Written question asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 6 February 2012.

Abortion

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the right of the wounded and sick to comprehensive medical care, under the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture, includes a right for girls and women raped in situations of armed conflict to have access to safe abortion and other medical care and attention.

Answer: The UK does not consider that there is any general right to an abortion under international humanitarian law or international human rights law. The Geneva Conventions contain a number of provisions for the provision of care for the wounded and sick in an armed conflict, which apply equally to women, men, girls and boys. The care to be provided will depend upon the facts of the individual case. Article 14 (1) of the Convention Against Torture provides that states shall ensure in their legal systems that the victim of an act of torture obtains the means for "as full rehabilitation as possible". The means of rehabilitation and whether or not torture has taken place will depend on the facts of the individual case. The Department for International Development's (DfID) position is that safe abortion reduces recourse to unsafe abortion and thus saves lives, and that women and adolescent girls must have the right to make their own decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and well-being. The July 2011 DfID practice paper clearly outlines the UK policy position on safe and unsafe abortion in developing countries.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 15040; 735 c3WA
Session: 2010-12
Related items: Abortion
Monday, 27 February 2012
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Armed conflict Abortion Geneva Conventions Rape UN Convention against Torture
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk