The Destruction of Maternal Healthcare in Gaza: Women’s Reproductive Rights in Armed Conflict
Abstract:
Armed conflict is gendered violence. However, discussion of the gendered impact of armed conflict has largely been limited to sexual and gender-based violence. Considerably less attention has been paid to the obstetric violence that armed conflict inflicts on pregnant women and new mothers.
The International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law recently submitted a report on this topic to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). The report catalogues the calamitous impact that Israel’s assault on Gaza has had on women’s rights to maternal and reproductive healthcare through attacks targeting civilian medical infrastructure and restrictions on food, medical, and other supplies – and Canada’s responsibility in the foregoing through arms exports to Israel. Please join IHRP Acting Director James Yap and others to discuss the key findings of this report, the CEDAW Committee’s response, and their legal implications.
Presenter:
James Yap is the Acting Director of the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. His specialization encompasses the human rights accountability of multinational business as well as the application of international human rights law in domestic courts. He has been plaintiff's counsel in some of the key Canadian cases in these fields, such as Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya and Toussaint v. Canada. He is President of Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR) and sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL). He has also taught international human rights law at Osgoode Hall Law School. James holds a Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he graduated with the Silver Medal, and a Master of Laws from Yale Law School. After completing his JD he clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice Ian Binnie.
Commentator:
Kavita Algu is physician working in Toronto with training in palliative care and family medicine. She has a masters degree in Family and Community Medicine and is currently a PhD candidate in health policy at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto, with a focus in decolonial approaches to palliative care and the right to health.
