WUNRN
Women
Enabled, Inc.
Advocating for the Rights of All
Women!
WOMEN & GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES
MUST BE INCLUDED IN CSW 56 OUTCOME DOCUMENT
The ideas
and concerns of women and girls with disabilities in rural development should
be articulated and clearly integrated into the work of the international community
so that the perspective of rural women and girls with disabilities are
reflected in any policy decisions made at international,
national and local levels. To assist in
ensuring that women and girls with
disabilities are included in the CSW 56 Outcome Document, a few suggested
additions to the below Draft conclusions are incorporated. Additions are incorporated in bold type and
are underlined for ease of identification.
Women and girls with disabilities are a part of all societies. They need to be an active part of the
advancement of the human rights of all and shaping how societies affect their
lives. The justifications for inclusion
are numerous. Representation and fairness are the most obvious: women account
for more than half of the population of the world. There are approximately one billion persons
with disabilities in the world, which constitutes 15 percent of the global
population[1][1] this number is increasing due to many
factors,[2][2] including natural disasters, which
have dramatic impact on rural communities.[3][3]
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank (WB) recent (9
June 2011) ground-breaking report entitled “World Report on Disability,” notes
a dramatic increase in estimates of the number of persons with disabilities
worldwide, stating: About 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of
disability, of whom 2-4% experience significant difficulties in functioning. The global disability prevalence is higher
than previous WHO estimates, which date from the 1970s and suggested a figure
of around 10%. There are significant
differences in the prevalence of disability (defined as “significant
difficulties in their everyday lives”) between men and women in both developing and more developed
countries: male disability
prevalence rate is 12% and female disability prevalence rate is 19.2%.[4][4] Previous estimates
indicated that there are now 325 million women and girls with disabilities in
the world, most of who live in rural areas of developing or resource-poor
countries.[5][5] Although significant progress has been made in bringing awareness of
and attention to the issues of rural women in human rights treaties, and in
intergovernmental outcomes, the United Nations has recognised that more
attention needs to be directed to the situation of specific groups of rural
women, including women with disabilities.[6][6]
The
recommendation for the inclusion of issues of concern to rural women and girls
with disabilities in the work of the 56th Session of the Commission
on the Status of Women is drawn from and is consistent with the
gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive approaches outlined in the United
Nations Charter,[7][7] and consistent with the provisions
of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD), especially its Article 6 on Women with Disabilities,[8][8]
the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), especially its Article 14[9][9] and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC).[10][10]
The 1995 Beijing Declaration
clearly recognized the need to address the concerns of women with disabilities
and the correlated need to include women with disabilities in decision making,
stating that Governments should:
Strengthen and encourage the
implementation of the recommendations contained in the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, paying special
attention to ensure non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms by women and girls with disabilities, including their
access to information and services in the field of violence against women, as
well as their active participation in and economic contribution to all aspects
of society.[11][11]
Drawing
on the disability-inclusive nature of the original Beijing Declaration itself,
the 2000 Special
Session of the United Nations General Assembly, reviewing the progress of the outcomes
of the Fourth World Conference on Women, also addressed the concerns and role of women with disabilities by
indicating that Governments should:
Adopt and promote a holistic approach to
respond to all forms of violence and abuse against girls and women of all ages,
including girls and women with disabilities, as well as vulnerable and
marginalized women and girls in order to address their diverse needs, including
education, provision of appropriate health care and services and basic social
services.[12][12]
Furthermore, it also
stated that Governments should:
Design and implement policies and programmes
to address fully specific needs of women and girls with disabilities, to ensure
their equal access to education at all levels, including technical and
vocational training and adequate rehabilitation programmes, health care and
services and employment opportunities, to protect and promote their human
rights and, where appropriate, to eliminate existing inequalities between women
and men with disabilities.[13][13]
These suggestions also takes into consideration the joint statement of commitment of the inter-agency support group for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (IASG),[14][14] which was established by the United Nations Chief Executives Board in 2006, with the purpose of “demonstrating our will to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities by working towards the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in the work of the United Nations.”[15][15] Furthermore, the UN interagency network on women and gender equality (IANWGE) also reinforces the concept of gender inclusion within the United Nations.[16][16]
The United Nations General Assembly has over the last few years issued a series of resolutions, especially Resolutions A/65/186 and A/64/131,[17][17] calling for the mainstreaming of persons with disabilities in development, and has specifically called upon Governments to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women with disabilities
The CEDAW
Committee increasingly has addressed the concerns of women and girls with
disabilities in its General Recommendations.
