The Commissioner for Children, Carmen Zammit, in a statement today referred to the resolution approved by the Council of Europe calling on all member states to decriminalise abortion.

She noted that in the preamble to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration on the Rights of the Child stated that "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."

The Commissioner insisted that the unborn child should be given due consideration as an individual, and treated with the dignity and respect that is accorded to any other human being.

"It is vital that this idea of the child continues to be promoted, in order for the unborn child to fully benefit and enjoy the rights which he or she is entitled to."

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