Dakar, Jan 24 (APS) – The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in concert with organizations that are members in Senegal, called on Friday in Dakar, the Senegalese State to comply with its international commitments In terms of abortion in the event of rape or incest, in particular article 14 of the Maputo protocol authorizing this practice in these two cases.
Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol undertakes parties to take all appropriate measures to protect “the reproductive rights of women, particularly by authorizing medical abortion, in the event of sexual assault, rape, incest and When pregnancy endangers the mental and physical health of the mother or the life of the mother and the fetus. ”
“We ask the State of Senegal to comply with its international legal commitments [dans ce domaine]. It is not complicated, ”said Joseph Faye, secretary general of the Senegalese Human Rights League (LSDH), during a press conference aimed at presenting the conclusions and recommendations of a report devoted to This subject.
Entitled “Double penalty: the survivors of rape and incest forced to continue their pregnancy in Senegal”, this report was drawn up by the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) on the situation of violence against women , in November 2024.
“In my humble opinion, if there is something to straighten, it is the provisions of article 305 of the Senegalese Constitution that the national judge continues to apply by dismissing the provisions of article 14 of the Maputo Protocol , thus violating the provisions of article 98 of the Senegalese Constitution which were clear, saying that the regularly ratified treaties had a value greater than the law, “said Joseph Faye.
“When we talk about what is straight, we refer in our context to the law. And in this case, it is article 98 of the Senegalese Constitution, article 14 of the Maputo Protocol and the provisions of article 305 which condemn abortion on all its forms, ”defended Mr. Faye.
Joseph Faye considers that “the national judge, continuing to apply the provisions of article 305, violates the constitution announces article 92”.
“We hope that the State of Senegal, which has signed and ratified the Maputo protocol since 2004, can integrate it into the national legal order. If only for young girls who, in the morning, leaving their parents to go to school, are sexually assaulted along the way and are forced to suspend their schooling and undergo a pregnancy during this period of their lives “Add Joseph Faye.
-Oulimata Sène, a consultant lawyer in charge of project for the Association of Senegalese lawyers (AJS), believes that in 2025, “it is urgent that the government is expressed on the subject, guarantees respect for the right state and leads Concrete actions for promotion and better protection of women’s rights ”.
Senegal owes this “to little girls and women in the country,” added Ms. Sène during this meeting with journalists.
She adds that the organizations concerned ask the State to make the legislative and judicial arrangements necessary for better protection of women and girls victims of physical, psychological and economic sexual violence.
It is also expected from the State that it puts an effective legal and judicial assistance system of victims of rape and incest, in particular by the establishment of a legal assistance service specifically dedicated to their support.
The FIDH and its member organizations -LSDH, NDH, Raddho -, in partnership with the AJS, greet “militants with remarkable courage who continue their fight for the legalization of medical abortion in Senegal in the event of incest or rape, and fight for the universality of the rights of women and girls despite the many threats and attacks against them. “
NSS/BK/SKS/OID
