COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sixty-second session
Item 12 (a) of the provisional agenda

INTEGRATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND THE
GENDER PERSPECTIVE:  VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Summary

            This is my third report to the Commission in my capacity as the Special Rapporteur on the violence against women, its causes and consequences, submitted pursuant to Commission resolution 2005/41.  Chapter I of the report summarizes my activities in 2005 and chapter II examines the due diligence standard as a tool for the effective implementation of women’s human rights, including the right to live a life free from violence.

            The failure of international human rights law to adequately reflect and respond to the experiences and needs of women has stimulated much debate on the mainstream application of human rights standards.  This has resulted in the transformation of the conventional understanding of human rights and the doctrine of State responsibility.

            The 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women as well as other international instruments adopted the concept of due diligence, in relation to violence against women, as a yardstick to assess whether the State has met its obligation.  Under the due diligence obligation, States have a duty to take positive action to prevent and protect women from violence, punish perpetuators of violent acts and compensate victims of violence.  However, the application of due diligence standard, to date, has tended to be State-centric and limited to responding to violence when it occurs, largely neglecting the obligation to prevent and compensate and the responsibility of non-State actors.

            The current challenge in combating violence against women is the implementation of existing human rights standards to ensure that the root causes and consequences of violence against women are tackled at all levels from the home to the transnational arena.  The multiplicity of forms of violence against women as well as the fact that this violence frequently occurs at the intersection of different types of discrimination makes the adoption of multifaceted strategies to effectively prevent and combat this violence a necessity.

CONTENTS

Introduction                                        

      I. ACTIVITIES  

     II.    THE DUE DILIGENCE STANDARD AS A TOOL
            FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE
        AGAINST WOMEN    

            A. Introduction

            B. The due diligence standard      

                    1. Historical background

                    2. Underlying principles     

                    3. Current applications

            C. Obstacles and challenges for broadening the vision
                    of rights           

                    1.  The public/private dichotomy   

                    2. Identity politics           

                    3. Global restructuring 

            D. The potential of the due diligence standard      

                    1. At the level of individual women     

                    2. At the community/family level         

                    3. At the State level           

                    4. At the transnational level            

   III. CONCLUSIONS