Geneva – In a joint statement delivered to the UN Human Rights Council, 83 Governments reaffirmed their commitment to addressing maternal mortality as a human rights issue. They called upon the Council to address the unacceptable number of women dying from pregnancy or childbirth each year. The joint statement represents one of the largest joint intergovernmental statements delivered to the Council, and the first to address maternal mortality and human rights.
Governments in particular asked the Council to consider lack of access to healthcare and the inability to decide freely on one's pregnancy as discrimination against women and a violation of their human rights. Governments identified specific steps the Council can take such as highlighting the human rights implications of maternal mortality and morbidity in international forums and requesting that States include women in decision-making around maternal health.
In the next session of the Council, in June 2009, NGO organizations hope that a resolution about maternal mortality will be adopted.