UN experts call for resistance as battle over women’s
rights intensifies
GENEVA (28 June 2017) - Women’s rights are facing an
alarming backlash in many parts of the world, and it is critically important to
press on with further setting of standards on gender equality, a group of UN
independent experts* has warned.
“The world is at a crossroads, with the very concept of
gender equality being increasingly contested in some quarters,” said the
experts.
“We feel it is time to reiterate the backlash against the
progress which has been made in promoting and protecting women’s human rights.
The polarization in the battle for rights is being demonstrated increasingly,
and regressive positions have become a serious threat to the human rights legal
framework.
“The international community needs to keep moving forward
on setting standards on gender equality to counter the alarming trends which
are undermining human rights principles and jeopardizing the gains made in
women’s rights.”
The experts restate their support for the repeal of all
laws that discriminate against women on traditional, cultural or religious
grounds and laws that exclusively or disproportionately criminalize action or
behaviour by women and girls.
They also stress women’s rights to make decisions about
their own bodies, and to receive comprehensive sexuality education so they can
enjoy their right to sexual and reproductive health.
“We need more than ever to protect the fundamental
principle that all rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,” the experts said.
“Despite this unbreakable principle, upheld in the 1993
Vienna Declaration on human rights, we are witnessing efforts by fundamentalist
groups to undermine the foundation on which the whole human rights system is
based. Some of these efforts are based
on a misuse of culture, including religion and tradition, or on claims related
to State sovereignty.
“Under the disguise of protecting the family, some States
are taking initiatives aimed at diluting human rights. We obviously recognise
that the family is the fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection, but we insist on the need to re-assert women's right to equality in
all aspects of family life and recognise that diverse forms of families exist.”
The experts stress that discriminatory practices
frequently take place within families, where, for example, women and girls may
be limited to certain roles, experience harmful practices and patriarchal
oppression, and suffer other human rights abuses including domestic violence
and sexual abuse.
The experts insist that international human rights bodies
need to guard against the backlash being witnessed, to ensure that the human
rights legal framework is not undermined.
“In the current context, where women’s rights are being
pushed back in all regions of the world, we need to continue denouncing any
anti-rights rhetoric and actions which hinder the implementation of human
rights standards, in particular regarding gender equality. Without equal rights
in the family, gender equality will never be achieved,” the experts conclude.
ENDS
*The experts: UN Working Group on discrimination against
women in law and practice; Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
Karima Bennoune; Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Ahmed
Shaheed; Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity Vitit
Muntarbhorn; and Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences Dubravka Šimonović.
The UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination
against women in law and in practice was created by the Human Rights Council in
2011 to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and
other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that
discriminate against women. The Group is also tasked with developing a dialogue
with States and other actors on laws that have a discriminatory impact where
women are concerned.
The Working Group is composed of five independent
experts: the Current Chair-Rapporteur Alda Facio (Costa Rica), Kamala
Chandrakirana (Indonesia), Frances Raday (Israel/United Kingdom), Emna Aouij
(Tunisia) and Eleonora Zielinska (Poland).
The Working Groups are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special
Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by
the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are
independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual
capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.
For inquiries and media requests, please contact:
Bernadette Arditi (+41 22 917 9159 or +41 79 752 0483 / barditi@ohchr.org) or
Hannah Wu (+41 22 917 9159 / hwu@ohchr.org ) or write to
wgdiscriminationwomen@ohchr.org
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