Women’s Rights Delegates Advocate for a Comprehensive Optional Protocol to the ICESCR at the UN meeting in Geneva

Geneva, July 20, 2007—-The members of the International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) delegation Brenda Campbell, Clara Rita A. Padilla, and Niti Saxena are presently attending the 4th session of the United Nations Open-ended Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR or the Covenant) being held in Geneva this July 16-27, 2007.

The delegates from the States, non-governmental organizations, and experts are discussing the provisions of a draft Optional Protocol that provides the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee), tasked to monitor the implementation of the Covenant, to receive and consider communications/individual complaints and to conduct inquiries on alleged violations of state obligations to respect, protect and fulfill economic, social and cultural rights. While most UN Human rights treaties allows for such a complaint mechanism, victims of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights are still deprived of any remedy at the international level.

Clara Rita Padilla, a feminist lawyer and the Executive Director of EnGendeRights, says, “The much-needed Optional Protocol will strengthen access to justice of women on ESC rights including the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (Art. 12.1, ICESCR), education (Art. 13), work (Art. 6), food and freedom from hunger (Art. 11.1 and 11.2), and housing (Art. 11.1), among others. The proposed mechanism of individual complaints will allow individuals and groups of individuals to file complaints against their states for failure to uphold their rights under the Covenant. The views of the Committee on these complaints would have a significant impact in furthering women’s rights.”

An example of a complaint that can be filed with the Committee is on the right to education of women especially poor, rural, and indigenous women. Statistics show that the higher the educational attainment of women, the less number of children they want. This means less unwanted pregnancies, and lesser women undergoing unsafe, backstreet abortions in the case of the Philippines where abortion is still unsafe and illegal.

Another complaint that can be filed is on women’s right to access emergency contraceptive pills to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Until now, Filipino women including rape victims are unable to access these contraceptive pills due to policies of the Bureau of Food and Drugs Administration and the Department of Health that are contrary to the findings of the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics and the policies of over 140 nations worldwide that have endorsed emergency contraceptives as a proven safe and effective method of modern contraception including predominantly Catholic countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Hungary, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Venezuela.

With proper access to health care information and services including sexuality education for adolescents, maternal mortality ratios can be dramatically brought down as seen in the experiences of other countries where maternal mortality has been brought down to less than ten women dying for every 100,000 live births (i.e., Canada, Italy, Spain, UNFPA State of the World Population Report (SWPR) 2006).

In the Philippines, it is regrettable that the maternal mortality ratio has remained constant for the past three years (200 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, UNFPA SWPR 2005, 2006, 2007). This shows that the Philippines has failed miserably to comply with its obligation under the Covenant to “undertake steps…to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including the adoption of legislative measures.”

Atty. Padilla says, “It’s just unfortunate that there is no delegate from the Philippine Mission in Geneva who is present here to express their support for an Optional Protocol to the Covenant.” She adds, “We need pressure from NGOs, stakeholders and policy makers back in the Philippines and around the world to support this important process in order to obtain a comprehensive and effective Optional Protocol.”

Advertisement

Women’s Rights NGO calls on Candidates to Uphold Reproductive Rights

By Clara Rita A. Padilla, April 30, 2007

“Congressional and local electoral candidates when elected into government posts must uphold women’s rights as protected by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Women’s Convention),” says Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of EnGendeRights. She adds, “They must take their stand to protect women’s access to the full range of contraceptive methods including emergency contraception, access to safe and legal abortion, sexuality education for adolescents, skills and education for women in prostitution, legalization of divorce, repeal of discriminatory Muslim Code provisions and lesbian rights.”

These concerns except for lesbian rights were included in the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Concluding Comments during its 36th Session in August 2006. CEDAW monitors the implementation of the Women’s Convention by the Philippine government.

“When elected into office they must provide access to the full range of contraceptive methods in an effort to prevent unintended pregnancy, abortion and maternal mortality and morbidity. They must take a stand in opposing bills restricting access to medically safe methods of contraception such as emergency contraceptive pills, Depo Provera, and IUDs,” Atty. Padilla added.

“Congressional representatives should file bills that uphold women’s rights including bills on Reproductive Health Care, Anti-Discrimination against Sexual Orientation; repeal of the penalty imposed on women who induce abortion and those assisting them as means to decrease maternal mortality and morbidity related to complications from unsafe abortion; improvement of the implementation of the Policy on Prevention and Management of Abortion Complications; implementation of sexuality education in schools for adolescents; and legalization of divorce,” says Atty. Padilla.

