Ms. Alsalem aimed to answer a fundamental legal question in her report: is surrogacy, as practised today, compatible with states’ obligations towards women and children under international human rights law? 

Her response was unequivocal. She argued that the defining characteristic of surrogacy is not the conception process, but rather the contractual arrangement that separates the child from the woman who carries and gives birth to him/her. This, she contends, distinguishes it fundamentally from all other forms of reproductive assistance. She also stressed that genuine consent is impossible in arrangements where surrogate mothers, who are often driven by socio-economic vulnerability, face a profound imbalance of power with commissioning parties. 

Alsalem proposed an abolitionist framework modeled on the Nordic approach to prostitution: criminalising demand and intermediaries, while decriminalising and protecting vulnerable women. Children born through surrogacy must never face discrimination, and the birth mother should be recognised as the legal mother, with parental rights transferable only through judicial adoption. 

ECPP MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen challenged the notion that so-called “altruistic” surrogacy, conducted without direct payment, is ethically distinct and therefore acceptable. He also highlighted that under the EU’s anti-trafficking Directive (2024/1712), Member States are already required to criminalise the exploitation of surrogate motherhood, though altruistic surrogacy is not yet covered. Alsalem agreed entirely: the structural problems of power imbalance and contractual separation of mother and child do not disappear in the absence of explicit payment.

ECPP is opposed to all forms of surrogacy, as this practice reduces people to commodities, thereby violating their human dignity. In November 2025, ECPP also invited Ms. Alsalem to speak about the adverse consequences of surrogacy.  

Read Reem Alsalem’s report, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls.
Watch the full Committee on Human Rights hearing with Reem Alsalem.