Womens Rights are Human Rights

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Womens RightsareHuman Rights
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Historical development

• Before World War II, exclusion of women
• Since World War II, inclusion of women

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Charter-based system (art. 1(3)) till June 2006

• ECOSOC GA SG
• Commission Adoption of Investigation
• on HR treaties Special
• resolutions Representatives
• declarations
• Commission on the
• Status of Women (CSW)
• UNHCHR (UN High Commissioner on HR)
• UNHCR (UN High Commissioner on Refugees)

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Charter-based systemsince June 2006

• GA ECOSOC SG
• Human Rights CSW Investigations
• Council
• Adoption of UNHCHR Special
• Treaties Representatives
• Resolutions UNHCR
• Declarations

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Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

• Sub organ of ECOSOC (1947)
• Drafted the Womens Convention
• Co-ordinates promotion and protection of equal
  rights of women
• Gender mainstreaming

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Special Rapporteurs

• Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
  (continued)
• Special Rapporteur on Traditional Practices
  harmful for women and girls (terminated)

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Womens Convention

• Adopted by GA on 18-12-1979
• Entered into force on 03-09-1981
• At present 185 States parties
• 90 States are party to the Optional Protocol

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Characteristics

• Only for girls and women
• All human rights
• Both public and private sphere
• Special measures (art. 4)
• Abolition of stereotypes (art. 5)
• High number of reservations (art. 28)

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Omission

• No mention of gender-based violence in the
• Convention

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CEDAW

• 23 independent experts
• 1 male member (2008)
• Alternates between New York and Geneva

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Monitoring tools

• Reporting procedure
• Individual and group complaint procedure
• Inquiry procedure

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Reporting procedure

• Reports must be submitted within one year after
  becoming a Party and then every 4 years
• Reports serve as yardsticks to measure progress
• Extra reports may be requested
• Input of CSOs
• Concluding observations (since 1994)

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Reporting procedureproblems

• Enormous backlog work CEDAW which forced CEDAW to
  deal with two or more subsequent report of a
  State party at the same time
• States fail to report
• States report too late
• States do not provide the required information

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General Recommendations

• Further clarification and interpretation
• Apply to all State parties
• General Recommendation No. 19

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Optional Protocol

• Maastricht draft 1994
• Adopted by the GA on 6 October 1999
• Entered into force on 22 December 2000
• 90 State parties
• Individual and group complaints procedure
• Inquiry procedure

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Individual Complaint Procedure (optional protocol)

• Individuals may complain about violations by a
  State party who has jurisdiction over them (art.
  2 OP)
• In writing and not anonymous (art. 3 OP)
• Local remedies must have been exhausted
• (art. 4)

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Communications(situation Nov. 2008)

• 10 decisions
• 5 complaints inadmissible ratione temporis or
  failure to exhaust local remedies
• 1 complaint (against the Netherlands) admissible
  but no violation of the Convention
• 4 complaints admissible and violations of the
  Convention (Hungary (2) Austria (2))

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Inquiry Procedure (optional protocol)

• CEDAW may conduct an inquiry based on general
  reports concerning gross and systematic
  violations (CSO-reports) (art. 8 OP)
• Fact-finding on territory of State party only
  with permission of the State

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Inquiry procedure

• Mexico, Ciudad Juarez (abduction, rape and murder
  of at least 230 women)
• Information from CSOs
• October 2003
• Fact finding mission on the territory of Mexico

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Thank you