Dear Honorable:
Chair, UN Commission on the Status of Women, Ambassador Gallardo-Hernandez
Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, Rachel Mayanja
Director, UN DAW, Carolyn Hannan
Executive Director UNIFEM, Noeleen Heyzer
Secretary General, KA
GA President Jan Eliasson
Executive Director, UNFPA, Thoraya
Obaid
Greetings:
The NGO Committee on the Status of Women NY and the undersigned
organizations, are writing to you about two matters of great concern. The first issue relates to the role of
the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. The second relates to the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women--the thematic issue of violence
against women itself.
We are deeply
troubled that the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women is not
participating at the upcoming 2006 session of the United Nations Commission on
the Status of Women and that there exists no official mandate for her to
annually report to and participate in the United Nations Commission on the
Status of Women sessions.
It is clear that the work of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against
Women relates directly to the central issues before the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women.
While the Special Rapporteur’s role is to report on the current global
reality of violence against women to the Commission on Human Rights, the issues
being considered by the Special Rapporteur are of utmost importance to the work
of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The Special Rapporteur’s expertise on
the substantive thematic issues serves the United Nations Commission on the
Status of Women with crucial leadership as it undertakes its work.
In addition,
the participation of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women in the
2006 Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will
provide an important contribution to the Secretary General’s study on violence
against women as well as guidance to the United Nations Division for the
Advancement of Women which is currently conducting the study. Her participation and leadership would
also be invaluable to, “Violence against
Women: From Critical Concerns to
Collective Action,” the one day conference that the NGO Committee on the
Status of Women is holding Saturday, 4 March at the New York County Lawyer’s
Association.
Further, the regular participation of the Special Rapporteur on Violence
against Women before the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
ensures that there is a United Nations system-wide approach to the issues
relating to violence against women, advancement of women and women’s human
rights and development. At a time
of United Nations reform, the importance of institutionalizing the work of and
the close collaboration between the Office of the High Commissioner on Human
Rights and the United Nations Secretariat cannot be underscored.
We therefore urge that a mandate be issued requiring the Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women to annually report to and participate in
the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women sessions.
At the same time, we also urge the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to officially schedule Violence against Women as one of the thematic issues to be considered during the 51st Session in 2007. By taking up this issue immediately after the Secretary General’s study on violence against women which will have been released during the 2006 General Assembly session, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and all member states will show their good will in truly reaffirming their commitment to the prevention and elimination of violence against women and to the promotion of human rights of women worldwide.