In General Recommendation Number 18, issued in 1991, the CEDAW Committee
called for special attention to be paid to the double discrimination women with
disabilities face and “[r]ecommends that State parties provide information on
disabled women in their periodic reports, and on measures taken to deal with
their particular situation, including special measures to ensure that they have
equal access to education and employment, health services and social security,
and to ensure that they can participate in all areas of social and cultural
life.”[18][18]
In General Recommendation Number 24, issued in 1999, the CEDAW Committee
also referenced issues of concern to women with disabilities. The CEDAW Committee recognized that societal
factors may be “determinative of health status” and that “special attention
should be given to health needs and rights of women” with disabilities, among
other vulnerable groups.[19][19]
More recently, CEDAW Committee General Recommendation Numbers 27 and 28
also specifically mention women with disabilities. General Recommendation Number 27, issued in
2010, pertains to the protection of the human rights of older women and
addresses women with disabilities by discussing the double discrimination and
gender stereotyping older women with disabilities face, especially in regards
to their access to education, healthcare services, legal services and their
increased susceptibility to violence.[20][20]
General Recommendation Number 28, also issued in 2010, focuses on the
core obligations of States parties under Article 2 of the CEDAW and discusses
the enhanced vulnerability for discrimination women with disabilities face in
civil and penal laws, regulations and customary laws and practice.[21][21]
The CEDAW Committee, in preparation for the 56th Session of the Commission on the Status of women, has issued a General Statement on rural women,[22][22] addressing various issues that impact the lives of rural women. With respect to women and girls with disabilities, the CEDAW Committee wrote in its section on recommendations: “developing strategies to address the special needs of older women as well as disabled women and the indigenous women living in rural areas who often suffer a severe lack of basic resources for subsistence, income security, access to health care, information on and enjoyment of their entitlements and rights.”[23][23]
I remain available to discuss these suggestions with
representatives of international organizations, governments, and civil
society. I can be reached at the phone
and email listed below.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephanie Ortoleva, Esq.
President and Founder, Women Enabled, Inc.
International Human Rights Lawyer
1.202.359.3045
Commission on the Status of Women
56th session
27 February to 9 March 2012
The empowerment of
rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and
current challenges
CSW 56 Draft
Agreed Conclusions
1. The Commission on the Status of Women reaffirms the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcome documents of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, and the declarations adopted by the Commission on the occasion of the tenth and fifteenth anniversaries of the Fourth World Conference on Women. (CSW55 agreed conclusions, para. 1)
2. The Commission reiterates that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol, as well as relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization, provide a legal framework for the promotion of gender equality in rural development and agriculture. The Commission notes the importance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the empowerment of rural women, as well as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, especially its Article 6 on women, for the empowerment of rural women with disabilities. (based on CSW55 agreed conclusions, para. 2)
3. The Commission recognizes rural women as leaders, decision makers, producers, workers, entrepreneurs and service providers who contribute to local and national economies, rural development, agriculture and household livelihoods. Their contributions which are often not fully acknowledged are a pre-requisite for economic growth and development. It notes the potential of empowering rural women for poverty and hunger eradication, sustainable development, and accelerated progress towards achieving internationally agreed development goals including the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Commission acknowledges the heterogeneity of rural women and the need to address discrimination and inequalities they face on the basis of a range of factors.
4. The Commission expresses deep concern that the ongoing adverse impacts of the world financial and economic crisis, the volatile food and energy prices and food insecurity (based on A/RES/66/125, World Summit for Social Development, OP 58), the lack of investment in rural development and agriculture and demographic changes have exacerbated the disadvantages and inequalities women and men, girls and boys face in rural areas.
5. The Commission reiterates that the multiple and complex causes of the global food crisis in developing countries, especially for net food importers, and its consequences for food security and nutrition require a comprehensive and coordinated response by national Governments and the international community. (based on A/RES/66/220, pp; on agriculture, development and food security)
6. The Commission recognizes that smallholder farmers, including women and indigenous peoples and women with disabilities, , may not have the equitable access to tools, markets and land tenure rights that is needed for them to reach their productive potential. (A/RES/66/220, pp; on agriculture, development and food security)
7. The Commission stresses the need to ensure the full participation of rural women in shaping the response to these crises, including in the development, implementation and monitoring of macroeconomic policies, national development plans and poverty reduction strategies. The Commission underlines that ensuring rural women’s full access to on and off farm employment opportunities and to productive resources, assets and services will greatly enhance their contribution to economic growth, food security and sustainable development. It also highlights the importance of reducing rural women’s unpaid work burden to increase their productivity and their potential to engage in remunerative activities.
