UPR 44 Highlights: Sexual Rights-Related Recommendations

UN Mechanism

The 44th session of the Universal Periodic was held from 6 to 17 November 2023. 14 Countries were under review during the session: Turkmenistan, Cabo Verde, Uzbekistan, Germany, Canada, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Tuvalu, Djibouti, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Cuba, the Russian Federation and Cameroon.

In collaboration with our partners, the SRI submitted reports for Canada, Azerbaijan and Bangladesh.

Below are some sexual rights-related highlights from each UPR 44 review. Click here for the full list of recommendations made related to sexual rights, including State responses to date. We have noted with concern the increase in the number of recommendations made by a number of states that call for the recognition and protection of the family as the natural unit of society.

Azerbaijan

Read our submission for Azerbaijan here.

Deferred:

Approve without further delay the draft law on reproductive health and family planning, as well as the national strategy on reproductive health and family planning. (Panama)
Provide age-appropriate sexuality education in and out of schools. (Iceland)
Enact the draft law and the national strategy on reproductive health and family planning, and criminalize all forms of gender-based violence, in particular domestic violence. (Mexico)

Bangladesh

Deferred:

Expand the grounds on which abortion is permitted, to include women’s physical and mental health, foetal impairment, rape and incest. (Iceland)
Develop and implement comprehensive educational programmes on sexual and reproductive health, with a view to deconstructing social taboos and preventing early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, child marriage and sexual violence. (Panama)
Collect disaggregated data on the “Dalit” population, including data on gender-based discrimination and violence faced by “Dalit” women. (Mexico)
Ban invasive and humiliating medical examinations to prove “hijra” and transgender status. (Iceland)

Burkina Faso

Deferred:

Implement a strategy to guarantee the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people by combating female genital mutilation and child marriage and reducing maternal mortality linked to unsafe abortions. (South Africa)
Strengthen measures to combat harmful cultural practices and stigmatisation that hamper full access to health care services, particularly sexual and reproductive health care for adolescent girls. (Lesotho)
Eliminate the need for legal proceedings for women to access safe termination of pregnancy in cases of health hazards, serious illness of foetus, rape and incest, and decriminalise abortion in all other cases. (Iceland)

Cabo Verde

Deferred:

Continue efforts to recognise, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, carried out disproportionately by women and girls, and for state care of young children, elderly people and people living with disabilities in order to alleviate the socio-economic challenges of women. (Canada)
Implement the ICPD25 commitment to end preventable maternal death and to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable goals in the areas of maternal health at national, regional and local levels, as well as reducing infant mortality by ensuring essential health care for all. (South Africa)
Intensify efforts to guarantee the recognition of the right to gender identity in childhood, with respect for their physical and psychological integrity, autonomy and respect for their development and growing capacity to make decisions. (Argentina)

Cameroon

Deferred:

Strengthen implementation of its National Gender Policy to promote access to appropriate, adequate and quality sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls, particularly in rural areas. (Thailand)
Evaluate a framework law against gender-based violence that includes specific provisions on marital rape, family violence and femicide. (Chile)
Continue efforts to enable women and girls, especially in rural areas, to access sexual and reproductive health services. (Tunisia)

Canada

Read our submissions for Canada here and here.

Deferred

Continue efforts to ensure Indigenous Peoples’ access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health services. (Finland)
Combat the dissemination of false and misleading information through comprehensive sexuality education in and out of schools. (Iceland)
Adopt measures for prevention, investigation, punishment and reparation in cases of gender violence with special emphasis on cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women and girls. (Honduras)
Ensure that all allegations of forced or coerced sterilisation of Indigenous women and girls are investigated impartially and independently, in order to ensure effective accountability and adequate reparation for the victims. (Peru)

