UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS THAT PROTECT WOMEN’S RIGHTS

The United Nations has made clear that violence against women is a violation of basic human rights. The United Nations has promulgated treaties, recommendations and declarations that directly address the rights of women and girls and outline government obligations to protect these rights. The fundamental documents outlining these rights are summarized below. All UN basic human rights documents apply without regard to sex or age, meaning their provisions apply equally to women and men, as well as to girls and boys. Finally, women are disproportionately victims of certain specific human rights violations, such as trafficking and sexual assault during armed conflict. The United Nations addresses such violations through thematic human rights documents.

The UN also reiterates the prohibition against gender-based violence within the texts of world conference documents. Since the 1995 Fourth World Conference in Beijing, such conference documents consistently include strong language prohibiting gender-based violence and calling upon participating States to combat all forms of violence against women and girls. The statements included in the conference documents represent the international consensus on violence against women.

Contents:

The Rights of Women and Girls

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) is the UN treaty that outlines women’s basic right to equality. The Convention entered into force in 1981. The Convention requires states parties to combat sex-based discrimination through legislation, education and elimination of prejudices and practices that are based on stereotyped roles. The Convention also requires states parties to submit periodic reports, reviewed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Optional Protocol to CEDAW

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination does not include a right of petition, and therefore, alone, has no enforcement mechanism. In 2000, however, an Optional Protocol to CEDAW entered into force. The Optional Protocol creates a mechanism by which individual citizens or groups in a State party, which has ratified the Protocol, may submit complaints to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Committee). After having received a communication, the Committee has the authority to request the State Party to adopt provisional measures to protect the victim of a human rights abuse from further harm.

General Recommendation 19

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination does not directly address violence against women. In 1992, the Committee adopted General Recommendation 19 which explains that the prohibition of gender-based discrimination includes violence. The Committee stated, “violence that is directed at a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately [is discrimination]. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty . . .” Violence against women is an internationally recognized human rights violation when either a public official or a private person commits the violence. State parties to CEDAW must take all the necessary measures to eliminate violence, including legal sanctions, civil remedies, preventative measures, (such as public information and education campaigns) and protective measures (such as support services for victims).

Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was adopted by UN General Assembly resolution in 1993. While the Declaration does not create legally binding obligations for States, it nevertheless represents a clear consensus that “violence against women constitutes a violation of the rights and fundamental freedoms of women and impairs or nullifies their enjoyment of those rights and freedoms . . .” The Declaration explains that violence against women is “a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.” Although the Declaration describes violence as rooted in historical power inequalities between men and women, it still makes clear that violence against women violates existing universal human rights norms. Significantly, the Declaration’s definition of violence is expansive, including physical, sexual or psychological harm as well as threats and coercion, occurring in both public and private spheres. Finally, the Declaration emphasizes the obligation of the State to ensure prevention, investigation and punishment of all perpetrators, minimizing the distinction between public and private actors.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. The Platform for Action reaffirms the fundamental principal that the rights of women and girls are an “inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights.” The Platform for Action also calls upon governments to take action to address several critical areas of concern, among them violence against women. The Platform for Action states, “Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace. Violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in the case of violence against women is a matter of concern to all States and should be addressed. . . . In all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture. The low social and economic status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of violence against women.”

The definition of violence, contained in the Platform for Action, is broad, including “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”

The Beijing Platform for Action also requires all governments to develop strategies or national plans of action to implement the Platform locally. The National Plans of Action for each country outline specific activities that the national governments will undertake to improve the situation of women, including addressing violence against women.

