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UN Working Group on the Issue of Discrimination Against
Women in Law and in Practice
Introduction
The
establishment of the Working Group by the Human Rights Council at its 15th
session in September 2010 was a milestone on the long road towards women’s
equality with men. Over the years, many constitutional and legal reforms to
integrate women’s human rights fully into domestic law have occurred, but there
remains insufficient progress. Discrimination against women persists in both
public and private spheres in times of conflict and in peace. It transcends
national, cultural and religious boundaries and is often fuelled by patriarchal
stereotyping and power imbalances which are mirrored in laws, policies and
practice.
The
Working Group focus is to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation
with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of
laws that discriminate against women. The Group is also tasked with developing
a dialogue with States and other actors on laws that have a discriminatory impact
where women are concerned. It is also mandated to prepare a compendium of best
practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against
women or are discriminatory to women in terms of implementation or impact as
well as to undertake a study on the way and means it can cooperate with States
to fulfill their commitments in that regard.
The five
member of the working group were appointed by the Human Right Council in March
2011 and assumed their functions on 1st May 2011.
Overview of the mandate
At its
fifteenth session, the Human Rights Council adopted by consensus resolution 15/23 to
establish, for a period of three years, a working group of five independent
experts, of balanced geographical representation, on the issue of
discrimination against women in law and in practice.
As it is
stated in this resolution, the main tasks which define the mandate are:
- To
develop a dialogue with States, the relevant United Nations entities,
national human rights institutions, experts on different legal systems,
and civil society organizations to identify, promote and exchange views on
best practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate
against women or are discriminatory to women in terms of implementation or
impact and, in that regard, to prepare a compendium of best practices;
- To
undertake a study, in cooperation with and reflecting the views of States
and relevant United Nations entities, national human rights institutions
and civil society organizations, on the ways and means in which the
working group can cooperate with States to fulfil their commitments to
eliminate discrimination against women in law and in practice;
- To
make recommendations on the improvement of legislation and the
implementation of the law, to contribute to the realization of the
Millennium Development Goals, in particular goal 3 on the promotion of
gender equality and the empowerment of women;
- To
work in close coordination, in the context of the fulfilment of its
mandate, with other special procedures and subsidiary organs of the
Council, relevant United Nations entities, including the Commission on the
Status of Women and UN Women and, in particular, the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other treaty bodies,
within their respective mandates, with a view to avoiding unnecessary
duplication;
- To
take into account the views of other stakeholders, including relevant regional
human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions and civil
society organizations;
- To
submit an annual report to the Council, starting at its twentieth session,
on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, and
on good practices in eliminating such discrimination, drawing upon the
findings of the United Nations human rights machinery and the broader
United Nations system;
At its
twenty-third session, the Human Rights Council adopted by consensus Resolution
23/7 extending the mandate of the Working Group for a period
of three years on the same terms as provided for by the Human Rights Council in
its resolution 15/23. Among other priorities, the new resolution:
- Calls
upon all States to cooperate with and assist the Working Group in its
task, to supply all necessary available information requested by it and to
give serious consideration to responding favourably to its requests to
visit their country to enable it to fulfil its mandate effectively;
- Calls
upon States and urges institutions of global governance, including the
United Nations, to promote women’s equal access to decision-making
positions and processes, and encourages them to appoint and promote women
staff members in order to guarantee women’s equal participation;
- Invites
relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, treaty bodies and
civil society actors, including non-governmental organizations, as well as
the private sector, to cooperate fully with the Working Group in the
fulfilment of its mandate, and requests the Working Group to continue its
cooperation with the Commission on the Status of Women;
- Requests
the Working Group to continue to work on its thematic priorities, namely,
political and public life, economic and social life, family and cultural
life, and health and safety, and to dedicate specific attention to good
practices that have contributed to mobilizing society as a whole,
including men and boys, in the elimination of discrimination against
women;
- Requests
the Working Group, in the discharge of its mandate, to offer support to
States’ initiatives to address multiple forms of discrimination against
women and girls when implementing their obligations as State parties to
relevant international human rights treaties with regard to civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights, and related commitments,
where applicable;
The third and the fourth thematic reports, focusing on women’s family
and cultural life and health and safety, will be submitted to the 29th and 32nd
sessions of the Human Rights Council in June 2015 and June 2016, respectively.
wgdiscriminationwomen@ohchr.org