On 20 January, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) found that Ecuador and Nicaragua violated the human rights of three girls by denying them an abortion after surviving sexual violence. The HRC identified that the rights to life, dignitity, effective legal recourse, privacy, information, nondiscrimination, equality, and freedom from inhumane treatment and torture - were violated when the states refused the girls an abortion. In doing so, this decision recognizes how forced motherhood completley disrupts the life of girls - in that denying reproductive healthcare states are reinforcing gender stereotypes, and intersectionally discriminating based upon gender and age. As a result, the HRC required Ecuador and Nicaragua to provide reparation to these victims and to implement prevention measures to avoid similar human rights violations.
Compiled from: Cristina Quijano Carrasco, "UN Committee Said Ecuador, Nicaragua Violated Girls' Rights," Human Rights Watch, Jan. 22, 2025.