AZERBAIJAN-ABORTION-TBs-CEDAW
Concluding Observations on Report 6 (2022) (Link)
4. The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the consideration in 2015 of the State party’s previous report (CEDAW/C/AZE/5) in undertaking legislative reforms, in particular the adoption of the following:
(a) Decree No. 71 on the elimination of prenatal sex selection, in 2020;
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5. The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the adoption of the following:
(c) The Action Plan on prevention of prenatal sex selection for 2020 – 2025, in 2020.
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Stereotypes and harmful practices
21. The Committee notes the adoption of the Order No. 71s on approval of the Action Plan on prevention of prenatal sex selection for 2020-2025 in 2020. Nevertheless, the Committee remains concerned at the widespread practice of sex-selective abortion….
22. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendations (CEDAW/C/AZE/CO/5, para. 21) and recommends that the State party:
(a) Implement the newly adopted Decree and its National Action Plan on prevention of prenatal sex selection to eradicate the practice of sex-selection abortion;
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Health
33. The Committee notes with concern:
(a) That the draft Law on Protection of Reproductive Health of the Population and Family Planning the new cycle of the National Reproductive Health Strategy have still not been adopted;
(b) Women’s limited access to the healthcare system, due to the underdeveloped health insurance scheme, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately affected women;
(c) That abortion still remains one of the main forms of birth control and that women’s and girls’ access to available and affordable modern contraceptives, in particular in rural areas, remains limited, and that adolescent girls face barriers in accessing information on sexual and reproductive health and rights;
(d) The high number of sex-selective abortions, as reflected by the distorted sex ratio of newborn children (114 boys/100 girls);
(e) The high maternal mortality rate (15.8 per 100,000 live births in 2020) in urban areas and mainly among internally displaced women;
(f) The high number of early pregnancies, due to forced and early marriages, the absence in school curricula of mandatory age-appropriate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the lack of training of teachers in this field;
(g) The inadequate mental health services for women, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular among internally displaced women.
34. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health and recommends that the State party:
(a) Accelerate the adoption of the draft Law on Protection of Reproductive Health of the Population and Family planning, and the endorsement of the new cycle of the National Reproductive Health Strategy;
(b) Increase the budget allocated to health care and introduce universal compulsory medical insurance to ensure the provision of accessible and affordable health services to all women and girls, particularly rural women and those belonging to disadvantaged and marginalized groups;
(c) Adopt measures to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of modern contraceptives for women and girls, including those belonging to disadvantaged and marginalized groups and rural women, and internally displaced women;
(d) Eliminate the practice of sex-selective abortions resulting from prenatal sex discernment;
(e) Address the causes of maternal mortality, in particular among internally displaced women, by ensuring access to obstetric care, and increasing the number of skilled birth attendants;
(f) Strengthen access to adequate and affordable health care for women and girls by ensuring a sufficient number of health-care facilities with adequately trained staff and with accessibility measures, including in rural and remote areas;
(g) Integrate mandatory age-appropriate and inclusive education on sexual and reproductive health and rights in school curricula, including education on modern forms of contraception, the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and the risks of unsafe abortion;
(h) Adopt measures to ensure the availability and quality of accessible mental health-care services in both urban and rural areas.
Concluding Observations on Report 5 (2015) (Link)
Health
32. The Committee notes the efforts of the State party to improve access to affordable health-care services for all citizens. It remains concerned, however, about inadequate State expenditure on health, women’s limited decision-making powers concerning their health status and discrepancies between the official indicators of maternal mortality and the related international estimates; infant mortality, particularly the difference between indicators of under-5 child mortality for boys and girls revealed in the Azerbaijan demographic and health survey of 2011; high rates of anaemia among women; the use of abortions as a major means of family planning, including a high number of sex-selective abortions and forced abortions; the very low use of modern contraceptive methods; and poor health-care infrastructure, especially in rural areas, and the inadequate skills of service providers. The Committee is also concerned at the absence of a law on sexual and reproductive health.
33. The Committee urges the State party to improve women’s access to high- quality health care, in line with its general recommendation No. 24 on women and health, and to take measures:
(a) To intensify efforts aimed at the reduction of maternal mortality through, inter alia, the provision of accurate information on the prevalence rates, the definition and measurement of the phenomenon;
(b) To ensure the quality of antenatal, delivery and newborn care in order to lower maternal and neonatal mortality;
(c) To promote family planning and reproductive health education through, inter alia, age-appropriate sex education at schools;
(d) To promote the use of modern contraceptives among the population, including through the introduction of modern contraceptives into the essential drug list of the Ministry of Health;
(e) To adopt without further delay the law on the reproductive health of the population and family planning;
(f) To adopt the law on food fortification to address micronutrient deficiencies in women and children;
(g) To ensure wider coverage of programmes and services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission, especially in rural areas;
(h) To conduct awareness-raising campaigns to ensure the elimination of social stigma relating to HIV.
Concluding Observations on Report 4 (2009) (Link)
Health care for women
33. While noting the various efforts made by the State party to improve reproductive health care for women, including through the adoption of the national strategy on reproductive and sexual health (2008-2015) and the State programme for the protection of mother and child health (2006-2010), the Committee remains concerned at the insufficient access to adequate general health-care services and reproductive health-care services for women, especially for those living in rural and remote areas, and internally displaced and refugee women. In particular, the Committee is gravely concerned about the high and increasing rate of maternal mortality in the State party. It is alarmed by the steep decrease in the use of contraceptives since the international community suspended its supply in 2004 and by the consequent rise in the rate of abortions, which appears to be the most widespread method of family planning within the State party.
34. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to take all appropriate measures to improve women’s access to general health care and to reproductive health-care services in particular. It calls on the State party to prioritize decreasing maternal mortality rates by establishing adequate obstetric delivery services run by qualified medical personnel and by providing adequate prenatal care to all women. The Committee recommends that family planning and reproductive health education be widely promoted and targeted at girls and boys, with special attention being paid to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The Committee also recommends that the State party implement its undertaking to include a comprehensive range of contraceptives in the basic list of medicines of the Ministry of Health.
Concluding Observations on Report 2-3 (2007) (Link)
[no mention]
Concluding Observations on Report 1 (1998) (Link)
66. The Committee is alarmed by the widespread use of abortion as a basic means of family planning.
73. The Committee further recommends the elaboration of adequate family-planning programmes, with the help of the United Nations Population Fund, so as to avoid the use of abortion as a means of family planning and thereby diminish the risks of maternal mortality resulting from unsafe abortions.
This content was last updated in November 2022