Recommendations

  • Revoke customary laws that undermine women's land rights, such as the Local Customary Law (Declaration) Order (G.N. No. 436/1963) (No. 4), and strengthen institutions dealing with land administration. (Switzerland)

Noted Recommendations

  • Enact a comprehensive law on sexual and gender-based violence, ensuring inclusion of indigenous women and girls and those living with disabilities. (Denmark)
  • Respect the right to confidentiality and dignity of LGBTI+ persons by banning invasive and demeaning procedures disguised as evidence gathering such as anal examination. (Iceland)
  • Take measures to eliminate stigma, discrimination and exclusion of pregnant girls and adolescent mothers, including in schools. (Chile)
  • Undertake further measures to prevent domestic violence and marital rape, and ensure that all victims receive necessary assistance. (Thailand)
  • Take urgent steps to amend legislation to outlaw all forms of child marriage, safeguards women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health and end violence against women and children. (Norway)

     

Click here for the full list of UPR39 Sexual Rights Recommendations