In the House of Representatives, staunch supporters of reproductive health and rights in the past were Nereus Acosta (whose sister Malou Acosta is now running), Benjamin Agarao, Jr., Mayong Aguja (Akbayan), Darlene Antonino-Custodio, Agapito Aquino, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel (Akbayan), Liza Largoza-Maza (Gabriela Women’s Party), Renato Magtubo (Partido ng Manggagawa), Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna), Gilbert Remulla, Loretta Ann Rosales (Akbayan), Rolex T. Suplico, Lorenzo R. Tañada III, and Ronaldo B. Zamora.

Atty. Padilla said, “Government officials should follow the lead of local government officials such as Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo of Aurora and Governor Glenn Prudenciano of Ifugao who have spearheaded the enactment of ordinances such as “The Aurora Reproductive Health Care Code of 2005” (Provincial Ordinance No. 125 (2005)) supporting increased reproductive health care services, including mandatory sexuality education, responsible parenthood counseling and “Reproductive Health and Responsible Parenthood Ordinance of Ifugao” (Ordinance 2006-33), respectively.”

“We cannot have government officials who use their religious beliefs in governance. Clearly, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has wielded her influence in the Department of Health and the Population Commission in vigorously campaigning for the so-called “natural family planning” (NFP) method as a means of courting the religious right,” said Atty. Padilla.

Atty. Padilla cautioned against several local officials who used their administrative powers to completely prohibit the delivery of modern methods of contraceptives and to promote natural family planning. She says, “In recent years, policies banning all “artificial” birth control methods, including condoms, pills, intra-uterine devices and sterilization, were introduced in Laguna, Manila City, and Puerto Princesa in 1995, 2000 and 2001 respectively. The policies introduced in Laguna and Puerto Princesa have since been overturned by subsequent local administrations, but the Manila City Policy still prevails.”

In Makati, pregnant adolescents are denied access to free medical services through an erroneous assumption of Mayor Jejomar Binay that such policy will “discourage the incidence of teenage pregnancies.” Atty. Padilla says, “This policy clearly discriminates against adolescents’ right to access reproductive services and unnecessarily puts them at risk.”

“Another glaring example is the continued conduct of congressional hearings in the 13th Congress on bills filed by blatantly religious party-list groups such as Buhay party-list that aim to prohibit safe and effective methods of contraception including IUDS and emergency contraceptive pills and even increase the penalty for women who induce abortion all stemming from their religious beliefs,” Atty. Padilla continued.

Atty. Padilla says, “We also have the problem of continued arrests by police of abortion service providers and sellers of the medical abortion pill Cytotec. Television crews, who do not understand the issues of women relating to abortion and who are mainly concerned with raising their viewership for purposes of sensationalism, instigated these arrests.”

“Such religious stances have no place in governance. These stances disregard women’s realities where half of all pregnancies of Filipino women are unintended and about 200 Filipino women die from maternal-related causes out of every 100,000 live births,” says Atty. Padilla citing the UNFPA 2006 State of the World Population report. Nine in 10 women who induce abortion are married or in a consensual union, more than half have at least 3 children, roughly two-thirds are poor and nearly 90% are Catholic; about 800 women die every year (or two women die every day) due to complications resulting from unsafe abortion; approximately 473,000 women had abortions and an estimated 79,000 women were hospitalized for complications due to unsafe abortion in 2000 (Singh S et al., Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2006, at 4). Such stances endanger women’s lives and health violating women’s basic right to life and health.

The constitutional provision protecting the life of woman and the unborn from conception allows access to information and services to contraception and even abortion. Chile and Peru have the same constitutional protection of the life of the woman and the unborn from conception and they allow access to emergency contraceptive pills. In Argentina and Belgium, emergency contraceptive pills are available without prescription. Spain, upon whose old Penal Code the Philippine Revised Penal Code penalty imposed on the woman who induced abortion was adopted, allows abortion on grounds of rape and fetal impairment leaving the Philippines to contend with its colonial laws. Belgium, France and Italy allow abortion on demand. Colombia allows abortion on grounds of danger to life and health, rape and fetal malformation incompatible with life outside the uterus. Last April 24, Mexico City legalized abortion in the first trimester without restriction.

All the above-mentioned predominantly Catholic countries belie the claim that restricting access to contraception and even safe and legal abortion in the Philippines is a matter of practice of the Catholic religion. It is simply ignorance of medicine, science and law and clinging to our colonial past.

Catholic women around the world–including more than 60 percent of Catholic women in Trinidad, Tobago and Botswana, and 28 percent in the Philippines–have used contraceptive methods, showing that Catholic women exercise freedom of conscience.

It is the obligation of the Philippine government as cited in the recent CEDAW Concluding Comments on the Philippines to “strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including by making a comprehensive range of contraceptives more widely available and without any restriction”; “give priority attention to the situation of adolescents and that it provide sex education, targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.”

