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PRESS RELEASE
25th of
November: International
Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Making this
goal a reality
Geneva, 22 November
2007: On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,
OMCT joins women’s groups and individuals campaigning worldwide and calls for
full implementation of the 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women[1][1]. The 25th
of November also marks the beginning of the annual campaign “16 Days of
Activism against Gender Violence”, which focuses this year on “Demanding Implementation, Challenging
Obstacles” to achieve concrete results in improving women’s protection from
violence.
The Declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly in
1993, does not encompass new rights, but rather reaffirms the importance of
taking all necessary steps to eliminate one of the most pervasive and
widespread human rights violations: violence against women. This is further
recalled by the “16 Days” international campaign that since 1991 has
symbolically linked the International Day on the Elimination of Violence
Against Women and the International Human Rights Day (10th of
December) as a reminder that gender-based acts of violence are serious
violations of the fundamental rights of women.
Today, many forms of violence against women are widely acknowledged as
amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. This assertion is all the more important in
that the prohibition of torture is a peremptory norm of international law that
applies to all States and from which there can be no derogation.
All too often governments pay lip service to the
concerns of the international community and citizens as regards gender-based
violence. But the issue is too serious
to be overlooked. Eliminating such
violence takes much more than adopting new laws and making pledges in
international forums. Violence against
women in so deeply rooted in society that real challenges need to be made to
gender stereotypes and to the legitimisation of women’s subordination through
arguments based on “tradition” or “cultural values”. Implementation presupposes education and
strict enforcement of criminal law. It
also requires positive measures to ensure women can speak up without fearing
retaliation, repudiation or abandonment.
In this respect, needs assessment must be carried out and particularly
vulnerable groups identified and protected.
The fundamental nature of the rights enshrined in most
human rights instruments and recompiled in the 1993 Declaration mean that no
budgetary limit can be claimed as an excuse for failure to implement them. Eliminating gender-based violence is an
obligation of result. Article 5 of the
1993 Declaration hints at some of the means to achieve concrete results, many
of which have been put forward in recommendations adopted by UN treaty
monitoring bodies after careful examination of country situations[1][2].
OMCT calls on States and on all those who endeavour to
protect and promote human rights to make use of the 1993 Declaration and the 16
Days of Activism to inspire action, adopt strong policies and achieve concrete
results.
For further information see www.omct.org or contact:
[1][1]Through
Resolution 48/104 of
[1][2]In particular,
in the Concluding Comments adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women and in the Human Rights Committee’s Concluding
Observations.
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