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UNFPA GLOBAL POPULATION POLICY UPDATE
Issue 3 - May 9 2003
This issue of the Global Population Policy Update once again deals with
the creation of an enabling environment for ICPD implementation at the national
level, one of the major themes of the International Parliamentarians’ Conference
on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action (21-22 November 2002,
Ottawa, Canada).
On 21 January 2003, Benin’s National Assembly adopted Law No. 2003-03,
prohibiting the practice of female genital cutting (FGC). The law
bans FGC in all its forms, defining it as any ablation, partial or total,
of a female person’s external genitalia and/or any other operation on such
genitalia. Surgeries that are performed for medical purposes are not
criminalized under the law. A person who performs FGC shall be imprisoned
from six months to one year and fined a sum of 100,000 to 2,000,000 francs
CFA. If the cutting is performed on a woman under the age of 18, the
punishment is imprisonment from three to five years and a fine of up to 3,000,000
francs CFA. Should the victim die as a result of the cutting, the penalty
is forced labor for five to 20 years and a fine of 3,000,000 to 6,000,000
francs CFA. Anyone who assists, participates in or solicits an act
of FGC, or provides the means or gives instructions to the perpetrator, is
deemed an accomplice and is subject to the same penalty as the principal
perpetrator. Recidivists face the maximum penalty, with no possibility
of a reduced sentence.
Anyone with knowledge of a planned genital cutting who does not act to
prevent it shall be prosecuted for failing to assist a person in danger.
Likewise, anyone with knowledge that FGC has occurred must immediately inform
the nearest law enforcement authorities. Failure to report is punishable
with a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 francs CFA. Finally, the law requires
public and private health institutions to care for those who have undergone
FGC and ensure that they receive appropriate services. These institutions
are further required to inform local authorities.
In February 2003, Colombia’s Department of Public Health of the Ministry
of Social Protection adopted a National Policy on Sexual and Reproductive
Health. The Policy, which covers the period from 2002 to 2006,
adopts the rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health endorsed
in the ICPD Programme of Action. The Policy analyzes the state of sexual
and reproductive health in Colombia, identifying the following priority areas
for action: safe motherhood; family planning; adolescent sexual and reproductive
health; uterine cancer; sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS;
and domestic and sexual violence. The Policy’s guiding principle is
that sexual and reproductive rights are human rights and that protecting
health is a government responsibility.
The Policy’s general objective is to improve people’s sexual and reproductive
health and promote their enjoyment of sexual and reproductive rights.
It emphasizes a reduction in vulnerability and risk while promoting safer
practices and assisting groups with special needs. The more specific
objectives include: promoting health care and disease prevention; strengthening
health services; improving health information systems; and promoting research
as a component of government decision-making. The Policy emphasizes gender
equality and women’s empowerment, with a focus on education and outreach
activities.
On 9 January 2002, the Republic of France issued Decree (Décret)
No. 2002-39 on the distribution of emergency contraception (EC) to minors.
Previous legislation allowed minors under the age of 18 to receive EC free-of-charge
from a pharmacist without a prescription or parental approval. The
Decree requires pharmacists dispensing EC to offer counseling on the correct
use of EC and to ensure minors’ confidentiality. Pharmacists are also
required to interview minors to determine whether use of EC is appropriate
to their situation. The interview is an opportunity for the pharmacist
to counsel and provide documentation on regular birth control, prevention
of sexually transmitted infections, and the benefit of regular medical examinations.
In addition, pharmacists should provide minors with information on the nearest
family planning or education centers.
On 13 June 2002, Panama enacted Law No. 29, guaranteeing pregnant
adolescents the right to receive integral health care, to remain in the
educational system and to receive legal protection if necessary. The
Law provides that pregnant adolescents have a right to integral health care
during pregnancy, childbirth and the period following childbirth, to psychological
and social evaluation and guidance and to legal information. Pregnant
adolescents without resources are to be given these services free-of-charge,
and all health establishments are required to provide pregnant adolescents
with information on their rights under the Law. The Law requires the
Ministry of Education to provide adolescents with children and pregnant
adolescents with academic attention, counseling and supervision by a teacher.
When such students are unable to attend classes regularly, they are to be
assigned to special courses to ensure that they complete their studies.
In addition, the Ministry of Health is required to provide information and
training to teachers so that pregnant adolescents can be advised on sexual
and reproductive health in order to prevent discrimination. Persons
who violate the provisions of the Law are subject to fines and administrative
penalties.
See http://www.asamblea.gob.pa/legispan/leyes/2002/2002_029.pdf
On 2 July 2002, Uruguay enacted Law No. 17514, designed to prevent,
detect, provide care with respect to, and eradicate domestic violence. The
Law covers physical violence, psychological violence, emotional and sexual
violence and violence towards property, whether the acts constitute a crime
or not. The Law authorizes a judge to order measures to protect the
life, physical or emotional integrity, liberty and safety of the victim,
as well as to provide economic assistance to and protect the property of
the victim’s family. These measures can include requiring the perpetrator
to leave the common residence, prohibiting or limiting the presence of the
perpetrator in certain places, prohibiting the perpetrator from communicating
with the victim, seizing weapons possessed by the perpetrator, ordering
the perpetrator to pay provisional support to the victim and ordering the
perpetrator to participate in rehabilitation programs. Another provision
of the Law deals with the creation of a National Advisory Council on the
Fight against Domestic Violence.
See http://www.parlamento.gub.uy/Leyes/Ley17514.htm
On 9 May 2002, Brazil enacted Law No. 449, authorizing the sale
of latex condoms in all commercial establishments. The condoms must
meet requirements set by the National Institute of Weights and Measures,
must be packed according to rules of the public health authorities, and must
be displayed in a visible place.
This newsletter is issued by the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) in its capacity as secretariat for the International
Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme
of Action (November 2002, Ottawa, Canada). These dispatches are intended
to highlight important developments taking place around the world so that
parliamentarians can be kept informed of and learn from the successes, setbacks
and challenges encountered by their fellow parliamentarians in other countries
and regions in their efforts to promote the implementation of the Programme
of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development
(September 1994, Cairo, Egypt). It should be noted that UNFPA does
not necessarily endorse all of the policies described in this newsletter.
Please send mailing list update information to Dave Parks at parks@unfpa.org. If you have any
questions or comments on the content of this newsletter, please contact
Harumi Kodama at kodama@unfpa.org
or Stirling Scruggs at scruggs@unfpa.org.
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