WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

http://www.ishr.ch/hrm/council/dailyupdates/session_006/28_september_2007.pdf

Human Rights Council Monitor - International Service for Human Rights

UN Human Rights Council 6th Session - September 28, 2007

"The Council also deferred consideration of the Draft Resolution on Integrating the Human Rights of Women and a Gender Perspective Throughout the UN System, until its December 2007 Session.

 

_________________________________________________________________________

 

DRAFT - DRAFT - DRAFT - DRAFT

 

UNITED
NATIONS

 

A

General Assembly

Distr.

LIMITED

A/HRC/6/L.32

25 September 2007

Original:  ENGLISH


HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Sixth session

Agenda item 8

FOLLOW-UP TO AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE VIENNA DECLARATION

 AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION

 

Albania*, Andorra*, Australia*,Austria*, Belarus*, Belgium*, Bolivia, Burkina Faso*, Cameroon, Canada, Chile*, Congo*, Croatia*, Cyprus*, Ecuador, Estonia*,

Greece*, Guatemala, Hungary*, Italy, Kenya*, Liechtenstein*, Luxembourg*,

Mexico, New Zealand*, Nicaragua, Norway*, Peru, Portugal*, Republic of Korea,

Republic of Panama*, San Marino*, Slovenia, Spain*, Switzerland, Tanzania*,

Timor-Leste*, Turkey*, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

and Uruguay: draft resolution

 

6/…  Integrating the human rights of women and a gender perspective

 throughout the United Nations system

 

          The Human Rights Council,

           

Reaffirming that the equal rights of women and men are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

__________________________

* Non-members of the Human Rights Council

Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other international human rights instruments,

 

     Recalling all previous resolutions on this subject, including E/CN.4/2005/42, from the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights, and the Economic and Social Council Resolutions E/2006/36 and  E/2007/L.28 on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system,

 

Recalling also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted in June 1993 by the World Conference on Human Rights (A/CONF.157/23), which affirms that the human rights of women and of the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights and calls for action to integrate the equal status and human rights of women into the mainstream of United Nations activity system-wide,

 

Reaffirming the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women entitled “Women 2000:  gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century” and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, which called upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as all relevant organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations system to give full, equal and sustained attention to the enjoyment of human rights of women in the exercise of their respective mandates,

 

Reaffirming further the international commitments in the field of social development and to gender equality and the advancement of women made at the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development and the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, as well as those made in the United Nations Millennium Declaration and at the 2005 World Summit,

 

Acknowledging the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to the promotion and protection of the human rights of women and the need to integrate a gender perspective in a more systemic way into all aspects of the work of the United Nations system, including the treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, the special procedures and all other subsidiary mechanisms,

 

Noting with appreciation the Secretary General’s report (A/HRC/4/104) acknowledging the work already being undertaken to integrate the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system, including work undertaken by the treaty bodies and by some of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,

 

Underscoring that in the general comment No 16 (2005) of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the principle of equality between men and women is recognised as being essential for the enjoyment of each of the specific rights enumerated in the said Covenant,

 

Recalling with satisfaction the review of the integration of women s enjoyment of human rights  and the gender perspective in the reports of special procedures of the former

Commission on Human Rights between 1996 and 2003 undertaken by the Division for the Advancement of Women in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,

 

Reaffirming the need to implement fully international humanitarian and human rights law in order to protect fully the human rights of women and girls,

 

Emphasizing the pivotal role of the Commission on the Status of Women in promoting equality between women and men and welcoming its agreed conclusions over the years on the human rights of women and on the other critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action,

 

Recognizing the importance of the participation of women at all levels of decision-making, throughout the United Nations system for the achievement of gender equality and the realization of the human rights of women,

 

Noting General Assembly Resolution 61/143 and its invitation to the Human Rights Council to discuss, by 2008,  the question of violence against  women in all its forms and manifestations, and to set priorities for addressing this issue in its future efforts and work programmes;

 

Reaffirming the important role that women’s groups, human rights defenders, and non-governmental organizations play in promoting and protecting the human rights of women,

 

                           1.          Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on “Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly” E/2006/65;  the report of the Secretary- General on “Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes of the United Nations system” (E/2007/64); and  the report  of the Secretary-General on implementation of resolution E/CN.4/2005/42 (A/HRC/4/104),

 

                     2.       Emphasizes that the goal of mainstreaming a gender perspective is to achieve gender equality and that this includes ensuring that all United Nations activities, including United Nations conferences, special sessions and summits, integrate the human rights of women;

 

                    3. Recognizes the importance of examining, including in its own work, the intersection of multiple forms of discrimination and conditions of disadvantage, their root causes and consequences, from a gender perspective, and their impact on the advancement of women and the enjoyment by women of their human rights, in order to develop and implement strategies, policies and programmes aimed at the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and to increase the role that women play in the design, implementation and monitoring of gender-sensitive anti‑discrimination policies;

 

      4.     Encourages Member States to promote gender balance by, inter alia, regularly nominating more women candidates for election to the human rights treaty bodies and for appointment to United Nations bodies, including international courts and tribunals, the specialized agencies and other organs, and calls upon all relevant actors to implement General Assembly resolution 59/164 of 20 December 2004 on improvement of the status of women in the United Nations system;

 

5.     Reiterates the need for incorporating a gender perspective, including through using gender-inclusive language, in the formulation, interpretation and application of human rights instruments, as well as in reports, resolutions and/or decisions of the Human Rights Council, its Advisory Committee and the various human rights mechanisms;

 

