A/HRC/RES/15/23
Recalling the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly
entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first
century”, the declaration adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women at its
forty-ninth session and the outcome document of the Durban Review Conference,
Recalling also Commission on Human Rights resolutions 2000/13 of 17 April 2000,
2001/34 of 23 April 2001 and 2003/22 of 22 April 2003, as well as Council resolution 6/30
of 14 December 2007 on integrating the human rights of women throughout the United
Nations system and Council resolution 12/17 of 2 October 2009 on the elimination of
discrimination against women,
Bearing in mind that international human rights treaties, including the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender and include guarantees
to ensure the enjoyment by women and men, and girls and boys, of their civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights on a basis of equality,
Deeply concerned by the fact that women everywhere are still subject to significant
disadvantage as the result of discriminatory laws and practices and that de jure and de facto
equality has not been achieved in any country in the world,
Recognizing that women face multiple forms of discrimination,
Reiterating the need to intensify efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination
against women throughout the world,
Recognizing that the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of life is
essential for the full and complete economic and social development of a country,
Recognizing also that the elimination of discrimination against women, in law and in
practice, is primarily the responsibility of States, and that the United Nations human rights
system plays an important role in contributing to these efforts,
Mindful of the fact that the elimination of discrimination against women requires the
consideration of women’s specific socio-economic context, and recognizing that laws,
policies, customs and traditions that restrict women’s equal access to full participation in
development processes and public and political life are discriminatory and may contribute
to the feminization of poverty,
Recalling its resolution 5/1 on institution-building of the Council and resolution 5/2
on the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Council, of 18 June
2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his/her duties in accordance
with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,
1.
Reaffirms the obligation of States to take all appropriate measures to
eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;
2.
Welcomes the commitments made by the international community to fully
implement the Millennium Development Goals, and stresses, in that context, the resolve of
Heads of State to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective
ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate development that is truly
sustainable;
3.
Also welcomes the efforts made by States around the world to reform their
legal systems in order to remove obstacles to women’s full and effective enjoyment of their
human rights;
4.
Expresses concern at the fact that, despite the pledge made at the Fourth
World Conference on Women and the review conducted by the General Assembly at its
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