Recognition of women’s reproductive rights as an integral part of international women’s human rights system has taken a long time. Generally, this can be explained by the fact that women’s rights and women’s issues as such have historically been “on the periphery of international human rights” [1]. Meantime, the well-being of women, although based on the realisation of all women’s human rights, depends to a large extent on the realisation of women’s right to reproductive health. [2] In the absence of the possibility of the enjoyment of this right, some of the most important and intimate aspects of human life “will be continuously jeopardised” [3]. For this reason, the protection of women’s human rights in the area of reproductive health has finally begun to receive the attention it has always deserved. 

The development of the concept of reproductive rights began in relative recent times. The subject of reproductivity was addressed at the International Conference on Human Rights in Tehran in 1968, where it was emphasised that parents have the inalienable right to determine freely and responsibly the number and timing of their children [4]. Thus, the concept of reproductive choice was promoted and international awareness of it began to emerge. 

Truly groundbreaking in the area of women’s reproductive health rights were the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1994, and the Beijing World Conference on Women, held a year later. The Cairo Conference steered the discourse away from reproductive control to achieve demographic goals towards a more inclusive and positive approach to sexuality and reproductivity, free from coercion, discrimination, and violence. [5] “Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and its functions and processes” [6]. Importantly, the Cairo ICPD identified the connection between sexuality and health as human rights, where women’s autonomy over their own bodies and sexuality is inextricably linked to their sexual and reproductive health.

At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, women’s reproductive rights continued to be viewed as an indivisible aspect of human rights. Continuing and expanding on the Cairo Conference definition, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action embodied the concept of reproductive rights to encompass both sexuality and reproductivity, promoting the right to exercise control and choice over one’s own body. 

It is worth noting that although the two landmark UN conferences in Cairo and Beijing have had tangible achievements, such as motivating governments to implement legislation on reproductive health by transforming international obligations into national laws and policies [7], there could be found some confusion about the realisation of reproductive rights, linked, in turn, to the multiple factors and drivers that have affected the actual realisation of reproductive rights [8]. As Christa Wichterich points out, “the lauded Cairo consensus has become a discursive battleground that has divided the international community, public opinion in nation states, civil societies and feminist circles”. [9] In my view, such an effect was to be expected, since the institution of reproductive rights is of a deeply intimate nature and has long been undefined. Moreover, the very securing of this right, by challenging established social practices, implies social restructuring and change. For example, religious history has played a major role in the proclamation of women’s right to abortion, which in turn is part of the corpus of reproductive rights. Undoubtedly, abortion as such is a controversial matter in its moral dimension, where on the one hand the context of religious upbringing and its manifestation in moral standards and attitudes towards life and family prevails, and on the other hand the context of rapid population growth, pollution, and poverty prevails.

The case of L.C. v Peru [10] of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women seems relevant. The complaint was made by L.C., a 13-year-old girl who was regularly raped and subsequently became pregnant. The girl attempted suicide due to serious depression caused by these circumstances and in the result broke several vertebrae. Consequently, she needed urgent medical treatment that could not be provided without an abortion, but L.C. was denied access to a legal abortion. [11] CEDAW decided in favour of L.C., finding her to be a victim of restrictions on access to health services based on a gender stereotype that interprets the exercise of a woman’s reproductive capacity as an obligation rather than a right.

Based on the aforesaid, it can be seen that women’s right to reproductive health is reflected in a number of human rights already recognised in international human rights instruments, as confirmed at the ICPD in Cairo. [12] Consequently, it is important to identify how specific human rights apply to women’s right to reproductive health. At the same time, it would not be out of place to point out that human rights enshrined in UN platforms and action plans, such as the Cairo Platform for Action in 1994 and the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, represent an example of soft law [13], while the recognition of the right to reproductive health in the international human rights treaties defines compliance with this right as legally binding. Therefore, the rights in question will be highlighted within the framework of some of the fundamental UN treaties in which they are enshrined, particularly the ICCPR [14], ICESCR [15], CEDAW [16]. Moreover, it seems reasonable to identify not only how human rights – namely the right to life, the right to health, the right to information, the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, the right to privacy, and the right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment – apply to reproductive health and women’s right to it, but also to underline the relationship of these rights to certain aspects of women’s right to reproductive health, thereby allowing for a better understanding of how these rights are related to women’s reproductive health.

