WUNRN
Website - President of the UN Human
Rights Council, 6th Cycle (2011-12)
Introductory
statement
by
the
President of the Human Rights Council
H.E.
Laura Dupuy Lasserre
4th
Intl NGO Forum for the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Women
Geneva,
05 September 2012
President of the Session,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to participate in the
4th International NGO Forum on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Women.
Let me first thank OCAPROCE
International for organizing this event, and especially Princess Micheline
Makou Djouma.
This year’s focus on Asian women,
together with the past sessions on Africa and Europe and the next on the
Americas, will provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation of women
throughout the world, by sharing experiences from the ground and identifying
challenges, both at national and international levels, that hinder progress in
the full enjoyment of women’s rights.
The global financial, economic, food
and climate crisis have seriously affected human rights worldwide, and in
particular women who are victims of multiple forms of discrimination. The
international community cannot turn a blind eye to feminized poverty and
exclusion.
I wish you therefore great success
in this endeavour of raising awareness, in order to act accordingly and in
conformity with international human rights standards.
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL WORK IN FAVOUR OF WOMEN
As you know, women’s rights and
gender issues have been at the top of the agenda of the Human Rights Council,
as well as for the Uruguayan Presidency, pointing out at several existing gaps.
Since its establishment, the Council
has taken several initiatives in order to effectively contribute to the
realization of women’s rights and gender equality.
For instance, through its resolution
6/30, the Council requested that its mechanisms systematically integrate a
gender perspective into their work. The Council holds an annual discussion on
this issue and on September 20th, the Council will discuss the issue
of economic, social and cultural rights of women and the empowerment of women.
Through interactive dialogues with
various Special Rapporteurs, including on violence against women and on
trafficking of persons, especially women and children, as well as through its
thematic resolutions, such as those on maternal mortality and the right to
education, the Council has been continuously addressing the issue of women’s
rights and equality of opportunities.
The newly established Working Group
on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice which
presented its first report in our June session, constitutes a new tool of
universal scope contributing to the removal of obstacles to the full enjoyment
of women’s rights. Indeed, the Working Group intends to focus on States’ obligation
to eliminate discrimination against women in economic and social life,
especially in view of the international crisis.
Moreover, the Universal Periodic
Review, which is valued as having great potential to promote and protect human
rights in every corner of the world, has proven very useful to foster a
national reflection and dialogue and follow-up on what is sometimes seen as
delicate or invisible issues, such as the discrimination of women and girls.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Though women’s rights are human
rights, there are still numerous obstacles for their full realization.
Gender equality and empowerment of
women is one of the Millennium Development Goals, but a lot remains to be done
to reach them by 2015. We cannot forget that all MDGs are interrelated.
Despite the obligations that come
since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and the renewed and
clear political commitment in the Vienna Summit of 1993 as well as in Beijing
in 1995 and afterwards, socioeconomic and cultural factors are often invoked to
hamper the effective and full implementation of universally recognized human
rights of women.
The limited access to education and
health, including maternal health, will jeopardize the development of many countries
and their future generations; being access to quality affordable education one
of the keys to achieve the MDGs.
At the same time, the lack of
economic means, women’s difficulty in getting equal access to decent jobs, land
and property, credits or new technologies, plus domestic violence, exploitation
and harmful traditional practices are other scourges that cannot be silenced.
Moreover, one has to underline the particularly vulnerable situation of women
in armed.
The negotiations that will soon
start in New York over the Sustainable Development Goals after the Summit of
Rio plus 20, of last June, are aimed to cover the environmental, economic and
social dimensions of sustainable development, and this includes human rights
and specifically women’s rights, as agreed in the outcome document “The Future
We Want”. They should contribute to the full implementation of the outcomes of
all major summits in the economic, social and environmental fields.
Efforts at the international level,
including the normative framework, must be translated into concrete measures at
national level. In this regard, national plans of action on equality of
opportunities, integrating the gender perspective and targeting vulnerable
groups, as well as poverty reduction plans and strategies play a fundamental
role. In addition, macroeconomic and other public policies should integrate a
gender perspective, and gender equality should be a stated objective of all
these measures. Women shall be able to participate on an equal footing in the
design of these policies.
ASIAN FOCUS
This year’s focus on the Asian
continent, characterized by its cultural diversity, is an excellent opportunity
for us to learn about national and regional initiatives on women’s rights and
their empowerment and on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The establishment in 2009 of the
ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was a significant
advancement in placing human rights at the centre of the region’s agenda. The
on-going drafting process of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration is a clear step
in this direction. This Intergovernmental Body, together with the ASEAN
Committee on Women and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of
the Rights of Women and Children, may be also a forum to further discuss and
foster women’s rights in this sub-region.
It would be also interesting to take
a look at the initiatives launched by Arab women organizations and by Arab
women parliamentarians and leaders. Regarding the political transitions in the
Arab World, Michelle Bachelet, UN Women Executive Director, stated a few months
ago that: “women were at the forefront of
these movements, leading protests, marches and social media campaigns to change
the status quo. And women should be at the forefront now in meaningful
political participation so they can help chart the future of their countries”. The Arab Human Rights Committee, which was
established by the Arab Charter on H.R. of 2004, should help in promoting
women’s rights.
Last but not least, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) established in 2012 the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), composed of 18 experts from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and will focus on women and children rights as a priority.
CONCLUSION - To conclude, I hope these two days will help identify the progress made in the real advancement of economic, social and cultural rights of women in Asia, and to propose measures that would help overcome the obstacles and challenges still faced in their full realization.
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