WUNRN
Direct Link to Position Paper:
International Federation for Human
Rights
7/03/2008
Women’s Rights / EU / CEDAW
Members
of the European Parliament Support FIDH’s Appeal for Stronger EU Action on
Women’s Rights
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2008, 88
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) call on the Council of the European
Union for the adoption of EU Guidelines on Women’s Rights.
MEPs hereby emphasise that despite commitments made by the vast majority of states to combat discrimination against women, in particular through the ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), women remain victims of grave violence and discrimination in all regions of the world.
By supporting this initiative, launched by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), MEPs recognise that concerted and systematic action by the European Union on women’s rights is required, as is already undertaken within the framework of EU Guidelines on Torture, the Death Penalty, Human Rights Defenders and Children’s Rights.
Please find attached the text of the FIDH Appeal to MEPs with list of signatories and the FIDH Position Paper calling for EU Guidelines on women’s rights. For more information, please contact :
FIDH
Press Contacts :
- Gaël GRILHOT : ggrilhot@fidh.org tel : +33610600557
- amadelin@fidh.org - tel +33668226572
FIDH
delegation to the EU : –* Grégoire Théry - gthery@fidh.org
FIDH APPEAL to MEPs with full list of signatories
FIDH POSITION PAPER calling for EU Guidelines on women’s rights.
APPEAL to Members of the European Parliament
on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2008
Call for EU guidelines on women’s rights
Sixty years after its adoption, article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulating that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, is still largely flouted by discriminatory legislations and practices against women.
Despite efforts from the international community and the commitment by the vast majority of States to combat discrimination against women, notably by means of the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), women still remain victims of violence and discrimination in all regions of the world.
Men’s continued legal guardianship over adult women, the impossibility of filing for divorce and the continuance of the practice of repudiation, inequality of inheritance, unequal terms of pay for equal responsibility positions, low political participation and the near total exclusion from poles of power, and the continuing violence, the still widespread practice of genital mutilation in many African countries, sexual slavery and gender specific crimes, are but some examples of the human rights violations and discrimination that women suffer particularly. Today, no society is exempted from one or many of these violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and over half of the world population is either directly or indirectly victim of gender discrimination.
Moreover, if the CEDAW has been ratified by more than 90% of the United Nations Member States, its lack of implementation within national constitutions or laws, the reservations, and the upholding of discriminatory national laws, continue to stand in the way of respect for women’s rights.
The defence and protection of women’s rights are a priority within the EU’s human rights policy. The EU has committed itself to making women’s rights violations a priority theme within the framework of its human rights dialogues with third countries. The action spearheaded by the EU in view of reinforcing respect for women’s rights is drawn from international and regional terms of reference on the subject.
Actions developed so far by the EU in this field are both strong political declarations and concrete projects. Nevertheless, because of their limited number and their disparity, they do not constitute a coordinated and systematic instrument to fight inequality, discrimination and violence against women in the world today.
Only a concerted and systematic action, like the ones existing within the framework of the guidelines on torture, death penalty, human rights defenders or children’s rights, will allow real political progress in the field of women’s rights in the countries concerned. We thus call upon the European Council to adopt promptly, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal declaration of Human rights, a set of concrete guidelines on the promotion and respect of women’s rights in third countries.