CEDAW urged the Philippines “to consider the problem of unsafe abortion as a matter of high priority. The Committee recommends that the State party consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women’s maternal mortality rates.”

“Elected officials must realize that our very own Constitution states that, ‘Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.’ Elected officials must be reminded that they are mere representatives of the Filipino people and that their obligation is to the Filipino people and not to themselves,” said Atty. Padilla.

“Elected officials must respect plurality in our society. They should allow access to information and health care services and give primary importance to a person’s right to reproductive self-determination. Fundamentalist public officials who restrict access to information and health care services do not deserve any place in governance,” Atty. Padilla added.

EnGendeRights Calls on Candidates to Uphold LGBT Rights

By Clara Rita A. Padilla, April 28, 2007

“Congressional and local electoral candidates when elected into government posts must uphold lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights as protected by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Women’s Convention) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),” says Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of EnGendeRights. She adds, “They must take their stand to uphold LGBT rights.”

“When elected, they should file bills and ordinances that uphold LGBT rights including bills/ordinances on Anti-Discrimination against Sexual Orientation; repeal of the vagrancy provisions under Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code, Reproductive Health Care, implementation of sexuality education in schools for adolescents,” says Atty. Padilla.

“Legislators should support bills repealing the vagrancy provisions of the Revised Penal Code such as House Bill 4804 and House Bill 4436 filed by Liza Largoza-Maza of Gabriela Women’s Party and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna, respectively, in the 13th Congress. These bills intend to put a stop to human rights violations of women in prostitution and homosexuals who are rounded up on the basis of Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code,” continued Atty. Padilla.

Atty. Padilla says, “Government officials should emulate the example of Quezon City legislators in terms of its passage of an ordinance protecting the rights of homosexuals against discrimination in the workplace (Quezon City, Ordinance No. SP-1309, S-2003).”

Legislators should author bills protecting LGBTs against discrimination such as House Bill 634 on Anti-Discrimination against Sexual Orientation filed by Loretta Ann Rosales of Akbayan in the 13th Congress. Staunch supporters of this bill in Congress were Nereus Acosta (whose sister Malou Acosta is now running), Henedina Abad, Mayong Aguja (Akbayan), Justin Marc Chipeco, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel (Akbayan), Liza Largoza-Maza (Gabriela Women’s Party), Renato Magtubo (Partido ng Manggagawa), Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna), Lorenzo R. Tañada III, and Joel Virador (Bayan Muna).

Danton Remoto, a gay rights activist running for a congressional post for the 3rd district of Quezon City, when elected into position will strongly advocate for LGBT rights.

Atty. Padilla cautions against party list organizations such as ABA-AKO that have in their line-up a so-called “pro-life” nominee and a platform that campaigns for the “traditional natural Filipino family.” She adds, “This platform discriminates against the rights of LGBT families and even fosters hatred against LGBTs instead of upholding their rights.” Atty. Padilla said, “We cannot have public officials who obstinately preach intolerance without realizing that they are breeding hatred, discrimination and violence against LGBTs who are entitled to equal treatment under the Philippine Constitution.”

In the case of Gualberto vs. Gualberto, G.R. No. 154994, the Philippine Supreme Court recognized that lesbian mothers have a right to custody of their children and their being lesbians do not make them unfit mothers as contemplated under Article 213 of the Family Code. The Supreme Court held that, “sexual preference x x x does not prove parental neglect or incompetence.”

Public officials must heed the international trend toward recognizing the rights of LGBTs. Recognition of same-sex marriage and unions is recognized in Canada, Netherlands, United Kingdom and even in predominantly Catholic countries such as Belgium and Spain.

The ICCPR protects LGBTs against discrimination. In the 2003 Concluding Observations on the Philippines, the Human Rights Committee (HRC), the United Nations Committee tasked to monitor the implementation of the ICCPR, urged the Philippine government to “take the necessary steps to adopt legislation explicitly prohibiting discrimination” and “to pursue its efforts to counter all forms of discrimination” pertaining to sexual orientation. The Committee further urged the Philippines to “strengthen human rights education to forestall manifestations of intolerance and discrimination.”

Contrary to the disinformation of fundamentalist groups that “homosexuality is an abnormality,” the HRC recognized, in its General Comment 19, that the concept and structure of family may differ from state to state and that the right to marry and found a family may be based on diverse definitions of families and relationships.

In CEDAW’s General Recommendation 21, it recognized that “[t]he form and concept of the family can vary from State to State, and even between regions within a State.” CEDAW has also asked states parties to reconceptualize lesbianism as a sexual orientation and to abolish penalties for its practice.

