José Antonio Kast's government placed on record before the United Nations Human Rights Council its view that sexual and reproductive health is not an internationally recognized right. The statement was made on October 7 in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to BioBioChile, the statement was delivered by Fernando Cabezas, minister counsellor and Chile's deputy permanent representative to the international organizations based in that city. The Council is the UN body that reviews the human rights situation in member countries and adopts resolutions on the subject.
Cabezas spoke in an explanation of vote on resolution A/HRC/63/L.34, which reaffirmed the human right to drinking water and sanitation. One of its sections linked access to water and hygiene with menstrual health and sexual and reproductive rights.
The diplomat asked that his statement be included in the records. "The Government of Chile promotes and protects the right to life," he said, in accordance with the country's domestic legal framework and international obligations.
The sources differ on a key point. According to BioBioChile, Cabezas maintained that sexual and reproductive health does not constitute an internationally recognized right. The Clinic, however, quoted the diplomat as referring to abortion as something that does not constitute an international right. In both versions, Chile argued that the legal definition depends on each state's domestic laws.
Cabezas also reaffirmed Chile's commitment to the right to water and sanitation, including menstrual hygiene for women and girls. However, he asked that resolutions keep their language strictly tied to their subject, because this would facilitate consensus.
Chile was not alone. According to The Clinic, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Paraguay also distanced themselves from the language on sexual and reproductive rights. The Argentine representative said that mixing sex with water trivializes human rights. Colombia's representative maintained that the language is not universally agreed upon.
The Global Center for Human Rights, an organization that describes itself as defending life, welcomed the coordination. According to its post on X, this represents the consolidation of a Latin American pro-life bloc at the UN.
The position contrasts with documents from the United Nations system itself. A report on Chile published in 2025 explicitly addresses women's right to sexual and reproductive health and states' obligations to protect it.
It also marks a shift from Gabriel Boric's government, which promoted those rights as part of its feminist foreign policy. Kast, for his part, has defended life from conception for years and has questioned the law allowing abortion on three grounds, although he avoided the subject during his presidential campaign and prioritized security, employment and the economy.
The statement was recorded in the proceedings of the Council's 63rd session. So far, the sources have reported no reactions from the Chilean opposition or announced changes to the law allowing abortion on three grounds.
