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March 29
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Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights called to ban sex-selective abortions, saying that this deeply discriminatory practice springs from the disadvantaged status of women in society.

“In Council of Europe member states, skewed sex ratios at birth have been documented in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, but also in some countries in the Balkans, most commonly in Albania and to a lesser extent Montenegro, Kosovo, and parts of ‘the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’,” reads the article published by Nils Muižnieks.

He quoted the report by UNFPA for 2013 which indicated that male/female ratio is 114-115/100 in Armenia and 116/100 in Azerbaijan.

In the vast majority of Council of Europe member states, where abortion is legal, this includes an adequate framework that reconciles the possibility to have an abortion with the fight against discrimination.

“We need strong deterrents to eliminate this practice, which also reinforces and perpetuates a climate of violence against women. Sex-selective abortions must be criminalized,” he said.

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