Stop “pressuring eSwatini to legalize abortion”, Catholic Activists Petition Advocacy Body

SAFAIDS Kingdom of Eswatini reportedly held a webinar to promote the safe termination of pregnancies on the International Safe Abortion Day that is marked on September 28.

The Catholic activists say the promotion of abortion as a human right undermines the General Assembly's consensus, established at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994.

In the 1994 ICPD, it was agreed upon that abortion should be decided in national legislation without outside interference. 

“Abortion is Not an international human right,” the Catholic activists say.

Instead of championing abortion rights, CitizenGo officials say SAFAIDS “should help women avoid abortion and ensure the well-being of mothers and their children before and after birth.”

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In their petition to SAFAIDS Director, officials of the African branch of the International Catholic activist organization say they are also “alarmed by the increasing trend aiming to undermine the institution of marriage and the family by promoting the so-called new rights, concepts and standards which are contrary to the norm and are not even found in any international human rights instruments.”

They further express concern about “the tendencies of foreign donors like SAFAIDS to promote such when dangling the ‘dollar carrot’ in front of government and non-government officials. The most common threat used is to bribe them to accept things like homosexuality, abortion and prostitution as ‘human rights’”.

“We therefore call upon the SAFAIDS and their counterparts to respect the national sovereignty, cultural and religious values of Emaswati and desist forthwith from promoting such behaviors,” CitizenGo Africa officials say in their petition.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.