Colombia

Deferred

Implement the ICPD25 commitment to accelerate the reduction of preventable maternal morbidity and mortality in rural and remote areas through the provision of quality services and the adoption of a differentiated approach to dismantle stereotypes that lead to discrimination against women, girls, ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities. (Panama)
Implement fully the “Causa Justa” or C-055/2022 ruling, particularly so that Indigenous and Afro-Colombian women and girls and women and girls living in poverty can access abortion as a health service. (Mexico)
Bolster efforts to ensure that all health personnel are aware of and apply the Constitutional Court judgement decriminalising the voluntary termination of pregnancy and consider eliminating the offence of abortion from the Criminal Code. (South Africa)

Cuba

Deferred

Intensify efforts so that the Comprehensive Sexual Education program in schools promotes respect for the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity. (Argentina)
Develop a gender strategy in the legal system to promote a cross-cutting approach to the elimination of stereotypes in the drafting and interpretation of legal regulations. (Malawi)
Continue to adopt measures against sexual and gender-based violence, including the criminalisation of feminicide. (Brazil)

Djibouti

Deferred

Take all necessary measures to put an end to practices whereby girls who are victims of rape get married to their aggressor, and ensure adequate criminal punishment against the perpetrator and the promoters of such union, as well as guarantee the physical and psychological rehabilitation of the girl. (Mexico)
Ensure that school-based counselling programs are provided for pregnant girls and adolescent mothers, with peer review and evaluation mechanisms in place. (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
Provide women and girls with disabilities with access to sexual and reproductive health care, including in rural areas. (Botswana)

Germany

Deferred

Implement amendments to the Criminal Code to facilitate access to information about voluntary termination of pregnancy. (Iceland)
Eliminate exceptions to the law that establish the circumstances under which forced sterilisation of adults with disabilities is contemplated. (Argentina)
Set up a national compensation fund for transsexual persons who were coerced into sterilisation or unwanted gender reassignment treatment in the years 1981-2011. (Sweden)

Russian Federation

Deferred

Take measures to combat patriarchal attitudes and discriminatory stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society; reduce the gender pay gap; and promote the participation of women in public life. (Ecuador)
Amend the Penal Code to criminalise marital rape and all forms of domestic violence, ensure that definitions of rape and sexual offences are expressly based on the absence of free consent, and repeal the exemption of perpetrators of statutory rape from criminal liability in case of marriage to the victim. (Panama)
End pressure on human rights defenders, especially women, Indigenous Peoples, environmental activists, and persons belonging to the LGBT+ community. (Norway)
Eliminate the list of professions forbidden to women. (Costa Rica)

Turkmenistan

Accepted:

Guarantee universal access to sexual and reproductive health as a part of universal health coverage and to affordable modern contraceptives and emergency contraception for all women and girls. (Estonia)
Decriminalise abortions in cases other than a threat to the life of the mother and severe fatal impairment. (Republic of Moldova)

Noted:

Ban forced “virginity tests” of women and girls and guarantee their access to affordable modern contraceptives and emergency contraception. (Iceland)
Uphold the rights of women by removing restrictions on women’s appearance, personal freedoms, and sexual and reproductive rights. (Australia)

Tuvalu

Deferred

Strengthen its programmes on sexual and reproductive health education and expand them across the country, targeting adolescent girls and boys, with special attention paid to preventing early pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, as well as provide free, confidential and adolescent-responsive sexual and reproductive health services to all adolescents, including post-abortion care. (South Africa)
Continue to strengthen efforts to provide and improve access to health care for all, including access to sexual and reproductive health services and information. (Fiji)
Decriminalise the voluntary termination of pregnancy and promote education programs on sexual and reproductive health for the entire population. (Mexico)
Adopt policy and legal measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity with a view to safeguard the rights of persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, including but not limited to ensuring their access to sexual and reproductive health services. (South Africa)

Uzbekistan

Accepted:

Ensure the availability and accessibility of quality sexual and reproductive health services for all. (Iceland)
Repeal article 113 of the Penal Code to decriminalise HIV transmission and ensure that HIV testing is strictly voluntary in all circumstances. (Mexico)

Noted:

Repeal laws and policies on enforced testing for HIV and remove policies and/or internal instructions requiring health care providers to report LGBTQI+ persons who test positive for HIV to law enforcement. (Iceland)