***
List of signatories (in alphabetical order)
1.Vittorio AGNOLETTO (IT) – GUE 2.Vincenzo AITA (IT)– GUE 3.Alfonso ANDRIA (IT) – ALDE 4.Kader ARIF (FR) – PSE 5.Elspeth ATTWOOl (GB) – ALDE 6.Margrete AUKEN (DK) – Verts 7.Edit BAUER (SK) – PPE 8.Angelika BEER(DE) – Verts 9.Danute BUDREIKAITE (LT) – ALDE 10.Marie-Arlette CARLOTTI (FR) - PSE 11.Giusto CATANIA (IT) – GUE 12.Guilietto CHIESA (IT) - PSE 13.Giovanna CORDA (BE) - PSE 14.Gabriela CRETU (RO) - PSE 15.Magor CSIBI (RO) - ALDE 16.Elly DE GROEN-KOUWENHOVEN (NL) - Verts 17.Véronique DE KEYSER (BE) - PSE 18.Mojca DRCAR MURKO (SI) - ALDE 19.Assuncao ESTEVES (PT) - PPE 20.Edite ESTRELA (PT) - PSE 21.Robert EVANS (GB) - PSE 22.Claudio FAVA (IT) - PSE 23.Francesco FERRARI (IT) - ALDE 24.Ilda FIGUEIREDO (PT) - GUE 25.Hélène FLAUTRE (FR) – Verts 26.Glyn FORD (UK) - PSE 27.Armando FRANCA (ES) - PSE 28.Monica FRASSONI (IT) - Verts 29.Patrick GAUBERT (FR) – PPE 30.Lidia GERINGER DE OEDENBERG (PL) - PSE 31.Adam GIEREK (PL) - PSE 32.Ana Maria GOMES (PT) – PSE 33.Genowefa GRABOWSKA (PL) - PSE 34.Lilli GRUBER (IT) – PSE 35.Ignasi GUARDANS (ES) – ALDE 36.Umberto GUIDONI (IT) - GUE 37.Fiona HALL (UK) – ALDE 38.Marian HARKIN (IE) - ALDE 39.Joel HASSE FERREIRA (PT) - PSE 40.Statu HASSI (FI) - Verts 41.Jens HOLM (SE) - GUE 42.Milan HORACEK (DE) - Verts 43.Alain HUTCHINSON (BE) - PSE 44.Iliana IOTOVA (BG) - PSE 45.Mikel IRUJO AMEZAGA (ES) – Verts 46.Marie-Anne ISLER BEGUIN (FR) - Verts 47.Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI (FI) - ALDE 48.Madeleine JOUYE DE GRANDMAISON (FR) – GUE 49.Sajjad KARIM (UK) - EPP 50.Piia-Noora KAUPPI (FI) - PPE 51.Evgeni KIRILOV (BG) - PSE 52.Eija-Riitta KORHOLA (FI) - PPE 53.Jean LAMBERT (UK) - Verts 54.Johannes LEBECH (DK) - ALDE 55.Roselyne LEFRANÇOIS (FR) - PSE 56.Eva LICHTENBERGER (AT) - Verts 57.Pia LOCATELLI (IT) - PSE 58.Andrea LOSCO (IT) - ALDE 59.Marusya LYUBCHEVA (BG) - PSE 60.Maria MATSOUKA (EL) - PSE 61.Emilio MENÉNDEZ DEL VALLE (ES) - PSE 62.Willy MEYER PLEITE (ES) - GUE 63.Luisa MORGANTINI (IT) - GUE 64.Robert NAVARRO (FR) - PSE 65.Gérard ONESTA (FR) - Verts 66.Atanas PAPARIZOV (BG) - PSE 67.Jozef PINIOR (PL) - PSE 68.Rovana PLUMB (RO) - PSE 69.Anni PODIMATA (EL) – PSE 70.Miguel PORTAS (PT) - PSE 71.Christa PRETS (AT) - PSE 72.Pierre PRIBETICH (FR) - PSE 73.John PURVIS (GB) - PPE 74.Raul ROMEVA (ES) - Verts 75.Martine ROURE (FR) - PSE 76.Heide RUEHLE (DE) - Verts 77.Adrian SEVERIN (RO) - PSE 78.Csaba SÓGOR (RO) - PPE 79.Bart STAES (BE) - Verts 80.Eva-Britt SVENSSON (SE) - GUE 81.Britta THOMSEN (DK) - PSE 82.Laszlo TOKES (RO) – Non inscrit 83.Elena VALENCIANO (ES) - PSE 84.Anne VAN LANCKER (BE) - PSE 85.Donato Tomaso VERALDI (IT) - ALDE 86.Bernadette VERGNAUD (FR) - PSE 87.Francis WURTZ (FR) - GUE 88.Gabriele ZIMMER (DE) - GUE
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