Resolution Paper

Committee: United Nations Human Rights Council

Sponsors: Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of Spain, Ukraine

Signatories: The Islamic Republic of Iran, The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Nicaragua, the Russian
Federation,​​The Republic of South Africa, the People's Republic of Bangladesh, The State of Kuwait, The
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Republic of India, The Commonwealth of Australia, The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Korea,
​State of Japan, The Italian Republic, People’s Republic of China, The Federative Republic of Brazil,
Ukraine, ​The United Arab Emirates, The State of Qatar, Kingdom of Norway, Kingdom of Spain,

Agenda: Addressing women's reproductive rights and healthcare access

The United Nations Human Rights Council,

Affirms Article 12 of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination Of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, which has urged Member States to incorporate appropriate measures to
safeguard women’s access to healthcare services and family planning,

Noting with approval the efforts of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), such as promoting access to
family planning, newborn care, and frontline healthcare workers in over 150 countries,

Deeply disturbed by the number of unsafe abortions and lack of basic healthcare services over the years
due to poverty, cultural stigma and other factors,

Bearing in mind the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5, Gender Equality, which aims to protect the
autonomy and dignity of women by empowering them and protecting their rights,

Taking into consideration the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which has emphasised the
importance of women’s reproductive health and reaffirms women’s right to autonomy and their freedom
of choice,

Reaffirming the fact that abortion should remain a fundamental human right that should be
available to all women regardless of their socio-economic status or culture,

1. Encourages member states to implement comprehensive healthcare policies that prioritise

universal access to sexual and reproductive health services, including:
a. Maternal care services, with provisions for:
i) Routine prenatal checkups,
ii) Emergency obstetric care,
iii) Postpartum care for new mothers;
 b. Access to contraceptive methods and family planning services, ensuring:
i) Free or affordable contraceptives,
ii) Voluntary family planning counselling,
iii) Public education on contraceptive options;
c. Safe abortion services in legal cases and ensuring:
i) Safe medical and surgical options,
ii) Post-abortion care to prevent complications,
iii) Legal frameworks that support women’s autonomy in reproductive choices;

2. Calls upon member states with prosperous economies and funds like The Maternal Health
Thematic Fund, and Reproductive Health Access Fund among others, to help fund these
initiatives in lower-income countries to reduce global inequalities in healthcare:
a. Lowering gaps between urban and rural areas by:
i) Sending primary healthcare workers to underdeveloped areas to offer basic medical
services,
ii) Developing basic medical units in underdeveloped areas with qualified healthcare
professionals and appropriate healthcare equipment and prescription medications,
iii) Ensure that healthcare professionals are qualified enough to treat patients, through
thorough recruitment and selection processes;
b. Supporting local healthcare worker training programs through:
i) Scholarships and exchange programs for medical professionals from rural areas,
ii) Providing virtual training and medical support to improve the quality of
healthcare delivery in remote areas,
iii) Giving workers training to cater to all groups, including vulnerable people like
women and children, or conservative religious groups, to ensure satisfactory services
for everyone;

3. Demands that all countries adopt a human rights-based approach to reproductive health policy,
focusing on:
a. Protecting bodily autonomy by:
i) Ensuring informed consent is required for all reproductive health procedures,
ii) Criminalising forced sterilisation or any non-consensual medical interventions;
b. Guaranteeing freedom of choice in reproductive health decisions by:
i) Allowing access to a wide range of contraceptive options,
ii) Protecting women’s right to make decisions about pregnancy, including abortion;

4. Strongly supports the strengthening of national and international legislature to combat barriers
to reproductive healthcare access and harmful practices:
a. Legislature to combat barriers to psychological healthcare like:
i) Gender-based violence, including domestic and sexual violence, due to which
victims may face psychological and physical barriers to seeking care,
ii) Laws and cultural norms that discriminate against women,
 iii) Lack of access to comprehensive sex education leading to misinformation and
stigmatisation, and to women making uninformed decisions about their bodies;

5. Recommends member states to legalise abortion in at least for special cases as it is the bare
minimum to protect women’s fundamental right of freedom over their own bodies:
a. Abortion should be, at the very least, legalised for cases where:
i) The pregnancy threatens the physical or mental health of the woman,
ii) The foetus is going to be born with severe deformities or mental impairment
meaning a low quality of life for the child,
iii) The pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, which also threatens the mental health
of the mother;

6. Urges the development of an international joint task force, aiming to safeguard women’s
reproductive rights and healthcare access:
a. Developing a comprehensive action plan to create both short-term and long-term policies
and goals regarding women’s rights;
b. Introduce educational programmes in low-economically developed countries (LEDCs) to
increase youth awareness, especially for young girls, about their basic reproductive
rights:
i) Providing age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education and services to
adolescent girls in conflict settings and low-income countries to protect them from
early or unintended pregnancies;
c. Monitoring and overseeing the implementation of policies and programs aimed at
improving reproductive healthcare access globally, with a specific focus on low-income
and underserved regions,
d. Coordinating with international organisations such as the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure
reproductive health services are included in emergency aid packages,
e. Oversee the progress of Member States through annual reports on the status of women’s
healthcare and reproductive services, to assess the need for improvement in the next year;

7. Stresses the significance of ensuring women and girls in conflict-affected states have access to
reproductive services, including:
a. Provision of essential reproductive healthcare by:
i) Ensuring access to comprehensive maternal healthcare, including prenatal,
childbirth, and postnatal services in conflict zones,
ii) Guaranteeing availability of contraception and family planning services to prevent
unintended pregnancies,
iii) Offering safe abortion services in the cases where it is permitted by law, especially
for survivors of sexual violence, and providing post-abortion care;
 b. Ensuring access to trauma-informed counselling and mental health services alongside
reproductive care;

8. Recommends Member states to maintain a centralised approach to abortion legislation to ensure:

a. Consistency and clarity in legal frameworks by,
i) Establishing uniform abortion laws across all regions or states within a country to
avoid disparities in access and rights,
b. Equitable access to safe abortion services across the entire country,
c. Nationwide standards for abortion care and services;

9. Endorses that member states establish free and universal national healthcare systems to ensure
equitable access to essential medical services, including:
a. Make health insurance accessible to lower-income groups as well and provide basic, free,
universal health insurance for all citizens that covers reproductive facilities like abortion,
contraception and pre and post-maternal care:
i) Utilising progressive taxation, and international aid where necessary to ensure that
healthcare remains free and universal even in lower-income nations;
b. Introduce technological and digital advancements in management and booking, aiming to
lower wait times and increase accessibility to necessary healthcare services.