A clear expression of the affirmation of the rights to sexual orientation is the March 26, 2007 Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity released by international human rights experts in a worldwide call for action against sexual orientation discrimination. The Principles were adopted by 29 distinguished experts in international law following a meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Among the group of experts were former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, UN independent experts including Philip Alston (UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions) and Paul Hunt (UN Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health), current and former members of human rights treaty bodies, judges, academics and human rights defenders. Sonia Onufer Corrêa of Brazil, who co-chaired the experts’ group said, “ [W]omen, men and persons whose sexuality does not conform with dominant norms face rape, torture, murder, violence, and abuse because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. These Principles affirm that human rights admit no exceptions.”

“It is the duty of the Philippine government to fulfill its obligations to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of LGBTs,” Atty. Padilla stressed.

Candidates and their Stand on Women’s Right

By Clara Rita A. Padilla, March 29, 2007

“Congressional and local electoral candidates must take their stand to uphold women’s rights as protected by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Women’s Convention),” says Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of EnGendeRights. She adds, “Women’s rights activists want to hear their stand on prevailing issues such as access to the full range contraceptive methods including emergency contraception, access to safe and legal abortion, sexuality education for adolescents, skills and education for women in prostitution, legalization of divorce, repeal of discriminatory Muslim Code provisions and lesbian rights.”

These concerns except for lesbian rights were included in the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Concluding Comments during its 36th Session in August 2006. CEDAW monitors the implementation of the Women’s Convention by the Philippine government.

“Candidates must take a stand in opposing bills restricting access to medically safe methods of contraception such as emergency contraceptive pills, Depo Provera, and IUDs. They should file bills that uphold women’s rights including bills on Reproductive Health Care, Anti-Discrimination against Sexual Orientation; repeal of the penalty imposed on women who induce abortion and those assisting them as means to decrease maternal mortality and morbidity related to complications from unsafe abortion; and implementation of sexuality education in schools for adolescents, among others,” Atty. Padilla added.

Atty. Padilla stressed, “The Philippine government must fulfill its obligations under the Women’s Convention. Candidates must place women’s rights agenda in governance and development priorities of the government.”

“We cannot have government officials who use their religious beliefs in governance. Clearly, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has wielded her influence in the Department of Health and the Population Commission in campaigning for the so-called ‘natural family planning’ (NFP) method as a means of courting the religious right,” said Atty. Padilla.

“Another glaring example is the continued conduct of congressional hearings on bills filed by blatantly religious party-list groups such as Buhay party-list that aim to prohibit safe and effective methods of contraception including IUDS and emergency contraceptive pills and even increase the penalty for women who induce abortion all stemming from their religious beliefs,” Atty. Padilla continued.

This religious stance has no place in governance. It disregards women’s realities where half of all pregnancies of Filipino women are unintended; about 200 Filipino women die from maternal-related causes out of every 100,000 live births (UNFPA, 2006 State of the World Population); nine in 10 women who induce abortion are married or in a consensual union, more than half have at least 3 children, roughly two-thirds are poor and nearly 90% are Catholic; about 800 women die every year (or two women die every day) due to complications resulting from unsafe abortion; approximately 473,000 women had abortions and an estimated 79,000 women were hospitalized for complications due to unsafe abortion in 2000 (Singh S et al., Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2006, at 4). Such stance actually endangers women’s lives and health violating women’s basic right to life and health.

“Elected officials must realize that our very own Constitution states that, ‘Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.’ Elected officials must be reminded that they are mere representatives of the Filipino people and that their obligation is to the Filipino people and not to themselves,” Atty. Padilla added.

CEDAW Concluding Comments Urges the Philippines to fulfill its Obligations under the Women’s Convention

By Clara Rita A. Padilla, March 29, 2007

 The August 25, 2006 United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Concluding Comments on its review of the Philippine government’s report during its 36^th Session urged the Philippines to fulfill its obligations under the Women’s Convention.

 CEDAW is the committee tasked to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Women’s Convention).   The Concluding Comments contains CEDAW’s observations and recommendations on the de facto and de jure equality of women in the Philippines and the obligation of the Philippines under the Women’s Convention to eliminate discrimination against women.  

 “CEDAW raised its concern about  the ‘Convention [having] been in force in the State party for 25 years’ and ‘the lack of progress in undertaking and completing necessary revisions of discriminatory provisions in national legislation and in enacting a comprehensive legal framework pertaining to gender equality,’” says Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of EnGendeRights.  Atty. Padilla submitted their collaborative Shadow Report to CEDAW and presented at the CEDAW-NGO dialogue at the UN.  EnGendeRights drafted their collaborative Shadow Report together with the Center for Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Rights Resource Group-Philippines (3RG-Phils), and Health Development Initiatives Institute.