The right to life is enshrined in Article 6 of the ICCPR. [17] Obligations to ensure women’s equal enjoyment of the right to life are also derived from Articles 1 and 2 of CEDAW. [18] [19] In the context of reproductive health, this right protects women from preventable death. For instance, in General Comment No. 36, the HRC recommended that States develop strategic plans and campaigns to increase access to treatment aimed at reducing maternal mortality and infant mortality, as part of the promotion of the right to life. [20]

Effective measures to prevent maternal mortality include, but are not limited to, ensuring women’s access to acceptable, affordable and quality maternal health services, such as emergency obstetric care and access to skilled birth attendants. [21] This is reflected in particular by CEDAW in the case of Alyne da Silva Pimentel Teixeira v. Brazil[22]. In the complaint, the mother of the deceased woman claimed that the Brazilian hospital failed to ensure the safety of her daughter during childbirth, who was bleeding profusely and, without immediate medical attention, fell into a coma. And subsequently, due to waiting for a blood transfusion for more than 21 hours in the free zone, as there was a lack of available places in the hospital, the patient died. The Committee concluded that the State party had breached its obligations.

Effective measures to prevent maternal mortality should also include government action to help women end unwanted pregnancies. [23] Accordingly, the Human Rights Committee expressed its concern in its Concluding Observation on Poland’s seventh periodic report “about the large number of clandestine abortions that may endanger women’s lives and health” [24]. Moreover, the Committee also highlighted its preoccupation regarding the fact that “women face significant procedural and practical obstacles in accessing safe legal abortion” [25].

Child marriage is a major problem: as stated in Joint General Recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women / General Comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on harmful practices, child, early and forced marriage is often accompanied by early and frequent pregnancy and childbirth, which also leads to increased maternal mortality. [26] Among other issues, CEDAW has expressed concern about the prevalence of child marriage in refugee camps, for example in the Concluding Observations on Turkey’s seventh periodic report [27]. The Committee also underlined its concern that in such circumstances, adolescent refugee girls are often sold as brides [28] and refugee women are often forced into marriage for socio-economic and “protection” purposes. [29]

The right to health is also a fundamental human right, and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes in its General Comment No. 22 that “the right to sexual and reproductive health is an integral part of the right to health as enshrined in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” [30]. Moreover, this right is also recognised in other international human rights treaties. In particular, the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, keeping with its full title, is also enshrined in Article 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women [31], and is traceable to Articles 17, 23-25 and 27 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child [32] and Articles 23 and 25 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [33].

The CESCR has defined the scope of this right as follows: “The right to sexual and reproductive health entails a set of freedoms and entitlements. The freedoms include the right to make free and responsible decisions and choices, free of violence, coercion and discrimination, regarding matters concerning one’s body and sexual and reproductive health. The entitlements include unhindered access to a whole range of health facilities, goods, services and information, which ensure all people full enjoyment of the right to sexual and reproductive health under Article 12 of the Covenant”.[34]

Accordingly, States are obliged to ensure the availability and accessibility of a full range of high-quality, modern and effective contraceptives, including emergency contraception. [35] It is noted that contraceptives, inter alia, should be affordable. [36] Moreover, States must create conditions for contraceptive use to be voluntary, fully informed and free from coercion or discrimination, in particular by giving special attention to groups that have historically been the target of discrimination, such as persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV, and the mentally ill. [37] Moreover, States are obliged by international society to collect data on contraceptive use and barriers to contraceptive access. [38]

The right to information also constitutes part of women’s right to reproductive health. It is provided for in Article 19 of the ICCPR [39], as well as in Article 10(h) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which establishes the right to “access to specific educational information to help to ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family planning” [40]. Accordingly, CEDAW’s General Comment No. 24 (1999) on women and health highlights the obligation of States to ensure the removal of all barriers to women’s access to health services, education and information, including in the area of sexual and reproductive health, and in particular the responsibility to allocate resources to programmes targeting adolescents for the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. [41]

