Professor Dainius Pras:

I thank the members for their questions and I will try to match them somehow with answers. I thank Senator Mullen for his frank statement. I have attended many international meetings and participated in discussions like this. Of course we cannot reach agreement today or in the new few days on the main issues but I stand firmly behind universal human rights principles. Among them is a woman's right to control her own body and make decisions about it. I am not here to assess the Irish position and what I have said was not about Ireland but rather the global position. In the 21st century, unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity globally. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, approximately 22 million unsafe abortions take place each year worldwide and an estimated 47,000 women die annually from complications resulting from the unsafe practices for termination of pregnancy.

I will raise the issue of violence against women. Reports on country missions indicate some hypocritical division of violence, with some so-called mild forms of violence tolerated and condoned in the name of culture or patriarchal tradition. We face some regressive tendencies in countries, including some in Europe, as in the name of so-called traditional family values, the rights of women and children are undermined. The role of a woman is reconsidered in such cases, with the idea that a woman should be needed mainly for reproduction and raising children. This is alarming in the 21st century. Deputy O'Reilly spoke on the role of the church. We should respect religion and religious feeling but in secular countries decisions should not be made from a church perspective.

Violence remains one of the major risk factors with regard to mental and physical health. There are many forms of violence, as we know. Against children there is child abuse, against women there is domestic violence and with collective violence we see terrorism, wars and youth violence. All forms of violence must be addressed not with violence, which will escalate a new cycle of violence, but with a good combination of public health and human rights approaches. I will raise the issues in my next report, which will take in bullying and different forms of violence against women and children. Even suicide is considered by the WHO as a form of violence. From a public health perspective, if people do not have enough skills to know themselves in a constructive way, they will regress to destructive or self-destructive behaviour. Suicide is not just an issue of psychiatry and it is a public health issue as well. It is considered a form of self-directed violence.

There are many good recommendations to address violence, including gender-based violence and violence against children. In the world only 53 countries - we know there are almost 200 UN member states - have banned corporal punishment of children. When I travel and ask why it has not been banned, I am told it is very good for discipline and a very healthy measure. The world still has nostalgia for a culture of violence.

I understand the issue raised by Senator Mullen is very sensitive. I understand we need to discuss this but I do not envisage agreement. Perhaps the only agreement is that both sides agree we should have as few abortions as possible.