 “The Committee expressed its concern about ‘the inadequate recognition and protection of the reproductive health and rights of women in the Philippines. The Committee is concerned about the high maternal mortality rates particularly the number of deaths resulting from induced abortions, high fertility rates, inadequate family planning services, the low rates of contraceptive use and difficulties in obtaining contraceptives. It is also concerned about the lack of sex education, especially in rural areas. It is concerned at the high rate of teenage pregnancies, which present a significant obstacle to girls’ educational opportunities and economic empowerment,’” Atty. Padilla added.

 The Committee urged the Philippines as a State party “to take concrete measures to enhance women’s access to health care, in particular to sexual and reproductive health services, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation 24 on women and health. It requests the State party to strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including by making a comprehensive range of contraceptives more widely available and affordable and without any restriction and by increasing knowledge and awareness about family planning. The Committee recommends that the State party give priority attention to the situation of adolescents and that it provide sex education, targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.”

 “The Committee urged the Philippines ‘to consider the problem of unsafe abortion as a matter of high priority. The Committee recommends that the State party consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women’s maternal mortality rates in line with the Committee’s general recommendation 24 on women and health and the Beijing Platform for Action,’” says Atty. Padilla.

 CEDAW requests “the wide dissemination in the Philippines of the present concluding comments in order to make the people, including government officials, politicians, parliamentarians and women’s and human rights organizations, aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure de jure and de facto equality of women, as well as the further steps that are required in that regard.” 

For a copy of the Concluding Comments, please click on the following link:

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw36/cc/Philippines_25augrev.pdf  

"Scrap House Bill 5458" by Clara Rita A. Padilla, J.D.

The Committee on Revision of Laws is hearing House Bill 5458 expanding the coverage of the Revised Penal Code provision on abortion. It would do well for the committee members to face the realities of Filipino women’s experiences to enable them to comprehend the grave consequences of such a bill and to recognize the bill’s blatant violation of women’s rights to health and life and its total disregard for international law.

Half of all pregnancies of Filipino women are unintended. About 200 Filipino women die from maternal-related causes out of every 100,000 live births (UNFA, 2005 State of the World Population). Nine in 10 women who induce abortion are married or in a consensual union; more than half have at least 3 children; roughly two-thirds are poor; and nearly 90% are Catholic. About 27 out of every 1000 Filipino women induce abortion; 8 in 10 women who succeed in ending their pregnancy due to unsafe abortion have health complications; one in every 200 women are hospitalized for abortion-related complications; 800 women die every year (or two women die every day) due to complications resulting from unsafe abortion (Singh S et al., Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Causes and Consequences, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2006, at 4).

The law criminalizing abortion does not eliminate abortions; it only makes it dangerous for women who undergo clandestine and unsafe abortion. The August 25, 2006 United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Concluding Comments on the Philippines recognize the relation of the illegality of abortion and maternal deaths related to abortion, hence, it recommended that the Philippine government “consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who have abortions and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women’s maternal mortality rates.”

As a legally binding treaty that the Philippines ratified, the Philippines is obligated to uphold the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Hungary permits abortion despite its constitutional protection of life from conception. The Catholic religion as practiced by our colonizer Spain allows abortion on grounds of rape and fetal impairment. Catholics in predominantly Catholic Belgium, France, and Italy are able to choose to terminate their pregnancies safely upon a woman’s request. Colombia recently liberalized its law to allow abortion in cases where the woman’s life or health is in danger, the pregnancy is the result of rape, and/or when the fetus has malformation incompatible with life outside the uterus.

Access to the full range of contraceptive methods including emergency contraceptive pills is effective to prevent unintended pregnancy and abortion. Making abortion safe and legal has proven to save women’s lives in Romania and the United States.

By removing the punitive provisions imposed on women who induce abortion and those assisting them the Committee on Revision of Laws can actually prevent Filipino women from dying and suffering from complications due to unsafe abortion.

"Junk Anti-Choice Bill H.B. 4643" by Clara Rita A. Padilla, J.D.

The House Committee Revision of Laws should immediately junk House Bill 4643. The bill is so outrageous. It seeks to restrict access to safe methods of contraception such as emergency contraceptive pills, Depo Provera, IUDs, among others.

The sponsor of the bill and its supporters are trying to mislead the Committee into believing that all contraceptives are abortifacients. They would like to deny access to safe and legally acceptable methods of contraception to the Filipino populace by blatantly relying on disinformation. Their misguided claims on IUDs, contraceptives, emergency contraceptive pills, and injectables are clearly contrary to the findings of internationally accepted findings of the World Health Organization and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

The medical definition of pregnancy is the implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterine wall. Contraceptives do not have any effect on an implanted fertilized egg, thus, are not abortifacients.

