A woman human rights defender who raised concerns about women’s rights, including access to abortion, stood trial accused of defamation. A total ban on abortion remained in place.
Human rights defenders
In December, Vanessa Mendoza Cortés, the president of the women’s rights organization Associació Stop Violències, stood trial accused of a “crime against the prestige of the institutions”. The prosecutor’s office brought criminal charges against her in 2020 following her engagement with the CEDAW Committee when she spoke out about the harmful impact of a total ban on abortion in Andorra, and in July requested that the court fine her EUR 6,000, an additional EUR 6,000 to compensate the Andorran government and a six-month ban from exercising any public function.
In October, the UN Secretary General’s annual report included Andorra in a list of 40 countries across the world where individuals and organizations faced reprisals for cooperating with the UN.
Sexual and reproductive rights
A total ban on abortion remained in place. Those in need of an abortion, and with the means to do so, had to travel to other countries to seek essential healthcare, violating their rights and inflicting additional stress.
In September, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child called on the authorities to decriminalize abortion and ensure access for adolescent girls to safe abortion and post-abortion care services within Andorra.
Freedom of expression
Defamation laws including the criminalization of legitimate criticism of the authorities remained in force, breaching international human rights law.
Discrimination
Legislation banning the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in educational institutions remained in place, discriminating particularly against Muslim women and girls who wished to wear headscarves.