Nicaragua refuses to lift abortion ban

Amnesty International has accused the Nicaraguan government of "chilling indifference" to the rights of women and girls in its refusal to allow any exceptions to its blanket ban on abortion.

The Nicaraguan law means that even under-age girls who are raped or who are the victims of incest are forced to bear any child they may conceive or risk their life or imprisonment by seeking an illegal abortion. A United Nations human rights working group recommended Nicaragua should change the law, but the country has refused. This is Amnesty's Americas programme Deputy Director, Guadalupe Marengo:

The refusal to support these recommendations shows contempt for its obligations under UN treaties to protect women and girls from human rights violations. It also demonstrates a chilling indifference to women and girls in their country.

It is appalling that the Nicaraguan authorities, despite being in full knowledge of the consequences of the total ban, seem determined to ignore its cruel impact on women's and girls' lives and to reject these recommendations to work for a change in law. Yet again it's missed another opportunity to right this terrible wrong.
Amnesty international will continue campaigning on this fundamental human rights issue, alongside other NGOs working with women and girl victims of rape and professional medical associations. Women and girls in Nicaragua should not be obliged to continue with pregnancies which place their lives and health at risk or if they are a consequence of rape or incest.

The total ban was introduced in 2006. Nicaragua is one of four countries that forbid all abortion - the others are El Salvador, Chile and Malta.

Meanwhile, the arrest of a doctor in the Ukraine is seriously troubling Aids campaigners. Illya Podolyan, 62, from Odesa, has been arrested for "committing crimes relating to the organised narcotics drugs trade". He has been prescribing substitution maintenance therapy for drug users, in a bid to stabilise their lives. Such programmes have been legal since 2004, but those providing them and the patients complain of being increasingly harrassed by police. Podolyan's arrest comes just weeks ahead of the International Aids conference in Vienna, which will focus on the need to prevent HIV being spread through illicit drug use.

The International HIV/Aids Alliance Ukraine says it has a dozen cases of human rights abuses of patients and medical staff. Andriy Klepikov, its executive director said:

Currently in Ukraine with support from the Global Fund over 5300 drug dependent patients receive treatment in all regions of Ukraine. This is the country's significant achievement in the field of national drug policy and HIV prevention against injecting drug users and it was openly recognised as such internationally. We can not let all these efforts go to waste as a result of inconsistencies in legislation, police interference into medical programmes.

On another matter - the well-respected Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has launched a new blog, which offers interesting perspectives from the developing world front line. This is the link.