"Let's respect women's right to make decisions over their own bodies".

As a longtime activist for human rights, how do you approach the promotion of women's widespread access to emergency contraception?

I believe that access to emergency contraception is directly related to human rights advocacy. EC has to do with the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights as human rights. All women's rights are human rights. The demand for widespread access to emergency contraception clearly expresses the need for respect for women's right to make autonomous decisions over their own bodies, to be able to decide whether or not to have children, and to enjoy sexual and reproductive health that is safe and free from violence.

The controversies that have accompanied the distribution of this method are based on the debates about when fertilization occurs and when a human life begins. The Catholic Church encourages most of these arguments that trample the free exercise of human rights. However, this situation also demands a much deeper analysis of the issue of separation of Church and State, the fact that the Church should not interfere in public policy or in the decisions that each government adopts for the public welfare. While the Catholic Church is the primary opposition to advances in sexual and reproductive health in many countries, many religions have united against the free exercise of reproductive rights as well as the full enjoyment of sexuality. For this reason, I believe that those of us who defend human rights must work hardest on these issues. There is much to be done: the repression of the churches and archaic, patriarchal sectors do not allow the development of women's freedom of expression.

Bearing in mind the situation of Colombia, where armed conflict has brought with it various forms of sexual violence against women, to what extent is emergency contraception a priority?

This method is very relevant for my country because of the situation in which we have lived for many long years. In areas of armed conflict around the world, for example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thousands of women -- even nuns -- were raped by soldiers. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church prohibited not only the use of emergency contraception, but also preached love and forgiveness for the enemy and the unborn child, regardless of the fact that it was a product of rape. In Colombia, we believe that not only should we protect the mental and physical integrity of women in the areas of armed conflict, but we should also make sure that the entire society understands that using EC is a matter of women's personal ethics. Wherever there are armed forces, there must be widespread access to EC, and the government must have a public policy that meets women's needs.

We are now seeing some gains in terms of access, despite the Catholic Church's pressure to get the registration revoked on Postinor 2, the EC product distributed by Profamilia. This attempt to revert women's rights was soundly rebuffed by the women's movement, the People's Ombudsperson, the Ministry of Health and other sectors. The continued distribution of Postinor 2 is undoubtedly a victory; otherwise, access to EC would be much more difficult and the Church's argument that EC is abortive would have gained legitimacy.

Has the armed conflict increased incidence of sexual violence?

There is abundant evidence and countless declarations referring to sexual violence and abuse endured by women in the areas of armed conflict. For example, a recent study by Profamilia revealed an increase in pregnancies and health problems in these areas. The study also reported that girls of 10, 11 or 12 years of age are becoming pregnant and aborting in totally unsafe conditions. But there is still no public recognition of this situation, nor has there been any effort to develop a policy to deal with it.

And is abortion still against the law?

Abortion is still totally illegal, despite our efforts for the implementation of regulations to allow legal abortions in situations of rape, serious fetal malformations and risk to the women's life. Nonetheless, there has been some flexibility shown in the sense that punishment may be reduced, for example, when pregnancy is the product of rape. But even in this case abortion is still a crime and punished as such. For this reason, women's groups, human rights organizations and members of parliament who are sensitive to women's rights must work together to confront these issues. This doesn't mean that they all have to approve of abortion, but the issue of maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion must be resolved. And through widespread and unrestricted access, emergency contraception can contribute to decreasing the numbers of unsafe, clandestine abortion.