Women Enabled International Comments on the Human Rights Committee’s Draft General Comment No. 36 on the Right to Life

October 5, 2017

Women, including women and girls with disabilities, face unique and disproportionate violations of their right to life in several contexts, including related to sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and harmful practices such as femicide, honor killings, or “mercy killings.” Furthermore, women and girls with disabilities also experience significant violations of their right to life with dignity, including being denied the right to make decisions, to exercise legal capacity, and to have access to the goods and services that allow free decision-making. To provide the best possible guidance to states about ensuring the right to life, the Human Rights Committee’s Draft General Comment should more thoroughly address these issues.

Through this submission, WEI provides background information on specific issues that affect women, particularly women and girls with disabilities, in the context of the right to life, including sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence, and individual autonomy. WEI then provides specific textual recommendations to the Human Rights Committee about how to better include issues affecting women and girls with disabilities in the Draft General Comment.