in measuring and accelerating progress and are enhanced by voluntarily sharing information, knowledge and experience. The Commission acknowledges in this regard the importance of civil registration
systems and vital statistics.
42.
The Commission urges Governments, at all
levels, and as appropriate, with the relevant entities of the United Nations system,
international and regional organizations,
within their respective mandates and bearing in mind national priorities, and invites
national human rights institutions where
they exist, civil society, including non-governmental organizations, the private sector,
employer organizations, trade unions, media and other relevant actors, as applicable,
to take the following actions:
38. The Commission also recognizes that insufficient
priority given to and significant underinvestment
in gender equality and the empowerment of
women in the realization of the human rights of
women and girls continue to limit progress on the
Millennium Development Goals for girls and women of all ages, their families and communities, and
for the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. It stresses that
the available resources, through domestic resource
mobilization and official development assistance,
and their allocation remain a concern and are often
inadequate to the task.
A. Realizing women’s and girls’ full
enjoyment of all human rights
39. The Commission acknowledges the strategic and
coordinating role of national machineries for the
advancement of women, which should be placed
at the highest possible level in government, for the
achievement of gender equality and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals
for women and girls, and the need to endow these
machineries with the necessary human and sufficient financial resources to enable them to function
effectively. The Commission also acknowledges the
contribution of national human rights institutions
where they exist.
(a) Consider ratifying or acceding to, as a particular
matter of priority, the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and
the Convention on the Rights of the Child and their
respective Optional Protocols, limit the extent of
any reservations, formulate any such reservations
as precisely and as narrowly as possible to ensure
that no reservations are incompatible with the
object and purpose of the Conventions, review their
reservations regularly with a view to withdrawing
them and withdraw reservations that are contrary
to the object and purpose of the relevant treaty, and
implement them fully by, inter alia, putting in place
effective national legislation and policies;
40. The Commission acknowledges the major contribu-
tions made by civil society, including women’s and
community-based organizations and feminist groups,
in placing the interests, needs and visions of women
on national, regional and international agendas.
(b) Accelerate full and effective implementation of
the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme
of Action of the International Conference on
Population and Development and its key actions for
their further implementation and the outcomes of
their review conferences to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals for women and girls;
41. The Commission recognizes that all human rights are
universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated and that the international community must
treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner,
on the same footing and with the same emphasis,
and stresses that, while the significance of national
and regional particularities and various historical,
cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in
mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and
protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
(c) Eliminate all forms of discrimination against
women and girls through the development, where
needed, adoption and accelerated and effective
implementation and monitoring of laws and
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