Basic Human Rights Documents

Equality on the basis of sex is a fundamental principle of international human rights law. All United Nations treaties guarantee the same rights to women as men. The core documents which make up the International Bill of Human Rights are: the human rights provisions of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two international covenants on human rights, which address both civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) entered into force in 1976 and states that human rights contained in the document pertain to women and men equally. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees women the right to life, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to security of person. The treaty also sets forth a woman’s right to a legal remedy if her human rights are violated. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also creates the UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance with the treaty and which considers complaints of human rights violations submitted by individuals.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) entered into force in 1976 and provides such basic guarantees as the right to an adequate standard of living (including food, clothing and housing), the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to education and the equal opportunity to earn a living by work. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights establishes the Economic and Social Council, (ECOSOC) which monitors compliance with the covenant and can submit recommendations to the Commission on Human Rights. Together, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights create a framework for a woman’s full enjoyment of her rights.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) entered into force in 1987 and prohibits torture. The convention defines torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally inflicted on a person . . . for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” Women’s rights advocates have argued that violence against women, such as domestic violence, contravenes the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment when the government fails to prevent such violence from taking place and does not prosecute or punish perpetrators of the violence. The convention also creates the Committee Against Torture, a UN monitoring body that also receives complaints from private individuals.

The United Nations has promulgated treaties that address the rights of specific members of society, such as children.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) entered into force in 1990 and defines a child as anyone below the age of eighteen. Thus, through the Convention on the Rights of the Child, girls are also protected from all forms of violence, such as sexual abuse and trafficking. Girls are also granted the right to the highest attainable standard of health, a standard of living adequate for full development and equal education. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, monitors State party compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography

In 2002, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography entered into force. The Optional Protocol addresses the acts that constitute trafficking in children for the purpose of sexual exploitation and calls upon State parties to protect the rights and interests of child victims, through prosecution and support services and educational programs. State parties to the Optional Protocol are also obliged to submit reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child outlining the measures taken to implement the protocol.

Thematic Human Rights Documents

Some human rights violations, such as trafficking in human beings, labor rights abuses and the use of rape as a war crime, disproportionately affect women. The United Nations treaties and conventions drafted by specialized agencies address such abuses of human rights

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children

In November 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children which supplements the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The purpose of the Protocol is to prevent and combat trafficking and to facilitate international cooperation against trafficking. The Protocol requires State parties to both punish traffickers and also to assist trafficked persons through the provision of social services, such as housing, medical care and legal services and counseling. The Protocol calls upon national governments to cooperate to combat trafficking, through information sharing and training of both law enforcement and providers of services for victims. The Protocol has not yet entered into force.

ILO C29 Forced Labor Convention

The International Labor Organization adopted the Forced Labor Convention (C29) in 1930. Under Convention 29, State parties undertake to eliminate forced or compulsory labor in all forms, which could be extended to forced employment in the context of trafficking. Under the convention, “forced or compulsory labor” is defined as “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”

ILO C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention

In 1958, the International Labor Organization adopted the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (C111), which prohibits discrimination based on “any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation.” Under Convention 111, State Parties are required to undertake a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, in order to eliminate discrimination.

Rome Statute -International Criminal Court

Beginning in the early 1990’s, and in reaction to the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Law Commission began work on the creation of a permanent international criminal court. In 1994, the International Law Commission submitted a draft statute for an international criminal court to the UN General Assembly. In 1998, the UN General Assembly convened a conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court in Rome, Italy in order to "finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court.”

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted and opened for signature on July 17, 1998. The Rome Statute establishes a permanent International Criminal Court with jurisdiction over individuals limited to the “most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.” The Rome Statute defines these serious crimes as “the crime of genocide; crimes against humanity; war crimes; and the crime of aggression.” Violence that disproportionately affects women is included as crimes against humanity. Article 7 (g) of the Rome Statute states “crime against humanity means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: . . . Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity.” The Rome Statute entered into force on July 1, 2002

Conference Documents

The United Nations has integrated language that condemns violence against women into many world conference documents. Since the Fourth World Conference on Women, in 1995, the conference documents make clear that there is an international consensus that governments and society at large must work to eliminate gender-based violence. The main conference documents that address violence against women, since 1993 to the present, are excerpted below.

