HRC 54 SRI Statement to the ID with the SR on Unilateral Coercive Measures Published on September 14, 2023 Statement Bodily autonomy Sexual and reproductive health and rights Right to development Colonialism Right to health Economic justice UN Mechanism Human Rights Council Special Procedures HRC 54 <p><strong>54th session of the Human Rights Council</strong></p> <p><strong>Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures</strong></p> <p><strong>Thursday 14 September 2023</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Joint statement by Action Canada for Population and Development, the Federation for Women and Family Planning and Akãhatã</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Thank you, President.</p> <p>Action Canada, the Federation and Akãhatã make this statement as part and on behalf of the Sexual Rights Initiative.</p> <p>We welcome the report of the Special Rapporteur as it addresses key impacts of unilateral coercive measures on the right to health and exposes their incompatibility with sexual and reproductive health and rights and bodily autonomy.</p> <p>We strongly believe that a deeper and more critical scrutiny is needed on the wide range of other rights violated by these measures, including the right to development.</p> <p>The report names the sanctioning and sanctioned countries, illustrating our analysis that these practices are a form of imperial and neocolonial domination, and economic and racial injustice. The report surfaces the vast differences in economic power and catastrophic effects of unilateral coercive measures on health systems in developing and fragile countries, directly undermining global initiatives on access to medicines, universal health coverage, and sustainable development. The hypocrisy of sanctioning states must be called out and they must be held accountable. We urge sanctioning States to acknowledge that sanctions are a social determinant of health completely within their control and put an end to these harmful and violent measures. </p> <p>We look forward to future reports of the Special Rapporteur and call for accountability from states, corporations and other actors that apply and observe these measures.</p> <p>Thank you.</p> <p> </p>
