OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 1995/85. The elimination of violence against women The Commission on Human Rights, Reaffirming that discrimination on the basis of sex is contrary to the Charter of the United Nation, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other international human rights instruments, and that its elimination is an integral part of efforts towards the elimination of violence against women, Recalling its resolution 1994/45 of 4 March 1994, in which it decided to appoint a special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Welcoming the adoption by the General Assembly, in its resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993, of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which recognizes that violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and expresses concern about the long-standing failure to protect and promote these rights and freedoms in relation to violence against women, Deeply concerned at continuing and endemic violence against women, noting that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women sets out various forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence against women, and noting that violence against women encompasses, but is not limited to battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence, violence related to exploitation, rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimation at work, in education institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution, Mindful that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (A/CONF.157/23), adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, affirmed that gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and exploitation, including those resulting from cultural prejudice and international trafficking, are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and must be eliminated, Alarmed by the marked increase in acts of sexual violence directed notably against women and children, as expressed in the Final Declaration of the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims, held at Geneva from 30 August to 1 September 1993, and reiterating that such acts constitute grave breaches of international humanitarian law, Deeply concerned that women and girls constitute the majority of the world's refugees and internally displaced persons, and recognizing the need to cooperate in eliminating all forms of discrimination, sexual exploitation and violence against female refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons and in promoting their active involvement in decisions affecting their lives and communities, Stressing that the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women will contribute to the elimination of violence against women and that the implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women strengthens and complements this process, and welcoming the Special Rapporteur's meeting with the members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its fourteenth session in January 1995, Bearing in mind that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action calls for action to integrate the equal status and human rights of women into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity, stresses the importance of working towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life and urges the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women, page 1

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