A/HRC/7/3 page 11 potentially life-saving medical treatment after abortion.26 Whereas, in a case where a woman’s health was threatened if she gave birth, the European Court of Human Rights recently found a violation of the applicant’s right to her private life, it regrettably did not establish that this amounted to inhuman treatment.27 38. The Human Rights Committee has referred to the sterilization of women without their consent as a breach of ICCPR article 7.28 The Special Rapporteur also stresses that, given the particular vulnerability of women with disabilities,29 forced abortions and sterilizations of these women if they are the result of a lawful process by which decisions are made by their “legal guardians” against their will, may constitute torture or ill-treatment.30 39. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), laws or policies prescribing the use of forced abortion or forced sterilization as methods of enforcement, or as punishment for non-compliance, would be considered inherently persecutory and will therefore give rise to justified claims for refugee status in view of the serious human rights violations each individual subject to these measures would suffer.31 It is also worth noting that, in the asylum context, forced sterilization has been found to constitute 26 See concluding observations on Chile, CAT/C/CR/32/5, para. 6 (j), in which the Committee expressed concern over “Reports that life-saving medical care for women suffering complications after illegal abortions is administered only on condition that they provide information on those performing such abortions.” 27 See European Court of Human Rights, case No. 5410/03, Tysiąc v. Poland, 20 March 2007. 28 See Human Rights Committee (HRC) general comment No. 28 (2000) on article 3 (The equality of rights between men and women). See also HRC concluding observations on Slovakia, CCPR/CO/78/SVK, para. 12; on Japan, CCPR/C/79/Add.102, para. 31; and on Peru, CCPR/CO/70/PER, para. 21. See also Committee against Torture concluding observations on Peru, CAT/C/PER/CO/4, para. 23. 29 Surveys conducted in Europe, North America and Australia have shown that over half of women with disabilities have experienced physical abuse. See Human Rights Watch, Women and Girls with Disabilities, available at http://www.hrw.org/women/disabled.html. 30 See also Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, articles 12, paragraphs 4 and 23, paragraph 1 (b) and (c) and report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, E/CN.4/2005/51, paras. 9 and 12. 31 “UNHCR Note on Refugee Claims Based on Coercive Family Panning Laws and Policies”, para. 13, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=4301a9184; see also: Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations. An Inter-Agency Field Manual, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=403b6ceb4.