International Commission of Jurists 112d ago

On International Women’s Day, ICJ Commissioner and former member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Patricia Schulz highlights the importance of the 8 March Principles (8MPs) for a human rights-based approach to criminal law prescribing conduct associated with sex, reproduction, drug use, HIV, homelessness and poverty. The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) 2023 8MPs call for the amendment or repeal of criminal law provisions that fail to comply with the general principles of criminal law and international #humanrights law. They are particularly relevant to women, especially the most vulnerable among them -migrants, sex workers, drug users, women living with HIV, in poverty and homeless. These women, already victims of society, are disproportionately targeted by criminal prosecutions and sanctions. The 8MPs aim to provide remedies to criminal law provisions restricting sexual and reproductive health rights (#SRHR) by excluding this whole domain from the scope of criminal law in order to protect women’s rights to make their own decisions concerning their bodies, #sexuality and #reproduction -in particular #abortion- as well as enable healthcare workers to carry out their services without fear of reprisals. 🔗 Read more here 👇 https://www.icj.org/resource/icj-publishes-a-new-set-of-legal-principles-to-address-the-harmful-human-rights-impact-of-unjustified-criminalization-of-individuals-and-entire-communities/ #IWD2026 #AccessToJustice #WomensRights #8MPs #DecriminalizeJustice #RuleOfLaw #GenderEquality