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Geneva, 5 June 2008
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
With the adoption of resolution 6/30, the Human Rights
Council affirmed its commitment to advancing women's rights and gender
equality. The task now is to translate that commitment into concrete steps
and priorities to give real effect to women's rights and dignity.
Thus, I greatly welcome the Council's debate today,
focusing on the two pressing issues of violence against women and maternal
mortality. The outcome should not be just more talk and more venting of
frustration over the fact that six decades since the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, women and girls continue to be
regarded as lesser beings in many corners of the world. The debate today
should inspire and embolden the Council's members to take further steps to
accelerate the attainment of gender equality and the protection and promotion
of equal rights for women and girls around the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The General Assembly has tasked the Human Rights Council
with setting priorities in addressing violence against women as a follow up
to its consideration of the Secretary-General's study on the subject.
Released in 2006, the study unequivocally demonstrates that multiple forms of
violence against women remain pervasive throughout the world. The report
describes this violence as "a pandemic," and "one of the most
serious challenges of our time." But these alarming words just barely
afford a glimpse into the desperate and dehumanizing conditions that millions
of women and girls are subjected to on a daily basis, and in many cases with
no relief or recourse to justice.
In particularly egregious forms, violence, including
sexual violence, has been committed and continues to be perpetrated in the
midst of conflict and in post-conflict societies on a magnitude and level of
brutality that defies belief. Rape of women and girls is deliberately used as
a weapon of war in many of these conflicts, with the intent of destroying
families and communities. Frequently, family members are forced to watch or
actually participate in these violations, laying the seeds for future
retaliation and igniting a vicious circle of attack and retribution. Such
acts of unspeakable savagery are often perpetrated in conjunction with other
heinous breaches of the law, and all too often go unpunished.
Bringing perpetrators of violence against women to account
must be a priority for all governments and other actors in positions of power
and influence. History has shown time and again that a failure to do so
emboldens perpetrators and encourages others to join their ranks.
Although violence against women has been an ugly feature
of wars since time immemorial, only recently has there been a recognition
that such violence is punishable by law as a war crime, a crime against
humanity and indeed, at times, an act of genocide. International enforcement
of that law represents a vital step forward. But the focus on violence
against women in conflict must not result in losing sight of other forms of
violence against women, which are everyday occurrences in the lives of countless
victims. These include rape, sexual assault, female genital mutilation,
crimes committed in the name of "honour," domestic violence and
other forms of abuse. They may be prohibited by law, but legal protection is
bound to have little impact if victims lack the means to seek justice or are
too scared to expose perpetrators. Laws are of even less consequence when
those responsible for their enforcement refuse or fail to do so.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Whether perpetrated in conflict or in peace, the root
causes of violence against women are deep-seated inequalities and
discrimination. We certainly recognize that since the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, much progress has been made to
eliminate discrimination against women. Obligations have been set forth in
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other treaties. Far
reaching commitments were also made by States at the Fourth World Conference
on Women in 1995, and the subsequent reviews of the Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action. However, whether in law or in fact, discrimination
facing women and girls is still the rule rather than the exception. As a
result, full equality for women, in law and practice, has yet to be achieved
in any country.
A recent study, commissioned by my Office, underscores the
persistence of laws and customs that make women second-class citizens, and
that, consequently, expose them to undeterred and unpunished violence and
inequality. Laws that restrict women's freedom of movement, property and
inheritance, and practices such as male guardianship put women at the risk of
being subjected to abuse, violence and oppression, both inside and outside
their homes.
A concomitant denial of basic rights, such as access to
health services, housing, education, food and water, overwhelmingly affects
women, depriving them of the means needed to claim their equal rights and
obtain their fair share of public goods and services. This inequality may
also condemn women to poverty which, in turn, exposes hundreds of millions of
girls and women to continuous abuse.
Responding to requests from States and civil society, my
Office has organized a side event on June 9th, in order to provide further
details to duty bearers and stakeholders regarding the findings of the study.
These also include the views of stakeholders on the possible avenues, such as
the establishment of concrete mechanisms, through which the Human Rights
Council can stimulate responses and measures to help stem violence and
discrimination against women. This should be achieved in a manner that
complements and builds upon the work of existing human rights mechanisms.
Distinguished Participants,
Discriminatory laws and practices are also at the root of
many cases of maternal mortality. Early marriage, female genital mutilation
and the disrespect of women's safe reproductive rights, all of which are
incompatible with the obligations set forth in the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, are key contributors to the
millions of deaths and disabilities resulting from pregnancy and childbirth
annually. It is no surprise that the most marginalized and poorest are also
the most adversely affected. But there is often nothing inevitable about
maternal mortality. Many of these deaths could be prevented by making women's
welfare and the realization of all their rights a matter of priority.
The Human Rights Council, alerted by today's discussion,
can play a ground-breaking role in clearly defining maternal mortality as a
human rights issue and articulating the indivisibility and interrelatedness
of rights in this respect. A cursory analysis of the outcome of the first
rounds of Universal Periodic Reviews indicates that, while the overall share
of interventions relating to women's rights reached an encouraging level, the
issue of maternal mortality was virtually absent from State reports, reviews
and recommendations. Today's discussion should lead to greater attention
being brought to this issue in future UPR sessions.
Mr. President,
To conclude on a positive note, it is very encouraging
that several States made commitments with respect to women's rights in the
context of the UPR, including pledges to remove far-reaching and longstanding
reservations made to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. The Council and the international community
should hold them to those pledges through follow-up assistance and
monitoring.
I sincerely hope that today's debate and the June 9th
event will illuminate ways in which the Human Rights Council can make a real
contribution with respect to women's rights in general, and violence against
women and maternal mortality in particular, as well as stimulate States'
implementation of their obligations, pledges and commitments.
In particular, the Council has the task of shedding light
on laws that can facilitate, rather than impede, women's equal enjoyment of rights.
Having worked with law throughout my professional life, I am a firm believer
in the power of laws, codified or customary, to foster or compel change and
to transform societies.
As I prepare to wind up my duties as High Commissioner and
move to a new phase in life and work, I have every hope and expectation that
the Council, in this, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, will take forceful action to accelerate the full realization of
equal rights between women and men, girls and boys, to our greater collective
benefit.
Thank you.
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