8. The Commission urges Governments, the relevant entities of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations, rural organizations, women’s organizations, disabled persons organizations, farmers’ and producers’ organizations, cooperatives and the private sector, to take the following actions:
A. Strengthening gender-responsive
policy environments
a) Integrate a gender perspective into rural governance processes such as policymaking, public administration, and service delivery; integrate a gender perspective into all rural development and agricultural policies and programmes and prioritize rural development and agriculture in national development plans to achieve equal access for women to productive resources, essential services, employment opportunities, and labour-saving technologies; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (a); resolution on Agricultural technology for development (A/RES/66/195), para. 6; resolution on Agriculture development and food security (A/RES/66/220), para. 3 and 25)
b) Review, revise, amend or abolish laws and policies that discriminate against rural women and girls, including those related to land and natural resources, family and marriage, inheritance, legal capacity, including legal capacity for persons with disabilities, housing and property rights; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (e); E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (b))
c) Incorporate a gender perspective in legislation, policies and programmes on rural to urban migration and on international migration, with a view to promoting and protecting the rights of migrants as well as mitigating negative impacts on women and girls (based on A/RES/66/128 - OP 5/violence against women migrant workers; E/CN.6/2012/3, paras 47-50)
d) Ensure that perspectives of rural women are taken into account and that they participate in the design, implementation, follow up and evaluation of policies and activities related to emergencies, including natural disasters, humanitarian assistance, peacebuilding and post conflict reconstruction (based on resolution on improvement of situation of women in rural areas (A/RES/66/129), para. 2 (d))
e) Ensure that strong gender equality units are placed at senior levels in line ministries, such as agriculture, and in local governments, and that these units are supported by adequate financial and human resources and capacity and authority to ensure that laws, policies, planning and budgeting processes, programmes and service delivery are gender-sensitive and respond to the priorities and needs of rural women and men; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, paras. 69 (c) and (e))
f)
Ensure that government
officials, the judiciary, and service providers have the capacity to use
available tools including gender-responsive budgeting for the development,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender-responsive rural policies,
laws, programmes and service delivery; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69
(d))
g)
Develop outreach programmes to ensure that rural women and men are aware
of their rights and of the roles and responsibilities of national and local
governments in protecting these rights, so that they can hold duty bearers to
account, ensuring that such outreach
is conducted in amanner accessible to rural women with disabilities in light of
their communication needs; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (f))
h)
Strengthen rural women’s voice and representation in local
decision-making bodies to enable them to hold public and private sector service
providers accountable for the accessibility, quality and affordability of
services provided to women and men in rural areas; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4,
para. 69 (j))
i)
Develop regulatory frameworks and incentives for private sector
engagement, and build innovative partnerships, including public-private
partnerships, for value chain development and rural women’s access to national
and international markets (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (j));
j)
Strengthen the capacity of national statistical offices to
systematically collect, analyze and disseminate comparable data disaggregated
by sex, age and rural/urban areas, as
well as data on the numbers of persons with disabilities, including
those collected in household and labour force surveys, agricultural censuses,
and population censuses, and develop gender-sensitive indicators, to serve as
basis for gender-responsive policy design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation in rural areas, including those on the unpaid business,
agricultural, fishing and forestry work and the unpaid care work undertaken by
rural women; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (m); E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69
(r))
B. Leveraging investment for rural development to
improve food security and reduce poverty
k)
Ensure that rural women can equally and fully benefit from current and
future financing to support rural development, agriculture and climate change
mitigation and adaptation with the goal to improve food security and reduce
poverty in rural areas in response to the adverse impact of the world financial
and economic crisis; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (a), CSW resolution
55/1, para 6.)