In this regard, treaty bodies have called upon States to provide access to sexual and reproductive health information and services and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education [42], including on family planning and contraceptive use, the dangers of early pregnancy and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, regardless of the marital status of the individuals receiving this knowledge, and regardless of the consent/non-consent of their parents, legal guardians [43] or spouses. As noted by CESCR in its Concluding Observations on Denmark’s Sixth Periodic Report, it is important to provide ‘age-appropriate, evidence-based and science-based comprehensive education for all on sexual and reproductive health and sexuality, including the issue of consent in sexual relationships’, furthermore CESCR has also recommended the development of appropriate pedagogical programmes to teach the aforementioned. [44] It has been noted that the lack of such access to information contributes to adolescent girls being the group most at risk of dying or suffering serious or lifelong injuries during pregnancy and childbirth. [45]

Equality and non-discrimination rights guaranteed in international treaties, such as CEDAW, the ICCPR and ICESCR, should also be emphasised. Treaty bodies encourage States to promote women’s rights to equality and non-discrimination. The prohibition of discrimination applies to both direct and indirect discrimination. Gender equality is also of several types, and includes the right to de facto or substantive equality. As Christina Chinkin notes, women’s formal right to equality in the public sphere is almost universally recognised, although some States reserve certain areas of public service for men, such as military positions, succession to the throne, titles of nobility and religious posts. [46] In order to achieve de facto equality, UN treaty bodies have urged, in particular, the elimination of gender stereotypes. CESCR has noted, for example, that the elimination of discriminatory stereotypes, assumptions, and norms relating to reproduction is an important element for the realisation of the right to reproductive health. [47] The CEDAW, meanwhile, considers patriarchal attitudes, gender stereotypes about women as mothers and caregivers, taboos about sexuality outside of marriage, and other issues as factors influencing lack of access to reproductive health information, commodities, and services. [48]

The right to privacy, as enshrined in Article 9 of the ICCPR [49], is also significant in relation to reproductive health and women’s right to it. Some aspects of the manifestation of women’s right to privacy can be seen in Article 16 of CEDAW. [50] This right consists of many elements that are essential to the realisation of the right to reproductive health. These elements include the rights to physical and psychological integrity, to personal autonomy and personal development, the right to establish and develop relationships with others, to decide on whether or not to have a child and to become a parent, and to choose the circumstances in which to become a parent. [51]

Such views are held by the Human Rights Committee in LMR v. Argentina [52], where a woman suffering from a mental disorder became pregnant following a rape, but the State refused to perform a legal abortion, delaying the procedure until the time limit already prohibited it. The HRC found that the refusal to perform a legal abortion on a rape victim caused physical and mental harm, violating the woman’s right to privacy guaranteed under Article 17 of the ICCPR, violating also the State’s duties to give effect to Article 2, paragraph 3, in relation to Articles 3, 7 and 17 of the Covenant, as well as Article 7 – the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The mentioned right to be free from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment should undoubtedly be highlighted. It is enshrined in Article 7 of the ICCPR [53], as well as Articles 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [54]. The right obliges States both to refrain from breaching it and to abolish laws, policies, and practices that violate women’s right to reproductive health [55], as these violations can cause immense and prolonged physical and emotional suffering, with serious consequences for women’s personal and bodily integrity, physical and mental health, and emotional well-being [56].

