Request: Letters of Support on Reproductive Rights, Article 6, ICCPR

The US Human Rights Network sends along this request:

 The Human Rights Committee is holding a Half Day of General Discussion on the right to life in article 6 of the ICCPR on July 14th, after which a new General Comment (36) will be prepared.  Your support is needed to encourage the Committee to fully consider the extent to which violations of ESC rights also violate the right to life under article 6 of the ICCPR and to recognized that the right to life requires positive measures to ensure access to health, housing, food, water, sanitation, social security and other ESC rights – particularly for marginalized and vulnerable groups.  Short written submissions of a page or so need to be submitted to the Human Rights Committee by this Friday June 26th. 

Under the direction of the SLWG and jointly with two member organizations, ESCR-Net filed written submissions with the Human Rights Committee on this issue, entitled 
Recognizing the Interdependence and Indivisibility of the Right to Life with ESC Rights.

However, as you’ll see from the Committee’s website, the list of written submissions to the Human Rights Committee is dominated by conservative anti-choice groups.  Unless the Committee receives more submissions on the critical violations of the right to life linked to ESCR violations, it will be unable to allocate any reasonable amount of time to considering this critical issue.  

Please help by writing a couple of paragraphs explaining the importance of ensuring the equal enjoyment of the right to life by those whose life is placed at risk by states’ failures to take positive measures to address poverty and to ensure access to health, housing, food, etc by marginalized and disadvantaged groups including those who are homeless and groups such as migrants, children, people with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, Roma, or others with whom you work.  Please explain how the right to life requires not only that states refrain from violating the right to life but also that they put in place programs, policies and longer terms strategies to address systemic violations.  It would be good to explain how access to justice in many domestic contexts relies on recognizing the inter-dependence of the right to life with ESC rights, referring to relevant cases from your country or region.  

Please send submissions electronically in Word format to the Secretariat ( kfox@ohchr.org and sthodiyil@ohchr.org) indicating “Half Day of General Discussion on Article 6 ICCPR in the subject line and also send a copy to Daniela Ikawa <dikawa@escr-net.org>.  Although the website states that the deadline was June 12th, the secretary has agreed to accept submissions until Friday.   Hard copies need not be sent.