The constitutional provision protecting the life of woman and the unborn from conception does allow access to information and services to contraception and even abortion. Chile and Peru have the same constitutional protection of the life of the woman and the unborn from conception and they allow access to emergency contraceptive pills. In Argentina and Belgium, emergency contraceptive pills are available without prescription. Spain, upon whose old Penal Code the Philippine Revised Penal Code penalty imposed on the woman who induced abortion was adopted, allows abortion on grounds of rape and fetal impairment leaving the Philippines to contend with its colonial laws. Belgium, France and Italy allow abortion on demand. Colombia allow abortion on grounds of danger to life and health, rape and fetal malformation incompatible with life outside the uterus.

All the above-mentioned predominantly Catholic countries belie the claim that restricting access to contraception and even safe and legal abortion in the Philippines is a matter of practice of the Catholic religion. It is simply ignorance of medicine, science and law and clinging to our colonial past.

Catholic women around the world–including more than 60 percent of Catholic women in Trinidad, Tobago and Botswana, and 28 percent in the Philippines–have used contraceptive methods, showing that Catholic women exercise freedom of
conscience.

It is the obligation of the Philippine government as cited in the recent UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Concluding Comments on the Philippines to “strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including by making a comprehensive range of contraceptives more widely available and without any restriction….”

Access to the full range of contraceptive methods is effective to prevent unintended pregnancy, abortion and maternal mortality and morbidity.

CEDAW Issues its Concluding Comments and Urges the Philippines to Fulfill its Obligations Under the Women’s Convention

(press release by Clara Rita A. Padilla, J.D.)

August 25, 2006, United Nations, New York — The United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) issued its Advance Unedited Concluding Comments on its recently-concluded review of the Philippine government’s report held during its 36th Session from August 7-25.

CEDAW is the committee tasked to monitor the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Women’s Convention), The Concluding Comments contains CEDAW’s observations and recommendations on the de facto and de jure equality of women in the Philippines and the obligation of the Philippines under the Women’s Convention to eliminate discrimination against women.

“CEDAW issued a very holistic and reality-based Concluding Comments that urges the Philippine government and the Filipino populace to face the hard realities that Filipino women experience in our country and to act on them accordingly,” says Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla, Executive Director of EnGendeRights. Atty. Padilla submitted their collaborative Shadow Report to CEDAW, presented at the CEDAW-NGO dialogue at the UN and actively lobbied with the CEDAW experts. EnGendeRights drafted their collaborative Shadow Report together with the Center for Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Rights Resource Group-Philippines (3RG-Phils), and Health Development Initiatives Institute.

CEDAW raised its concern about the “x x Convention [having] been in force in the State party for 25 years” and “the lack of progress in undertaking and completing necessary revisions of discriminatory provisions in national legislation and in enacting a comprehensive legal framework pertaining to gender equality.”

The Committee raised its concerns about the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 provision extinguishing the criminal action upon subsequent forgiveness by the wife. In relation to trafficking of women and girls, CEDAW urged the Philippines “to provide them with educational and economic opportunities, thereby reducing and eliminating their vulnerability to exploitation and traffickers” and the “reintegration of [women in prostitution] into society and provide rehabilitation, social integration and economic empowerment programmes to women and girls who are victims of exploitation and trafficking.” It urged the Philippines to “prosecute and punish traffickers and those who exploit the prostitution of women, and provide protection to victims of trafficking.”

“I’m particularly very excited about the recommendations the Committee raised on health especially because the Committee recommended for the Philippines as a State Party to ‘consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women’s maternal mortality rates in line with the Committee’s general recommendation 24 on women and health and the Beijing Platform for Action,’” says Atty. Padilla.

“The Committee also raised its concerns on the ‘existing discriminatory provisions of the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, which permit marriage of girls under the age of 18, polygamy and arranged marriages,’ ‘the practice of early Marriage… among Muslim women,’ and ‘encourage[d] the State party to intensify dialogue with the Muslim community in order to remove discriminatory provisions from the Code of Muslim Personal Laws,’” Atty. Padilla added.

CEDAW expressed “its concern about the lack of a law on divorce, making it impossible for women to obtain legal divorce” and urged the Philippines “to introduce and support vigorously legislation which permits divorce, allows women to remarry after divorce, and grants women and men the same rights to administer property during marriage and equal rights to property on divorce.”