For instance, the HRC, in Mellet v. Ireland [57] and Whelan v. Ireland [58] found that the denial or delay of a safe abortion or post-abortion care had the character of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The circumstances of the cases are similar to each other and relate to the conditions of abortion in Ireland, where the law prohibits abortion in all situations except where the life of the woman is endangered. The women had to travel outside Ireland to have legal abortions due to foetal abnormalities that would eventually lead to the death of their newborns. The Human Rights Committee has affirmed that the prohibition of abortion can cause women serious mental suffering. Such suffering may be compounded by the inability to obtain care from reliable health care providers in their own country, and may also be exacerbated by the financial, psychological and physical burden imposed on women by the need to travel abroad to access abortion. [59] The Human Rights Committee has also pointed to the State’s obligation to address these violations by reforming its abortion laws and, if necessary, by reforming its Constitution. [60]

It should also be clarified that the right to reproductive health requires States to comply with the obligation to protect from coercive reproductive health practices that result in various forms of physical and psychological suffering. [61] Such practices include a wide range of violations, for instance, forced sterilisation, forced abortions, mandatory testing for virginity or pregnancy. Committees established under international human rights treaties to monitor States’ compliance with their obligations under the relevant treaties identify and condemn such violations, and monitor and encourage States to take action to remedy these violations. As an example can be seen the CAT’s assessments of Peru’s periodic reports, where in the Concluding Observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Peru, the CAT expressed its concern about the forced sterilisation of over 2,000 women who were subjected to the procedure under the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Programme between 1996 and 2000. [62] But already in its Concluding Observations on the seventh periodic report of this State, the Committee against Torture welcomed the delegation’s statement that on 12 November 2018, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had filed a criminal complaint against doctors and senior officials who served during these events for their indirect involvement in the commission of crimes against the life, physical integrity and health of more than 2,000 women subjected to forced sterilisation. [63]

A conclusion can be drawn. As with all aspects of human rights law, the interpretation and application of international human rights standards to women’s lived experiences has evolved and expanded throughout a long period of time. [64] Gradually, it has been recognised by the world community that women’s reproductive health is significant to their physical, mental and social well-being. [65] Moreover, women’s right to reproductive health has been recognised as an integral part of the human rights framework. [66] It is related to the realisation of a wide range of other human rights, including the right to life, the right to health, the right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to privacy, the right to education and the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, as enshrined in international human rights instruments. Accordingly, the right to health, which is a fundamental human right, requires respect for the will of the individual with regard to his or her own well-being and personal health, which is very closely linked to the right to autonomy and the right to the free development of the individual. In turn, these rights encompass women’s right to informed consent, that is, the right to make informed choices about their bodies in accordance with their priorities and values. It can be seen that each of the above-mentioned rights is closely linked to each other, forming a certain protective network that plays a key role in the realisation of women’s right to reproductive health. This network of rights also serves as a basis for States to fulfil the obligation to respect and protect women’s right to reproductive health, particularly for States that have become parties to core human rights treaties. These rights are enshrined, for example, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Torture, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international instruments. States that have ratified these treaties periodically submit reports to the expert treaty bodies, which in turn make recommendations on the steps required to fulfil treaty obligations. Moreover, treaty bodies also provide authoritative interpretations of treaty texts and, with the consent of States, consider individual complaints from persons who claim that their rights have been violated by the State concerned. [67]

Through international human rights instruments that have established strong political commitments to support women’s reproductive rights, treaty bodies have addressed many of the challenges women face in relation to their reproductive health and have identified how international human rights standards oblige States to address them. Accordingly, the underlying determinants of reproductive health have been highlighted, which include access to housing, safe drinking water, effective sanitation systems and equal access to justice and freedom from violence and other rights violations. These determinants influence the choices and freedom of action that individuals can exercise with respect to their reproductive health, so the Committees encourage States to take this into account in their laws, policies, and practices.

It seems possible to classify women’s right to reproductive health, i.e. to identify the rights and freedoms that women’s right to reproductive health covers. At present, the rights and freedoms that women’s right to reproductive health contains are:
– the right to reproductive choice, which includes the right to become a parent, to freely determine the number of children, the timing of their birth, including births both outside and within marriage, and the choice not to have children;
– the right to attain the highest standards of reproductive health, including the right to make decisions about one’s reproductive behaviour;
– the right to information on reproductive health and family planning, including adolescents’ access to this information;
– the right to reproductive health and family planning services, including the right to contraception and abortion, and to confidentiality of information about the use of services in this area;
– the right to protection of reproductive rights, including freedom from violence and freedom from coercive practices in decisions about one’s body and choices.

Treaty bodies recognise that women’s right to reproductive health is regularly violated by the barriers, restrictions, discrimination, coercion, violence and abuse they face throughout their reproductive lives, particularly in relevant health facilities. To ensure women’s right to reproductive health, States should in their practice:
– eliminate policies, laws, and practices that restrict or generally fail to ensure women’s access to reproductive health facilities, services, commodities, and information;
– guarantee respect for women’s choice to exercise control over all aspects of their reproductive health;
– provide access to affordable and quality reproductive health services and commodities;
– ensure access to reproductive health education and information, and guarantee their non-discriminatory, evidence-based nature;
– protect women from violence and coercive reproductive practices, and ensure that women’s reproductive rights and freedoms violated by the state or individuals are adequately defended.

With the development of reproductive health research, the concept of the right to reproductive health and the parameters of its protection will evolve, continuing to deepen and expand to ensure that women around the world fully enjoy their reproductive health rights and freedoms. 

[1] GALLAGHER, Anne. Ending the Marginalization: Strategies for Incorporating Women into the United Nations Human Rights System. Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 19, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. P. 289.
[2] SHAW, Jessica. Full-Spectrum Reproductive Justice: The Affinity of Abortion Rights and Birth Activism. Networks of Social Justice: Transnational Activism and Social Change, 2013, vol.7, no.1. P. 144.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Appeal of the Tehran Conference (13 May 1968), adopted by the International Conference on Human Rights in Tehran. P. 16.
[5] PIZZAROSSA, Lucia Berro; and PEREHUDOFF, Katrina. Global Survey of National Constitutions: Mapping Constitutional Commitments to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Health and Human Rights, December, 2017, the President and Fellows of Harvard College publisher, vol. 19, no. 2. P. 280.
[6] Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo (1994), A/CONF.171/13/Rev.1. P. 7.2.
[7] PIZZAROSSA, Lucia Berro; and PEREHUDOFF, Katrina. Global Survey of National Constitutions: Mapping Constitutional Commitments to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Health and Human Rights, December, 2017, the President and Fellows of Harvard College publisher, vol. 19, no. 2. P. 280.
[8] WITCHTERICH, Christa. Sexual and Reproductive Rights: an essay. Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Gunda Werner Institute publication series, 2015, vol. 11. P.10.
[9] WITCHTERICH, Christa. Sexual and Reproductive Rights: an essay. Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Gunda Werner Institute publication series, 2015, vol. 11. P.10.
[10] LC v Peru, Communication No. 22/2009, UN Doc CEDAW/C/50/D/22/2009
[11] BATES, Charlotte. Abortion and a right to international law: L.C. vs Peru. Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2013, vol.2, issue 3, p. 640–641.
[12] Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo (1994), A/CONF.171/13/Rev.1. P. 7.3.
[13] WITCHTERICH, Christa. Sexual and Reproductive Rights: an essay. Edited by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Gunda Werner Institute publication series, 2015, vol. 11. P.11.
[14] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) on 16 December 1966.
[15] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) on 16 December 1966.
[16] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979.
[17] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) on 16 December 1966. Article 6.
[18] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979. Articles 1 and 2.
[19] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.51. Available from Internet: https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead
[20] HRC, “General comment No. 36: Article 6 (Right to Life)” (2019), CCPR/C/GC/35. Para. 26.
[21] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.51. Available from Internet:   https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead
[22] Alyne da Silva Pimentel Teixeira v. Brazil, Communication No. 17/2008, Un Doc CEDAW/C/49/D/17/2008. Para.8.
[23] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.51. Available from Internet: https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead
[24] HRC, “Concluding observations: Poland” (2016), CCPR/C/POL/CO/7. Para 23.
[25] Ibid.
[26] CEDAW, CRC. Joint general recommendation No.31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/General comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on harmful practices (2014), CEDAW/C/GC/31-CRC/C/GC/18. Para 22.
