BURKINA FASO-ABORTION-TBs-CCPR

Concluding Observations on Report 2 (2025) (Link)

Voluntary termination of pregnancy

26. The Committee notes the recent amendments to the Criminal Code, which have simplified the abortion procedure. Despite these changes, it remains concerned about the fact that procedural requirements, such as the need for the prosecutor to establish a genuine state of distress, continue to complicate and delay access to safe, legal abortion, endangering women’s health and perpetuating recourse to clandestine abortions. The Committee notes with concern that persistent sociocultural attitudes in the State Party stigmatize women who choose legal abortion, thereby pushing them towards unsafe practices. The Committee welcomes the free family planning services and subsidized contraceptives provided by the State Party but regrets that significant obstacles to their use remain, particularly in rural areas, such as the lack of trained providers and medical supplies and sociocultural constraints that limit women’s decision-making with regard to family planning (arts. 3, 6 and 7).

 27. Bearing in mind paragraph 8 of the Committee’s general comment No. 36 (2018) on the right to life, the State Party should:

(a) Remove judicial or administrative obstacles to voluntary interruption of pregnancy and ensure access to safe, legal abortion;

(b) Ensure that women, men, girls and boys, including those with a disability or living in isolated communities, have access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health information and education and to a wide range of affordable contraceptive methods;

(c) Ensure the availability and effective accessibility of high-quality prenatal and post-abortion healthcare, in all circumstances and on a confidential basis.

---

Concluding Observations on Report 1 (2016) (Link)

Voluntary termination of pregnancy and access to contraception

19. The Committee is concerned about the constraints imposed on access to legal abortion in cases of rape or incest, namely, the need to obtain a judicial decision recognizing that an offence was committed and the legal deadline of 10 weeks for terminating a pregnancy. The Committee notes with concern that pregnant women are resorting to unsafe abortions that put their lives and health at risk because of the legal obstacles, stigmatization and lack of information. The Committee is also concerned about reports of violence against women who raise questions about contraception with their partners and about the cost of contraception, which, despite being heavily subsidized, is still a major obstacle to its use. The Committee also notes with concern the inaccessibility of sexual and reproductive health services in some rural areas, the lack of information on contraception and, in particular, the lack of information on emergency contraception (arts. 3, 6, 7 and 17).

20. The State party should eliminate the obstacles to legal abortion that prompt women to resort to unsafe abortions that put their lives and health at risk and it should lift the requirement for the prior authorization of a court for abortions resulting from rape or incest. It should also: (a) draw up and implement education and awareness programmes to combat the stigmatization of women and girls who have an abortion; (b) ensure that women and girls have access to quality services to deal with complications arising from unsafe abortions and ensure that they receive immediate and unconditional treatment; and (c) ensure that women and girls have access to sexual and reproductive health services, and that methods of contraception are accessible and available throughout the country, particularly in rural and remote areas.

---