Our thanks to Manuel for this. The start of the piece:

GENEVA (21 February 2023) – UN experts today welcomed the adoption of new comprehensive anti-discrimination and feminist legislation in Spain, which guarantees and facilitates access to sexual and reproductive rights in the country.

The experts said the new overarching measures ensure safe and accessible abortions provided by national health agencies; eliminate so-called “reflection processes” arbitrarily imposed on women; ensure access of all women (including lesbian, bisexual and unmarried women) to assisted reproduction techniques; and introduce menstrual leave as the first European country to do so.

The legislation also makes comprehensive sexual education a part of all mandatory years of schooling, and further protects the bodily autonomy of young women in particular.

“The history of feminism is a story of persistence in the face of social injustice,” the experts said. Described as a fundamental feminist achievement, the legislation was adopted as part of an ambitious agenda for social progress.

The ‘experts’ (check out the gender balance):

Ms. Dorothy Estrada-Tanck (Chair), Ms. Ivana Radačić (Vice-Chair), Ms. Elizabeth Broderick, Ms. Meskerem Geset Techane and Ms. Melissa Upreti, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; Ms. Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Ms. Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Ms. Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

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