[27] CEDAW, Concluding Observations: Turkey (2016), U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/TUR/CO/7. Para 14.
[28] Ibid. Paras 39, 40.
[29] Ibid. Paras 14 (c).
[30] CESCR, “General Comment No. 22 on the right to sexual and reproductive health: Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” (2016) UN DOC. E/C.12/GC/22. Para.1.
[31] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979. Articles 12.
[32] Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by General Assembly resolution 44/25 on 20 November 1989. Articles 17, 23-25 and 27.
[33] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted by General Assembly Resolution A/RES/61/106 on 12 December 2006. Articles 23 and 25.
[34] Ibid. Para 5.
[35] Ibid. Para 13.
[36] Ibid. Para 17.
[37] Ibid. Paras 2, 8, 9, 16.
[38] CESCR, “General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health: Art. 12 of the Covenant” (2000) E/C.12/2000/4. Para 20.
[39] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) on 16 December 1966. Article 19.
[40] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979. Articles Article 10(h).
[41] The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, “General recommendation № 24: Article 12 of the Convention” (1999), A/54/38/Rev.1. Para. 31 (b).
[42] CRC, General comment No. 20 (2016) on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence, 6 December 2016, CRC/C/GC/20. Paras 59-61.
[43] CESCR, “General Comment No. 22 on the right to sexual and reproductive health: Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” (2016) UN DOC. E/C.12/GC/22. Para. 44.
[44] СESCR, «Concluding Observations: Denmark» (2019), U.N. Doc. E/C.12/DNK/CO/6. Paras 60, 61.
[45] CRC, General comment No. 20 (2016) on the implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence, 6 December 2016, CRC/C/GC/20. Para 59.
[46] FREEMAN, A, Marsha; and CHINKIN, Christine; and RUDOLF, Beate. The UN Conversation on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against woman. A commentary. Oxford University Press, 2012, 1st edition. P. 475.
[47] CESCR, ‘General Comment No. 22 on the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health: Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ (2016), UN DOC. E/C.12/GC/22. Para 27, 35, 36.
[48] CEDAW, General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 (2017), CEDAW/C/GC/35. Para 26(c), 37(a), 38(a).
[49] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) on 16 December 1966. Article 9.
[50] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 1979. Articles 16.
[51] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.54. Available from Internet: https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead
[52]  LMR v. Argentina, Communication No. 1608/2007, UN Doc. CCPR/C/101/D/1608/2007.
[53] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) on 16 December 1966. Article 7.
[54] Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by General Assembly resolution 39/46 on 10 December 1984. Articles 2 and 16.
[55] CAT, «General Comment No. 2: Implementation of Article 2 by States Parties» (2008), CAT/C/GC/2. Para 22.
[56] CEDAW, «General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19» (2017), CEDAW/C/GC/35. Para 13.
[57] Mellet v. Ireland, Communication No. 2324/2013, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/116/D/2324/2013.
[58] Whelan v. Ireland, Communication No. 2425/2014, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/119/D/2425/2014.
[59] Mellet v. Ireland, Communication No. 2324/2013, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/116/D/2324/2013. Paras 7.6, 7.7, 7.8.
[60] Whelan v. Ireland, Communication No. 2425/2014, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/119/D/2425/2014. Paras 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 7.12. 
[61] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.52. Available from Internet: https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead
[62] CAT Committee, Concluding Observations: Peru (2013), U.N. Doc. CAT/C/ PER/CO/5-6. Para. 15.
[63] CAT Committee, Concluding Observations: Peru (2018), U.N. Doc. CAT/C/PER/CO/7. Para. 36.
[64] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.47. Available from Internet: https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead
[65] Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo (1994), A/CONF.171/13/Rev.1. Para 7.2.
[66] CESCR, ‘General Comment No. 22 on the right to sexual and reproductive health: article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ (2016) UN DOC. /C.12/GC/22. Para 1.
[67] Council of Europe. Women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Europe. [online]. 2017, [cited 22 April 2020]. P.47. Available from Internet:  https://rm.coe.int/women-s-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-in-europe-issue-pape/168076dead