THE NAIROBI PRINCIPLES ON ABORTION, PRENATAL TESTING AND DISABILITY

In October 2018, CREA convened a Global Dialogue on Abortion, Prenatal Testing and Disability in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together feminist organizations, organizations of women with disabilities and organizations supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) from different contexts and regions. These international experts came together in recognition of the human rights violations women, and in particular women with disabilities, face when exercising SRHR and to reaffirm the growing need for dialogue around the intersection of SRHR and disability.

The aim of the Nairobi Principles on Abortion, Prenatal Testing and Disability is to serve as the beginning of a cross-movement dialogue between disability, SRHR and women’s rights and a continued initiative to forge greater dialogue on the intersection of these rights issues. It lays the groundwork for critical advocacy work to address these intersectional rights issues often overlooked by governments, policy makers and human rights frameworks and forge solidarity between movements.

The release of a joint statement (August, 2018) titled `Guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health and rights for all women, in particular women with disabilities’ by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and an earlier report by Catalina Devandas, Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities titled `Sexual and Reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities’ presented at the 72nd session of the General Assembly (2017) serve as important precedents in guiding this work.

Read the principles here: https://nairobiprinciples.creaworld.org/nairobi-principles-on-abortion-prenatal-testing-and-disability/