l)
Support women smallholder farmers, including those in subsistence
farming, by facilitating their access to agricultural inputs and extension
services, infrastructure including storage facilities, transportation,
information and technologies (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (h))
m) Expand
opportunities for women smallholder farmers to diversify their production and
increase their productivity by engaging in commercial farming and
entrepreneurship, and accessing lucrative high-value product markets; (based on
E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (b))
n)
Invest in community-based water and renewable energy technologies in
rural and remote areas, and invest in rural women’s initiatives that promote
sustainable agriculture and biodiversity; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (o)),
CSW agreed conclusions 2009, para 15(ee)
o)
Support and invest in joint United Nations programmes, including in
partnership with private sector and financial institutions, that aim to empower
rural women;
C. Expanding
access to resources, assets, employment and services
p)
Ensure that rural women are accorded full and equal rights to own and
lease land and other property through: designing and revising relevant laws
including those on women’s equal right to inheritance; strengthening implementation
of laws and policies; and registration processes for land tenure that are
local, affordable, rapid, transparent and accessible to all; (based on
E/CN.6/2012/3, paras. 28 and 72 (f); resolution on improvement of situation of
women in rural areas (A/RES/66/129), para. 2 (v))
q)
Increase rural women’s access to financial services, design financial
products targeted at rural women, and provide access to financial literacy
training; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (g))
r)
Provide women migrant workers with targeted financial and non-financial
advice on how to invest their remittances in the local rural economy; (based on
E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 50)
s)
Expand opportunities for decent wage employment, both on- and off-farm,
for landless and land-poor women and men, such as employment guarantee and
public works programmes; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, paras. 44 and 72 (c))
t) Encourage and
facilitate the establishment and development of cooperatives, including
measures aimed at enabling women to fully participate in them; (based on A/RES/66/123, OP 7(b);
cooperatives in social development; E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (p))
u) Facilitate the effective functioning of markets and support women’s access to markets through sound infrastructure, adequate awareness and enforcement of regulation, and access to and transparency of information, including up-to-date market pricing information; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (i))
v)
Adopt the social
protection floor approach with a gender perspective to
provide basic social protection for all and take measures to ensure
long-term financial support for basic social protection services in rural
areas; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (d); E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (i)
w) Provide
all rural women and men with free-of-charge access to personal identification
documents so that they are recognized as full citizens with equal access to
productive assets and services; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (g))
x)
Increase the number of women extension agents and provide training on
gender equality issues to both male and female extension agents; and foster the utilization of local
know-how and agricultural technologies; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, para.
69 (k) and resolution on Agricultural technology for development
(A/RES/66/195), para. 2)
y)
Reduce the burden of women’s and girls’ unpaid care work by providing
improved infrastructure, labour-saving technologies and care services in rural
areas; (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (l))
z) Take concrete measures to enhance and
provide access to the highest attainable
standards of health for women in rural areas, preventive health, as well
as quality, affordable and universally accessible primary health care and
support services, including for sexual and reproductive health and ensuring that such health care
services are accessible to and usable by women with disabilities; and promote access to safe
and clean drinking water and sanitation to improve the health of rural women;
(based on A/RES/66/129, OP 2 (f) and (g); improvement of the situation of women
in rural areas)
aa) Support a gender-sensitive education system that considers the specific needs
of rural women in order to eliminate gender stereotypes and discriminatory
tendencies affecting them, including
aspects relating to the multiple and intersecting dimensions of women’s lives; (based on A/RES/66/129, OP 2 (w); improvement of the
situation of women in rural areas)
bb) Ensure that integrated services for victims of all
forms of violence are available and accessible to rural women and girls (based
on A/RES/65/187, para 16 (r))
cc) Consider the adoption, where appropriate, of
national legislation to protect the knowledge, innovations and practices of
women in indigenous and local communities relating to traditional medicines,
biodiversity and indigenous technologies; (based on A/RES/66/129, para 2 (s), improvement of
the situation of women in rural areas)
dd) Make full use
of technological innovations to enhance rural women’s productivity and income,
facilitate their access to information, means of communication and services,
and promote the development of village-based knowledge centers, (based on
E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (k);
D. Strengthening
participation and leadership in decision-making
ee) Ensure
the participation of rural women and women leaders of rural organizations in
key decision-making and budget allocation processes at all levels of government
and within rural institutions, including the planning and implementation of
rural and agricultural policies and programmes; organize women-only
consultations, and provide family-friendly support, such as child care
facilities and ensure that
accessibility and reasonable accommodation are provided to women with
disabilities; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, paras. 69 (l) and (o) and CRPD
arts 9)
ff)
Implement targeted actions to increase women’s participation and
leadership in national and local governments, farmers’ organizations and
cooperatives through adopting temporary special measures such as quotas and
benchmarks, (based on E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (m))
gg) Increase
the number of women in leadership positions in farmers’ and other rural
organizations, through measures such as fair and transparent selection
processes, and setting concrete targets and timelines; (based on E/CN.6/2012/4,
para. 69 (n))
hh) Support the efforts of women’s organizations,
rural organizations, disabled peoples organizations, trade unions
and other civil society organizations that promote rural women’s rights,
especially the efforts of rural and
women’s organizations in resource mobilization, advocacy and capacity
development to strengthen their effective participation in the policy processes
at the national and local levels. (based on A/RES/66/129, OP 2 (b);
E/CN.6/2012/4, para. 69 (p))
9. The Commission stresses the centrality of gender equality and women’s empowerment in sustainable development. It calls for the integration of gender perspectives and the participation of rural women in the preparations for, outcomes and follow up of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Brazil in 2012, as well as in the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs and their successor frameworks (based on E/CN.6/2012/3, para. 72 (p); resolution on improvement of situation of women in rural areas A/RES/66/129, OP 9).