2010-03-09 14:24:48

Holy See speaks of women’s rights


(March 9, 2010) The Holy See has criticized the approach of measuring women’s advancement primarily in terms of sexual and reproductive rights rather than on political, economic and social rights. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's permanent observer at the United Nations in New York, affirmed this on the 100th International Women’s Day, Monday. He was addressing a special meeting reviewing progress made during the 15 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing in 1995. The prelate decried how nearly every international conference document or resolution links the achievement of women’s rights to "a notion of sexual and reproductive health and rights which is violent to unborn human life and is detrimental to the integral needs of women and men within society." "While at the same time," he added, "only seldom are women’s political, economic and social rights mentioned as an inescapable clause and commitment." Archbishop Migliore made clear that the true advancement of women is a clear priority, noting how woes, discrimination and violence such as female feticide, infanticide, malnutrition, illiteracy, trafficking and AIDS are taking a heavy toll on women. He noted that 15 years ago in Beijing, women's human rights were affirmed as "an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights." This," he said, "is key not only to understanding the inherent dignity of women and girls but also to making this a concrete reality around the world."







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