Germany’s Abortion Policy: A Product of Domestic Concerns, not of International Human Rights

| Beitrag von Gabriel Armas-Cardona

My final project before leaving Armenia was to research and write a report on Armenia’s human rights obligations vis-à-vis abortion. Sex-selective abortion is a notable problem in Armenia and as a “solution”, the government amended the relevant laws to restrict access to abortion generally.

When I moved to Germany, I was surprised to learn how restrictive the abortion law is. Below is a simplified version of the analysis that I did in the report for Armenia: I review Germany’s laws for compliance with Germany’s international human rights obligations. Naturally, this blog post won’t be as thorough as a report, and I encourage future blog posts to dive into the details that I will gloss over.  Weiterlesen

Dignity, Autonomy and Compulsory Motherhood in Germany

| Beitrag von Selina Wyssusek

The designation of a pregnant person as a ‘mother’ from the moment of conception under German law denies women the dignity and autonomy usually accorded to a human being. It provides an ideological justification for the prohibition of abortion, and is used to rationalise the pervasive violation of women’s health and reproductive rights. In order to uphold its commitments to equality under domestic and international law, Germany must decriminalise abortion. Weiterlesen

Ethics in Reporting: Setting Global Standards to End Child Marriage

| Beitrag von Marion Jabot

This year’s Human Rights Watch Global Council Summit took place in Berlin between the 20th and the 22nd of June at the European School of Management and Technology. This conference addressed a wide spectrum of issues, from the refugee crisis, to the rights of the disabled, LGBT, women and children. The conference also offered interactive events such as speed dating sessions with human rights experts and advocacy training workshops. Weiterlesen