      6.     Welcomes cooperation between the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Council, including through joint bureau meetings and the participation of the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women in the work of the Human Rights Council and, similarly, the participation of the Chair of the Human Rights Council in the sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women, and encourages such reciprocal collaboration;

 

 7.     Stresses the need for integrating a gender perspective into the outcome of future United Nations conferences, special sessions and summits;

 

      8.   Encourages all entities charged with the promotion and protection of human rights, especially United Nations human rights bodies, agencies, and mechanisms, to identify, collect and use sex and age disaggregated data and gender-specific information in their activities and to use the tools at their disposal for gender analysis in monitoring and reporting;


 

                    9       Welcomes the cooperation and coordination between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights aimed at mainstreaming the human rights of women, including through their joint work plan, and, in this sense, encourages United Nations bodies and agencies to increase cooperation with other organizations in developing activities to address, within their respective mandates, violations of the human rights of women and to promote the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women;

 

                    10.     Recalls Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000 on women and peace and security, which, inter alia, calls on actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective, including, inter alia, measures that ensure the protection of and respect for the human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary, and welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on women, peace and security (S/2004/814);

 

           11.       Recognizes the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security and the need to increase their role in decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution, and urges the United Nation system and Governments to make  further efforts to ensure and support the full participation of women at all level of decision–making and implementation in development activities and peace process, including conflict prevention  and resolution, post-conflict reconstruction, peacemaking, peace keeping and peace building, as well as through the integration of a gender perspective into those United Nations processes;


 

12.         Welcomes  the recent establishment of the Women’s Rights and Gender Unit within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the continued commitment of the  High Commissioner for Human Rights to integrating the issue of women’s enjoyment of human rights throughout the United Nations system, including through continued cooperation with the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and the Division for the Advancement of Women, and encourages her to maintain her commitment to raise awareness and promote the universal ratification and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol;

 

13.         Encourages the efforts of all the treaty bodies to mainstream the human rights of women and a gender perspective into their work, in particular, in their concluding observations and in the development of general comments and recommendations;

 

14.         Welcomes the transfer of the Secretariat of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  in 2008.

 

15.        Urges all states to implement recommendations of all human rights treaty bodies with a view to improving the status of women worldwide and further undertake to reach the goal of universal ratification of human rights treaties, including making every effort to remove reservations to treaties, and reinforce actions to implement treaty commitments;

 

16.     Welcomes the submission of reports by specialized agencies, at the invitation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in areas falling within the scope of their activities and the contribution of non-governmental organizations to the work of the Committee;

               


           

17.      Encourages all entities of the United Nations system, as well as Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, in particular women’s organizations, as appropriate, to pay systematic, increased and sustained attention to the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee and other treaty bodies, in order to ensure that these recommendations are better utilized in their respective work, and encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system to continue to assist States parties, upon the request of those States, in implementing their international human rights obligations;

 

  18.      Encourages organs, bodies, mechanism and agencies of the United Nations system to promote discussion of how the United Nation can most effectively integrate the human rights of all women and a gender perspective throughout its work.

 

 19.                  Takes all the necessary measures, including budgetary and institutional measures, to guarantee the full participation of women in medium and high level ranks within the United Nations system, in order to achieve gender equality in the Organization.

 

20.                   Reaffirms  its commitment to integrate the human rights of women and a gender perspective into the work of the Human Rights Council and its subsidiary bodies, including in the universal periodic review and its outcomes and the review of mandates;

 

            21.                   Encourages  States in their reports under the universal periodic review to include thorough information on the human rights of all women and to integrate a gender perspective in their reporting on all matters under the review.

 

            22.                   Encourages States to consult with NGOs active in addressing gender issues and the human rights of women, and to report on recommendations emerging from those consultations in their State reports.

                 

23.                   Welcomes the efforts made by  most special procedures and other human rights mechanisms and requests all special procedures and other human rights mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee regularly and systematically to integrate a gender perspective and consideration of the intersection of multiple forms of discrimination, into the implementation of their mandate  and to include in their reports information on and qualitative analysis of human rights of women and girls, and encourages the strengthening of cooperation and coordination between these procedures and mechanisms;

                             

24.                   Further encourages special procedures to develop guidelines for effectively integrating the human rights of women and a gender perspective into their work and to incorporate these into the Manual of the United Nations Human Rights Special Procedures;

 

25.                   Decides to incorporate into its Programme of Work, at minimum, an annual full-day meeting to discuss the human rights of women, including measures that can be adopted by States, and other stakeholders, to address human rights violations experienced by women;

 

26.                Decides to incorporate into its Programme of Work an annual discussion of the integration of a gender perspective throughout its work and that of its mechanisms, including the evaluation of progress made and challenges experienced;

           

27.                   Recognizes the need to establish an effective and accountable  process in order to ensure the integration of the human rights of women and a gender perspective across the full breadth of its work;

 

28.                   Requests the Secretary-General to report, at its ninth session, on the implementation of the present resolution including analysing the degree to which the promotion and protection of human rights of women are being integrated into the United Nations system, the work of the Human Rights Council and its subsidiary bodies, identifying obstacles and challenges to implementation of the resolution, to make concrete, comprehensive recommendations for action by States and/or by the United Nations system and to bring the report to the attention of the relevant organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, including all human rights bodies;

 

              29.     Encourages States to cooperate with and support the United Nations system in its efforts to integrate the human rights of women and  a gender perspective to take into full consideration the content of the present resolution;

 

30.       Also decides to continue its consideration of the question at the 9th session of the Human Rights Council.





================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.