Latin America countries are being pressurised by the UN to liberalise their abortion laws through a process called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Ireland is to be reviewed in October.

The process involves a review of the human rights record of a given country by the UPR Working Group which consists of the 47 members of the UN’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC). However any UN Member State can take part in the discussion/dialogue with the reviewed States.

In the Government’s preliminary submission this year, it said that it planned to review the Constitution and the possibility of a referendum to legalise same-sex marriage.

On previous occasions, the UN Human Rights Committee has told Ireland to liberalise its abortion law.

In recent years, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Belize, and Argentina are among the top countries recently pressured via the UPR process, as European countries recommend that these nations amend their laws concerning the “rights” to abortion and contraception.

The primary concern seems to center around controversial sexual and reproductive health issues that European countries treat as rights, and interpreting these rights to include abortion.

Pressuring these countries to adopt their belief that abortion is an international human right, European countries have consistently suggested that the absence of legal abortion under national laws is a violation of international human rights law.

Luxemburg has recently urged El Salvador to “improve access for women to sexual and reproductive health rights and services”, while the United Kingdom demands that Costa Rica “…provide women with adequate information on how to access [services] and medical care, including permitted abortion,” and Sweden recommends that Chile further “efforts to ensure that the abortion laws are brought into line with Chile’s human rights obligations.”

However, these assertions have no support in international law, either by treaty or custom.

Piero Tozzi, a senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund told the Friday Fax: “No ‘right’ to abortion exists in international law. Consistent with international treaties and customary norms, nations can (and should) protect the unborn child.:

Partly due to strong economic pressure from the Western countries that condition development aid on social positions, some Latin American countries have been forced to respond to the recommendations made by the European countries.

El Salvador declared that “the Government will promote a full and participatory national dialogue… on the right of women to reproductive health and on the implications of restrictive abortion laws,” and Belize stated that it will “take further concrete measures to enhance women’s access to sexual and reproductive services, as is among others, recommended by CEDAW.”

Ireland appears before the Council in October. The Iona Institute made its own submission to the Council and it focusses on the area of freedom of conscience and religion.

In its submission to the Council, the Government says its review of the Constitution would examine “provision for same-sex marriage; amendment of the clauses on women in the home and insertion of a clause to encourage greater participation of women in public life; and removal of the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution”.

The submission also refers to the rights of “transgendered” persons.

It says that the “acquired gender” of such people is “currently recognised in many official dealings with the State, such as the provision of passports, driving licences and in social welfare, healthcare and revenue matters”.

The submission adds that an advisory group was established last year to advise on further legal recognition of transgender persons and that this group was “expected to submit its report to the Minister for Social Protection shortly”.

The Government’s report also states that “a referendum on Children’s Rights is a priority”

It says that “inequalities on the gender ground still exist” and that [w]orkplace gender discrimination continues to be reported annually”.

In response to this, it says that the Government has significantly expanded childcare services “to support the childcare needs of women who are in employment, education or training”.