1993 World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna
Vienna Declaration and Program of Action

“Gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation, including those resulting from cultural prejudice and international trafficking, are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person, and must be eliminated. This can be achieved by legal measures and through national action and international cooperation in such fields as economic and social development, education, safe maternity and health care, and social support…” (para. 18)

“In particular, the World Conference on Human Rights stresses the importance of working towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life… “ (para. 38)

1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo
Program of Action

“Countries should take full measures to eliminate all forms of exploitation, abuse, harassment and violence against women, adolescents and children. This implies both preventive actions and rehabilitation of victims. Countries should prohibit degrading practices, such as trafficking in women, adolescents and children and exploitation through prostitution, and pay special attention to protecting the rights and safety of those who suffer from these crimes and those in potentially exploitable situations, such as migrant women, women in domestic service and schoolgirls. In this regard, international safeguards and mechanisms for cooperation should be put in place to ensure that these measures are implemented.” (para. 4.9)

“Active and open discussion of the need to protect women, youth and children from any abuse, including sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking and violence, must be encouraged and supported by educational programs at both national and community levels. Governments should set the necessary conditions and procedures to encourage victims to report violations of their rights. Laws addressing those concerns should be enacted where they do not exist, made explicit, strengthened and enforced, and appropriate rehabilitation services provided.” (para. 7.39)

1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

“Sexual and gender-based violence, including physical and psychological abuse, trafficking in women and girls, and other forms of abuse and sexual exploitation place girls and women at high risk of physical and mental trauma, disease and unwanted pregnancy. Such situations often deter women from using health and other services.” (para. 99)

“Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace. Violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in the case of violence against women is a matter of concern to all States and should be addressed. Knowledge about its causes and consequences, as well as its incidence and measures to combat it, have been greatly expanded since the Nairobi Conference. In all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture. The low social and economic status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of violence against women.” (para. 112)

“The term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

Accordingly, violence against women encompasses but is not limited to the following:

(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;

(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.” (para. 113)

“Violence against women is a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of women's full advancement. Violence against women throughout the life cycle derives essentially from cultural patterns, in particular the harmful effects of certain traditional or customary practices and all acts of extremism linked to race, sex, language or religion that perpetuate the lower status accorded to women in the family, the workplace, the community and society. Violence against women is exacerbated by social pressures, notably the shame of denouncing certain acts that have been perpetrated against women; women's lack of access to legal information, aid or protection; the lack of laws that effectively prohibit violence against women; failure to reform existing laws; inadequate efforts on the part of public authorities to promote awareness of and enforce existing laws; and the absence of educational and other means to address the causes and consequences of violence. Images in the media of violence against women, in particular those that depict rape or sexual slavery as well as the use of women and girls as sex objects, including pornography, are factors contributing to the continued prevalence of such violence, adversely influencing the community at large, in particular children and young people.” (para. 118)

“Strategic Objective D.1. Take integrated measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women.”

1995 World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen
Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development, Commitments

“Take effective measures, including through the enactment and enforcement of laws, and implement policies to combat and eliminate all forms of discrimination, exploitation, abuse and violence against women and girl children, in accordance with relevant international instruments and declarations . . .” (Commitment 5 (h))

1996 Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul
Habitat Agenda

“To provide for the shelter needs of those belonging to vulnerable groups, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in cooperation with all interested parties, as appropriate, should: . . . [s]trive to provide special living facilities and shelter solutions for people belonging to vulnerable groups, as appropriate, such as shelters for women subjected to violence . . .” (Chapter IV (B)(4) 97)

1999 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) + 5, Cairo
Program for Action

“Governments should give priority to developing programs and policies that foster norms and attitudes of zero tolerance for harmful and discriminatory attitudes, including son preference, which can result in harmful and unethical practices such as prenatal sex selection, discrimination and violence against the girl child and all forms of violence against women, including female genital mutilation, rape, incest, trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation. This entails developing an integrated approach that addresses the need for widespread social, cultural and economic change, in addition to legal reforms.” (para. 48)

Beijing + 5: Special Session on “Women: 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century”
Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly

“Obstacles. Women continue to be victims of various forms of violence. Inadequate understanding of the root causes of all forms of violence against women and girls hinders efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls. There is a lack of comprehensive programs dealing with the perpetrators, including programs, where appropriate, which would enable them to solve problems without violence. Inadequate data on violence further impedes informed policy-making and analysis. Sociocultural attitudes which are discriminatory and economic inequalities reinforce women’s subordinate place in society. This makes women and girls vulnerable to many forms of violence, such as physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation. In many countries, a coordinated multidisciplinary approach to responding to violence which includes the health system, workplaces, the media, the education system, as well as the justice system, is still limited. Domestic violence, including sexual violence in marriage, is still treated as a private matter in some countries. Insufficient awareness of the consequences of domestic violence, how to prevent it and the rights of victims still exists. Although improving, the legal and legislative measures, especially in the criminal justice area, to eliminate different forms of violence against women and children, including domestic violence and child pornography, are weak in many countries. Prevention strategies also remain fragmented and reactive and there is a lack of programs on these issues…” (para. 14)

“(a) As a matter of priority, review and revise legislation, were appropriate, with a view to introducing effective legislation, including on violence against women, and take other necessary measures to ensure that all women and girls are protected against all forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence, and are provided recourse to justice;

(b) Prosecute the perpetrators of all forms of violence against women and girls and sentence them appropriately, and introduce actions aimed at helping and motivating perpetrators to break the cycle of violence and take measures to provide avenues for redress to victims;

(c) Treat all forms of violence against women and girls of all ages as a criminal offence punishable by law, including violence based on all forms of discrimination;

(d) Establish legislation and/or strengthen appropriate mechanisms to handle criminal matters relating to all forms of domestic violence, including marital rape and sexual abuse of women and girls, and ensure that such cases are brought to justice swiftly . . . “ (para. 69)

2000 World Summit for Social Development +5
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, Further Initiatives for Social Development

“Ensure continued and intensified action to combat all forms of gender-based violence, and recognize that violence against women, whether in private or public life, both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.” (Commitment 4, para 61)

2000 Millennium Summit
United Nations Millennium Declaration

“We resolve. . . to combat all forms of violence against women and to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.” (para. 25)

2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban
Durban Declaration and Program of Action

“Program of Action, Indigenous peoples, 18. . . . Requests States to adopt public policies and give impetus to programs on behalf of and in concert with indigenous women and girls, with a view to promoting their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights; to putting an end to their situation of disadvantage for reasons of gender and ethnicity; to dealing with urgent problems affecting them in regard to education, their physical and mental health, economic life and in the matter of violence against them, including domestic violence; and to eliminating the situation of aggravated discrimination suffered by indigenous women and girls on multiple grounds of racism and gender discrimination;

Program of Action, Migrants, 30 (h) Urges States: . . . To consider adopting and implementing immigration policies and programs that would enable immigrants, in particular women and children who are victims of spousal or domestic violence, to free themselves from abusive relationships;

Program of Action, Refugees, 36 Urges States to take effective steps to protect refugee and internally displaced women and girls from violence, to investigate any such violations and to bring those responsible to justice, in collaboration, when appropriate, with the relevant and competent organizations;

Program of Action, Other Victims, 54 (a) Urges States: . . . To recognize that sexual violence which has been systematically used as a weapon of war, sometimes with the acquiescence or at the instigation of the State, is a serious violation of international humanitarian law that, in defined circumstances, constitutes a crime against humanity and/or a war crime, and that the intersection of discrimination on grounds of race and gender makes women and girls particularly vulnerable to this type of violence, which is often related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

(b) To end impunity and prosecute those responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including crimes related to sexual and other gender-based violence against women and girls, as well as to ensure that persons in authority who are responsible for such crimes, including by committing, ordering, soliciting, inducing, aiding in, abetting, assisting or in any other way contributing to their commission or attempted commission, are identified, investigated, prosecuted and punished . . .”

2002 United Nations Special Session on Children
A World Fit for Children, Plan of Action