CEDAW requests “the wide dissemination in the Philippines of the present concluding comments in order to make the people, including government officials, politicians, parliamentarians and women’s and human rights organizations, aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure de jure and de facto equality of women, as well as the further steps that are required in that regard.”

Reflecting on all their efforts in drafting their Shadow Report and lobbying with the CEDAW experts and the CEDAW’s Concluding Comments, Atty. Padilla said, “It’s like arguing in court and winning the case. Although I would have wanted for them to also issue their recommendations on the right to sexual orientation, I’m quite pleased with the Committee’s Concluding Comments.”

“A lot of our hard work paid off. We gave the CEDAW experts all kinds of materials from the Shadow Report, highlights/talking points, oral presentation, to our recommendations and even slips of paper with our comments. It’s just a question of the people in government recognizing their full obligation to eliminate discrimination against women in laws and policies and the implementation of these laws and policies. It’s time to spread the word,” Atty. Padilla continued.

The travel grant of EnGendeRights and 3RG-Phils to present their collaborative Shadow Report at CEDAW’s session in New York was through the assistance of Canada Fund, Cordaid, and Global Fund for Women and the upcoming CEDAW Post-Session to be conducted by EnGendeRights to popularize the Concluding Comments is through the assistance of Canada Fund.

For a copy of the Concluding Comments, please click on the following link:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw36/cc/Philippines_25augrev.pdf

Additional Information:

Paragraph 27 of the Concluding Comments states:

“The Committee expresses its concern about the inadequate recognition and protection of the reproductive health and rights of women in the Philippines. The Committee is concerned about the high maternal mortality rates particularly the number of deaths resulting from induced abortions, high fertility rates, inadequate family planning services, the low rates of contraceptive use and difficulties in obtaining contraceptives. It is also concerned about the lack of sex education, especially in rural areas. It is concerned at the high rate of teenage pregnancies, which present a significant obstacle to girls’ educational opportunities and economic empowerment.”

Paragraph 28 the Concluding Comments states:

“The Committee urges the State party to take concrete measures to enhance women’s access to health care, in particular to sexual and reproductive health services, in accordance with article 12 of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation 24 on women and health. It requests the State party to strengthen measures aimed at the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, including by making a comprehensive range of contraceptives more widely available and affordable and without any restriction and by increasing knowledge and awareness about family planning. The Committee recommends that the State party give priority attention to the situation of adolescents and that it provide sex education, targeted at girls and boys, with special attention to the prevention of early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The Committee urges the State party to consider the problem of unsafe abortion as a matter of high priority. The Committee recommends that the State party consider reviewing the laws relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion and provide them with access to quality services for the management of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to reduce women’s maternal mortality rates in line with the Committee’s general recommendation 24 on women and health and the Beijing Platform for Action.”

Paragraph 30 the Concluding Comments states:

“30. The Committee calls on the State party to pay special attention to the needs of rural women, indigenous women and Muslim women living in the autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao, ensuring that they have access to health care, social security, education, clean water and sanitation services, fertile land, income -generation opportunities and participation in decision – making pr ocesses. The Committee recommends that the State party ensures women’s access to justice through the provision of legal aid and takes steps to prosecute perpetrators of violence against them. It also encourages the State party to provide increased educational opportunities to Muslim girls to discourage early marriages. X x x”

* * *

EnGendeRights Presents Their Joint Shadow Report to CEDAW By Clara Rita A. Padilla, August 17, 2006

EnGendeRights, represented by Atty. Clara Rita A. Padilla,  presented highlights on their Shadow Report last Monday, August 14, before the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) during its 36^th Session in New York.    The Shadow Report was drafted in collaboration with the Center for Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Rights Resource Group Philippines (3RG-Phils.), and Health and Development Initiatives Institute, independent non-governmental organizations. 

The Shadow Report was submitted to CEDAW, the committee that monitors the implementation of the rights protected in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Women’s Convention), as an alternative report to the periodic report submitted by the Republic of the Philippines.

In Atty. Padilla’s oral presentation before CEDAW, she tackled issues including the lack access to information and reproductive health care services, discriminatory marriage laws, violence against women and sexual orientation.

 She brought to the attention of the CEDAW experts the fact that, “The government has curtailed access to modern contraceptives.  The Department of Health (DOH) only promotes “natural family planning” while leaving the Population Commission to promote modern methods of contraception.”  She added that, “Amidst the impending withdrawal of foreign funds to distribute condoms, the DOH awarded a 50 million peso contract to a Catholic church-backed group to promote natural family planning.”  Atty. Padilla continued by saying that, “Although the DOH clarified that they did not ban IUDs, they have not provided the proper budget to make IUDs and other modern methods of contraception accessible to women.”  She then called for the Philippine government to “to make the full range of modern contraceptives available to women.”

