At a side-event organized during the first week of the Human Rights Council’s 18th Session, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, the Vice-President of Colombia, Angelino Garzon, the Assistant Deputy General of the World Health Organization, Flavia Bustreo, as well as Ambassadors and staff of the permanent missions of New Zealand, Burkina Faso and Colombia, expressed their continued commitment to developing the human rights-based approach to eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, and the need to now focus on its practical application.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay

Vice-President of Colombia, H.E. Mr. Angelino Garzon

Assistant Director General, Family, Women’s and Children’s Health, World Health Organization, Dr. Flavia Bustreo

Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso to the United Nations, Clarisse Ouoba

Civil Society Representative, Luisa Cabal, Center for Reproductive Rights

Over 100 ambassadors, UN agencies and staff, as well as civil society organizations came together in Geneva today (14.09.2011) to call for operational guidance on implementing the human rights-based approach to preventing maternal death and disability.

At a side-event co-organized by ACPD during the first week of the Human Rights Council’s 18th Session, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, the Vice-President of Colombia, Angelino Garzon, the Assistant Deputy General of the World Health Organization, Flavia Bustreo, as well as Ambassadors and staff of the permanent missions of New Zealand, Burkina Faso and Colombia, expressed their continued commitment to developing the human rights-based approach to eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, and the need to now focus on its practical application.

Speaking on behalf of civil society, Luisa Cabal of the Center for Reproductive Rights, welcomed the Human Rights Council’s role as champion of efforts to preventing maternal death and disability. She encouraged States gathered at the Council’s 18th session to adopt a progressive resolution that would set in motion an expert consultation to prepare operational guidance for States, UN Agencies and other stakeholders in using human rights to tackle maternal mortality. “Understanding of the human rights-based approach has developed significantly”, said Cabal, but “an important task still remains: systematic implementation”.

Seven principles form the bedrock of the “human rights-based approach”: accountability, participation, transparency, empowerment, sustainability, international cooperation, and non-discrimination. While recognizing that their implementation may pose challenges, Luisa Cabal expressed concern that their practical application is currently “patchy, inadequate, sometimes even accidental”. “Measures must be taken to address all the root causes of maternal mortality.”

Angelino Garzon, Vice President of Colombia, spoke of his own government’s efforts to reduce maternal mortality, and emphasised that the only way for Colombia to achieve its MDG5 commitments, was to implement a human rights-based approach.
Presenting the report of her office on “Good and Effective Practices in Eliminating Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity”, the High Commissioner reminded those present that progress on MDG5 is insufficient, and that this may reflect “the low value placed on women`s and girls` lives as well as the limited attention that it is paid to women’s priorities in public policy.”

Over 350, 000 women and girls die every year from pregnancy-related causes and as Clarisse Ouoba of the Burkina Faso Permanent Mission reminded those present ,it is no longer a question of whether States will apply this approach, but that they must do so.
The Human Rights Council first took on the issue in 2009, when it called on States to “redouble their efforts” in eliminating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and a third resolution is now under discussion. This side-event resulted in strong expressions of support for the Human Rights Council to move forward on its work on maternal mortality and morbidity by facilitating the development of practical guidance that could be used by States, UN agencies and all other stakeholders in their efforts to implement the human rights-based approach to preventing maternal mortality and morbidity.

ENDS

The event was co-sponsored by Permanent Mission of New Zealand; Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso; Permanent Mission of Colombia; Permanent Mission of the United States of America; Permanent Mission of Canada; Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); World Health Organization (WHO), Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD); Amnesty International; CARE Peru; Center for Reproductive Rights; CREA; Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights; Human Rights Watch; International Commission of Jurists; International Initiative for Maternal Mortality and Human Rights; International Planned Parenthood Federation; Ipas; Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning; and Sexual Rights Initiative