Family Court 'unsafe' and 'brutal': UN human rights committee calls for inquiry

Juliet Palmer — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 07:54:50 +0000

In the face of accusations that the Family Court system is "broken" and "brutal", the Government has rejected pleas for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the court system by advocates who say urgent reform is needed.

Their view is backed by a United Nations women's rights committee which, in 2018, recommended that New Zealand establish a commission of inquiry and asked for a progress report by 2020.

The 23-strong UN committee overseeing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) treaty wanted New Zealand to address "the root causes of the drawbacks for women, the obstruction of justice for women and the hindrances to their safety inherent in the family court system". Read more

Family Court ‘unsafe' and ‘brutal': UN human rights committee calls for inquiry

Down Syndrome woman's passionate UN speech

Juliet Palmer — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 08:09:57 +0000

A woman with Down Syndrome and autism received a five minute standing ovation after her passionate right to life speech to the Human Rights Committee at the United Nations (U.N).

Charlotte (Charlie) Helene Fien, who is 21, wrote her speech after watching a television documentary called 'A world without Down Syndrome'.

The documentary discussed a new test that could be used to abort all babies with Down Syndrome.

"Please do not try to kill us all off. Do not allow this test," Fien said to the UN.

"If you do allow it you are no better than the Nazis who killed 200,000 disabled people. I have a right to live and so do other people like me.

"The goal is to eradicate Down Syndrome in future. This makes me angry and very sad. I have Down syndrome. I am not suffering. I am not ill.

"None of my friends who have Down Syndrome are suffering either. We all live happy lives. We go out to the pub, have dinner parties at my friend Aimee's house, have boyfriends and have plans and goals for the future!

"We just have an extra chromosome, but we are still human beings. We are human beings!

"For those who know and love somebody with the Syndrome, the plan to eradicate Down Syndrome people is is beyond appalling and has the bitter taste of Nazi eugenics."

Today, the same thing is happening, Fien said.

"In Iceland, Denmark and China not a single baby with Down Syndrome has been born for seven years."

At present, 90 per cent of all Down Syndrome pregnancies in the UK currently end in abortion.

Fien's mother says her daughter developed normally, despite gloomy predictions from doctors when she was born.

She says Fien walked at 15 months, was toilet-trained before either of he brothers (who don't have Down Syndrome), is bilingual in French and English and can read and write in both languages. Fien's father is French and her mother is English.

Source

Down Syndrome woman's passionate UN speech

UN Human Rights Committee - CathNews New Zealand

Family Court 'unsafe' and 'brutal': UN human rights committee calls for inquiry

Down Syndrome woman's passionate UN speech