UN Special Rapporteur gives keynote address at Women’s Human Rights Alliance Conference
Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health gave the keynote address at the conference Realising Women's Right to Health on 17th December 2012. The conference was organised by the Women's Human Rights Alliance (WHRA) which is convened by the NWCI. Mr Grover provided an excellent overview of the core elements of a woman's right to health, including reproductive rights. He stressed the importance of decriminalising abortion services as a means to realising women's rights to health.
The conference heard moving testimonies of women who had experienced first hand the violation of their right to health in Ireland. Other speakers included Sara Burke, health policy analyst and journalist, who spoke about the impact of austerity measures on women's right to health in our gender blind healthcare system and Dr. Jane Pillinger, independent healthcare expert, who gave an overview of consultations that she carried out on behalf of WHRA in 2010 with women's groups on the barriers in realising one's right to health. The conference was chaired by Dr. Kathleen Lynch of UCD and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Carnegie UK Trust.
Presentation - Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
Testimony: Ruth Bowie, Termination for Medical Reasons
Testimony: Monika Makulova, Roma Project, Pavee Point Traveller Centre
Testimony - Kathleen McDonnell, Pavee Point Traveller Centre
Testimony - Erica Birch Abban, Cairde
Presentation - Dr Jane Pillinger
Watch videos of the presentations on Youtube
For more information on the work of the Women's Human Rights Alliance contact Jacqueline Healy, jacquelineh@nwci.ie.