Women's Rights are Human Rights - A review of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR, 2000, 36 p.): EDITORIAL

Women's Rights are Human Rights - A review of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR, 2000, 36 p.)

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EDITORIAL - Foreword by the High Commissioner

INTRODUCTION

(introduction...)

Notes

FOCUS

Gender Mainstreaming and Human Rights of Women: OHCHR Policy Statement

Trafficking and the Global Sex Industry: A Human Rights Framework

OHCHR's Anti-trafficking programme

Women's enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights

Traditional practices affecting the health of women and the girl-child

Reproductive rights and human rights

SPECIALIZED MECHANISMS AND TREATY BODIES

Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

Integrating the Gender Perspective into the Work of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies

New General Comment of the Human Rights Committee Concerning Gender Equality1

Gender Related Dimensions of Racial Discrimination: General Recommendation1

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 10 December 1999

Joint statement by the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, Ms. Angela E.V. King, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, at the occasion of the opening for signature of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - 10 December 1999

Le Projet de Protocole a la Charte Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples relatif aux Droits de la Femme en Afrique

FROM THE FIELD

Oficina de la Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos en El Salvador

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala

Office of the High Commissioner in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Office of the High Commissioner in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem

List of publications by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on gender and human rights of women

Back Cover

EDITORIAL - Foreword by the High Commissioner

Women's equal dignity and human rights as full human beings are enshrined in the basic instruments of today's international community. From the Charter of the United Nations' endorsement of the equal rights of men and women, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the subsequent international treaties and declarations, the rights of women are central to our vision of a democratic society.

Figure

But the fine words of these documents and of the Vienna Declaration in 1993 and the declaration of Beijing in 1995 stand in sharp contrast to the daily reality of life for millions of women. Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty, 70 per cent are women; the majority of the world's refugees are women; female illiteracy is invariably higher than male illiteracy. Women and girl-children are treated as commodities in cross-border prostitution rackets and the pornography industry. Millions of girls are still subject to genital mutilation, while women in every country are regular victims of domestic violence. In many countries, women lack access to reproductive health care and every day women are targeted in armed conflicts. Women's economic, social and cultural rights continue to be neglected.

There can be no peace, security or sustainable economic development in societies which deny human rights, including the human rights of women. I believe this is gradually being understood by governments and I welcome their willingness to discuss with the United Nations the application of international instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

Fighting for women's human rights is a positive struggle which recognizes the quality of a woman's contribution in every aspect of the community: in politics, industry, commerce, education, academia, agriculture and the home. Women are also the true peacemakers and the peace-builders - at the negotiating table and in war-torn communities everywhere.

Practical and creative measures to realize the human rights of women - civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development - are a priority for my Office and for every part of the United Nations system. As the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I am committed to work in partnership with all United Nations agencies and programmes, governments, regional organizations, academic institutions, individuals and the NGO community, but most specially with women throughout the world to promote and protect women's rights and to translate these rights into a better quality of life for all.

Mary Robinson
High Commissioner for Human Rights