Transcript Equality Now: Eliminating Discrimination Against Women

Equality Now: Eliminating discrimination against women
through the use of the international human rights system
Overview of the international treaty body
system
• The international human rights legal system began with
the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR)in 1948
• UDHR + the International Convenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) = the
International Bill of Human Rights
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is also
considered one of the core UN treaties – known as the Bill
of Women’s Rights
Overview of treaty bodies (cont).
•
8 human rights treaty bodies, committees of experts that monitor the
implementation of the core UN treaties:
– International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
– International Covenant on Economic, Social, Cultural Rights
– International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination
– Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
– Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
– Convention on the Rights of the Child
– International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families
– International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
•
Functions of the committees include:
- examining States Parties’ reports and NGO shadow reports;
- having a dialogue with States Parties on fulfilling their obligations under
the treaties and issuing concluding observations
- issuing general recommendations or comments about specific articles
FUNCTIONAL COMMISSIONS OF UN
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC)
• 9 functional commissions assist ECOSOC in monitoring
implementation of various UN goals:
– Statistical Commission
– Commission on Population and Development
– Commission for Social Development
– Commission on the Status of Women
– Commission on Narcotic Drugs
– Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
– Commission on Science and Technology for Development
– Commission on Sustainable Development
– United Nations Forum on Forests
SPECIAL MECHANISMS OF THE HUMAN
RIGHTS COUNCIL
• Special Procedures of the HRC are:
– an individual –a special rapporteur or representative or
independent expert; or
– a working group
• Special Procedure’s address:
- specific country human rights situations;
- or global thematic human rights issues
• 30+ thematic mandates and 8 country mandates.
• All report to the Human Rights Council on their findings
and recommendations.
THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM and MONITORING
WOMEN’S RIGHTS - Overview
•
The CEDAW Committee, made up
of 23 experts, is the treaty-based
body dealing with women’s rights
violations under The Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW).
•
The Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW) is a functional
commission of the UN Economic
and Social Council and principal
global policy-making body on
gender equality and advancement
of women with 46 Member States
which meet annually for 10 days.
•
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The Special Rapporteur on
Violence Against Women is one of
over 30 thematic “Special
Procedures” of the UN Human
Rights Council, a charter-based body
of the UN. She transmits urgent
appeals and communications to
States regarding alleged cases of
violence against women,
undertakes fact-finding country
visits and submits annual thematic
reports.
The new HRC Working Group on
the elimination of discrimination
against women in law and in
practice, made up of 5 regional
reps, will will work with States to
end legal discrimination.
THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS
OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)
• Known as the international Bill of Women’s Rights
• Ratified by 186 countries – NOT including Iran, Somalia, Sudan,
the United States and 3 small Pacific Island nations (Nauru,
Palau and Tonga).
• The Convention has 16 substantive articles that cover a wide
range of women’s rights including in education, employment,
marriage and family life, political and public life, and equality
before the law etc.
• No specific article on violence but the CEDAW Committee’s
General Recommendation No. 19, Violence Against Women,
covers this in stating, “Gender-based violence may breach
specific provisions of the Convention, regardless of whether
those provisions expressly mention violence.”
CEDAW CONTINUED - Monitoring by the
CEDAW Committee
Two main ways of monitoring by the Committee:
•
State party reports:
– States parties have to submit reports to the Committee every four years
– The Committee questions each State party about their implementation of
the Convention at one of their tri-annual sessions
– Committee issues concluding comments to the State party
– NGOs can submit shadow reports to the Committee to encourage the
Committee to ask relevant questions and issue recommendations.
•
Optional Protocol to CEDAW (ratified by 100 countries): the Committee can
investigate mass violations under its inquiry procedure and take individual
complaints under its complaints procedure.
Bringing an issue to the CEDAW Committee
through shadow reports – example of Japan
• Japan is considered at CEDAW Committee’s July 2009 session
• Equality Now submits “shadow” report on rape simulator video
games in Japan to the CEDAW Committee based on our Women’s
Action and makes oral statement at the session
• Committee expresses concern to the government about these
games and the “normalization of sexual violence”
• Committee issues concluding observations- “The Committee
strongly urges the State party to ban the sale of video games or
cartoons involving rape and sexual violence against women
which normalize and promote sexual violence against women
and girls. The Committee also recommends that, as indicated in
the delegation’s oral assurance during the constructive dialogue,
the State party include this issue in its revision of the Act
Banning Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.”
JAPAN CONTINUED
• Equality Now issues updated Women’s Action
using CEDAW Committee’s comments to pressure
Japan to ban these games outright.
• Japan announces that the gaming industry has
issued self regulation guidelines and that it shall
be monitoring these.
THE OP COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE –
EXAMPLE OF A.T. V. HUNGARY
• The Optional Protocol provides opportunity for specific redress in
individual cases when a State violates women’s rights
• A.T. v. Hungary, Communication No. 2/2003 (Domestic Violence)
Facts
• The plaintiff was subjected to ongoing severe domestic violence at the
hand of her husband. She was unable to go to a shelter because none
was equipped to take in her fully disabled child.
• There were no protection orders or retaining orders available under
Hungarian law. A.T. also requested assistance from the child protection
authorities but the authorities felt unable to do anything in such
situation.
CEDAW OP COMPLAINT CONT.
Findings
• The Committee found that Hungary failed in its duty to provide A.T.
with effective protection from the serious risk to her physical integrity,
health and life from her former husband thereby violating the
Convention.
