4. Reproductive rights and ­human rights standards and principles RIGHT TO PHYSICAL INTEGRITY THE RIGHT TO PHYSICAL INTEGRITY IN LAW The right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment can be found in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 3 of the ECHR, Article 5 of the ACHPR and Article 5 of the ACHR as well as in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Convention prohibits torture in Article 2 and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment in Article 16. The right to physical integrity implies that all persons have the right to control their own bodies, including their sexual and reproductive life, and be free from any intervention, medical or otherwise, save with their full, free and informed consent. The prohibition against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is non-derogable like the prohibition against torture, and a state violates Convention against Torture if it fails to prevent acts prohibited by the Convention, including gender-based violence, such as rape, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation and trafficking. “Deprivation of liberty, medical treatment, particularly involving reproductive decisions, and violence by private actors in communities and homes” are potential violations of CAT; states are in this respect asked to identify situations where “men and women and boys and girls may be subject to violations of the Convention on the basis of their actual or perceived non-conformity with socially determined gender roles”.21 21 Committee against Torture, General Comment No. 2 on the implementation of Article 2 of CAT. Domestic and other forms of violence against women, including rape, forced abortion and sterilization, and female genital mutilation may constitute violations of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 7. Furthermore, in order not to violate the prohibition against torture, detained pregnant women must receive humane treatment, in particular during birth and while caring for newborn children; this includes medical treatment and healthcare for such mothers and their babies.22 In 200623 the Human Rights Committee found that a state had violated Article 7 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the grounds of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by refusing to allow an abortion when it was clear that there was a life-threatening risk for the complainant. The Committee stressed, “The right set out in article 7 of the Covenant relates not only to physical pain but also to mental suffering, and 22 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 28 on equality between men and women from 2000. 23 CCPR/C/85/D/1153/2003, Miss K.L.N.H. vs. Peru. 99

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