 On the issue of the delisting of Postinor, an emergency contraceptive, in 2001, Atty. Padilla brought to the attention of CEDAW that, “Postinor continues to be delisted despite the recommendation by the Special Committee to re-list it..” She pointed the fact that, “The government must make emergency contraception available to rape victims as part of routine emergency health care and to women, in general, to prevent unwanted pregnancies.”

 Atty. Padilla continued by stating that, “Philippine law penalizes women who undergo abortion without providing express exceptions on life, health, rape or fetal impairment.” She brought to the attention of CEDAW the alarming statistics in the Philippines where, “Women do not have access to safe and legal abortion despite statistics in 2000 showing 473,000 women who induced abortions; 79,000 women hospitalized for complications; and 800 women died due to complications.”  Atty. Padilla emphatically stated that, “Having ratified CEDAW, the government should fulfill its obligation to make abortion safe and legal.”

 She added that, “The Department of Education withdrew its Lesson Guide on Reproductive Health [and sex education] for Adolescents after receiving comments from conservative religious groups” and that it is important to continue sex education for adolescents.  Atty. Padilla stressed the importance of the enactment of a specific law to ensure women’s reproductive and sexual rights.

 On the issue of violence against women, Atty. Padilla cited the fact that there are judges who do not issue Protection Orders despite petitions filed under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.  She added that there are also judges who refuse to issue contempt orders on husband’s/partners who violate protection orders.  She brought to the attention of CEDAW the fact that there are still many rape complaints that are dismissed in the Preliminary Investigation level and in the Regional Trial Level.  She then called for “continuous trainings for members of the judiciary concerning gender-based violence.”  Further, Atty. Padilla stated that, “At present, women in prostitution are still penalized, hence, the need to remove the punitive provisions imposed on women in prostitution.”     

 On the issue of marriage, Atty. Padilla stated the need for absolute (no-fault) divorce and she stated certain discriminatory provisions in the Muslim Code that needed to be repealed including the provisions allowing polygamy and allowing marriage at the age of fifteen for Muslims.

 Lastly, on the issue of sexual orientation, Atty. Padilla called for the legal recognition of domestic partnerships or civil unions for lesbians. 

 Yesterday, August 16, EnGendeRights and 3RG-Phils. Submitted a “Summary of Concerns Raised in the Shadow Report” to CEDAW stating additional recommendations including:

 1) The government must enact a specific Reproductive Health Care law that ensures women’s reproductive and sexual rights regardless of who is the head of the executive branches of the government;

 2) Repeal the discriminatory provisions in the Family Code including the provisions providing that the husband’s decision prevails over the wife in cases where there is disagreement on the administration or enjoyment of community property and over the exercise of parental authority;

 3) Repeal the discriminatory provisions in the Muslim Code including the provisions on arranged marriages (females aged 12-14), the husband is given the authority to choose the family residence, the husband can deny his permission to his wife to practice a profession or occupation of her choice;

 4) Repeal the criminal provisions on adultery and concubinage.

 Under the Revised Penal Code, a married woman commits “adultery” if she has sexual intercourse with a man other than her husband. On the other hand, a married male can be convicted of “concubinage” only if his mistress cohabits with him in the conjugal dwelling or in another dwelling, or if he has intercourse with a woman other than his wife under “scandalous” circumstances.  The penalty imposed for the woman in adultery is higher than for males in concubinage. 

 The intended purpose of the criminal provision on adultery is protect the rights of real heirs.  However, many adultery cases are filed by estranged husbands who have long been separated from their wives and who have no intention of reuniting with their wives nor do they have any intention of supporting the illegitimate child of their wives.  Many adultery cases are filed to harass women and sometime to threaten and coerce them to transfer contested property in the name of the estranged husband.  In many countries around the world, the criminal provisions imposed on adultery have already been repealed. 

 5) Repeal the discriminatory provisions in the Revised Penal Code imposed on women. The Penal Code penalizes widows, divorced women or women whose marriages have been annulled or dissolved if they get married within 301 days from the death, divorce or separation of their husbands.  No such constraints are imposed on the men. 

 6) The right to custody of a lesbian mother, whether her child be below seven or above seven, should be protected.

 7) The proposed bill prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals including discrimination against homosexuals in work and education environments must be enacted into law.

 (Please see the attached files on Summary of Concerns Raised in the Shadow Report, Shadow Report and Talking Points for statistics and more information on the recommendations that we submitted to the committee. Also, please see the attached Division for the Advancement of Women initial press releases on the CEDAW 36^th Session for additional background on the 36^th Session)