Foreign Affairs committee  No. As was said earlier, banning them doesn't stop them from happening. In Latin America and in Africa, the majority of abortions, about three out of four, are unsafe. In Africa, nearly half of all abortions are performed in the most unsafe conditions. So it isn't true that there are no abortions: there are some.

Foreign Affairs committee  Recently at International Development Week, we were able to show that funding for international development is not at its highest level right now. Quite the contrary, it's at 0.32% of Canada's gross domestic product, while there is a call for this funding to be increased gradually to reach $10 billion by 2025.

Foreign Affairs committee  It should work to make community services, health care services, academic curricula here at home and legislation intersect. Legislation is already in place. I gave the example of Mali, which passed a sexual and reproductive health law in its Parliament 20 years ago. However, there's been no implementation law.

Foreign Affairs committee  The data I submitted to you came from the World Health Organization, so it's in the public domain. It shows that globally, unsafe abortions cause about 30% of all maternal deaths and that the numbers are higher in some regions. I can give you information on that.

Foreign Affairs committee  Restricting access to abortion doesn't bring down the number of abortions, it makes the abortions that are performed more unsafe. So restricting access puts women's lives at greater risk. It's a documented fact.

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure. I will do that. Finally, we recommend that Canada support legal mechanisms, which could be done through the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review, and promote recommendations to improve sexual and reproductive health. Thank you very much.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you so much for the opportunity to meet with you today. I'm speaking to you on behalf of CECI, the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation, a Canadian organization founded in 1958 and headquartered in Montreal. CECI is active in over 15 countries, in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean—mainly in Haiti—and Asia.