Recommendations
• Individual: Take immediate and effective measures to guarantee the
physical and mental integrity of A.T. and her family; ensure that A.T. is
given a safe home in which to live with her children, receives child
support, legal assistance and reparation.
• General: respect and fulfil women’s human rights; promptly implement
national strategy for prevention and effective treatment of violence,
training; specific law prohibiting domestic violence; provide shelters,
promptly investigate and bring offenders to justice; safe and prompt
access to justice including free legal aid, rehabilitation programmes.
BRINGING AN ISSUE TO CEDAW UNDER THE
OP INQUIRY PROCEDURE -- MEXICO
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Inquiry procedure of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW – Committee may initiate
inquiries into situations of “grave or systematic violations” of women’s rights
where the State concerned has accepted the OP
2002 - Equality Now and partners request CEDAW Committee undertake an
inquiry on hundreds of murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and
impunity for officials
2003 CEDAW Committee visit and inquire into the murders – the first use of
the Optional Protocol inquiry mechanism
2005 report issued by the CEDAW Committee notes that: “[v]iolence against
women has…taken root [in Ciudad Juárez] and has developed specific
characteristics marked by hatred and misogyny.” Also found crimes were
gender-based and suggested this is why they have been tolerated for years by
the authorities with total indifference. Committee makes 14 recommendations
to Mexico
Equality Now issues Women’s Action in 2006 targeting government officials,
citing their obligations under CEDAW
THE UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
• CSW issues agreed conclusions on priority themes (e.g. violence
against women) set for each year
- Agreed conclusions can become political issues, e.g. no agreed
conclusion adopted on violence against women in 2003
• CSW adopts a number of resolutions on a range of women’s issues
- Equality Now got Member States to adopt resolutions in 2005
and 2006 to consider establishing a new special mechanism on
discriminatory laws
• The final annual report of the Commission is submitted to the
Economic and Social Council for adoption. This report can be a further
tool for NGOs.
Using the CSW to promote advocacy on
women’s rights issues
• CSW sessions are an opportunity for NGOs all over the
world to conduct events, meet and network and
collectively promote an agenda by influencing the agreed
conclusions that are adopted by CSW at the end of each
session. These can be used to hold governments
accountable.
• In 2010 - 3,440 representatives from 463 NGOs from
138 countries attended CSW.
• Key themes of CSW are chosen each year – e.g.
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, violence
against women, sharing of responsibilities between men
and women, access to media etc.
CSW COMMUNICATIONS PROCEDURE
• CSW communications must allege systematic and pervasive
violations of women’s rights
• Equality Now submits communications on alleged violations of
human rights affecting the status of women in any country in the
world, which are forwarded to the gov’ts concerned; their
response to CSW is confidential – even just having the issue
raised by CSW puts pressure on national governments to
address it.
– In 2010 on discriminatory laws in 36 countries in our Beijing
+15 report, as well as on several other countries where
Equality Now has Actions
CSW COMMUNICATIONS CONT.
- In 2009 on a case of forced divorce in Saudi Arabia highlighted in
our Women’s Action. In February 2010, Supreme Judiciary Council
overturns the forced divorce.
– In 2004, Equality Now submits communications on all countries in
our Bejing +10 report --> 2005 CSW annual report, CSW working
group states it was “concerned about… (d) The continued existence
of legislation or practices in many areas either intended to or with
the effect of discriminating against women, despite the
international obligations and commitments of States and their
constitutional provisions to outlaw such discrimination.”
 Governments may take more notice of Equality Now’s info if it comes
from UN CSW
THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN and others
• Special mechanisms influence an issue by issuing reports
– Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women’s 1996
thematic report on domestic violence with model laws;
– SR’s on VAW’s 2006 report on due diligence standard as a
tool for the elimination of violence against women
• Special mechanisms also reports on incidents – based on
communications from groups
• Other rapporteurs relating to women’s rights – Special
Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and
children
• Equality Now submitted memo to previous SR on VAW about
issues such as lack of access to justice for victims of sex
discrimination and sexual harassment with the UN
THE NEW WORKING GROUP ON DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST WOMEN IN LAW AND IN PRACTICE
• Equality Now and partners advocate for October 2010 HRC resolution
establishing 3 year working group
– five independent experts
– balanced geographical representation
– election in March 2011
• Main tasks of the working group will be:
– To develop a dialogue with States and others on best practices related
to the elimination of laws that are de jure or de facto discriminatory and
prepare a compendium of best practices;
– To undertake a study on the ways and means in which the working
group can cooperate with States to fulfil their commitments to eliminate
discrimination against women in law and in practice;
– To make recommendations on the improvement of legislation and the
implementation of the law to contribute to MDG 3
THE NEW WORKING GRP CONTINUED
– To submit an annual report to the Council on the issue of
discrimination against women in law and in practice, and on good
practices in eliminating such discrimination
 Potential of the new Working Group:
– Convince Member States to repeal all de jure discriminatory laws,
which they should have done by 2005 and end de facto
discrimination by finding best practice examples
– Identify real obstacles and challenges to the above and ways to
overcome them
CONCLUSION
• Knowledge of and expertise in international laws, policies and
mechanisms can be useful in promoting women’s rights at the
national level – as well as for influencing international policy on
the issue.
• Getting good language in international documents/resolutions is
critical and facilitates advocacy at the national level.
• Advocacy at the international level can be conducted through
various UN monitoring venues – treaty bodies, functional
commissions, special mechanisms are some venues.