A/HRC/14/22
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
23 April 2010
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Fourteenth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women,
its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo*
Summary
This is the first thematic report submitted to the Human Rights Council by Rashida
Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, since
her appointment in June 2009. In addition to providing an overview of the main activities
carried out by the Special Rapporteur, the report focuses on the topic of reparations to
women who have been subjected to violence in contexts of both peace and post-conflict.
Most human rights and humanitarian law treaties provide for a right to a remedy. In
the context of gross and systematic violations of human rights, the Basic Principles and
Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of
International Human Rights Law and serious violations of International Humanitarian Law,
adopted by the General Assembly in 2005, start with the premise that “the State is
responsible for ensuring that victims of human rights violations enjoy an individual right to
reparation”.
Both the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women place upon the
State the duty to prevent, investigate, punish and provide compensation for all acts of
violence wherever they occur. Article 4 of the Declaration states that women who are
subjected to violence should be informed about and provided with access to the
mechanisms of justice and to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have
suffered, as provided by national legislation. The obligation to provide adequate reparations
involves ensuring the rights of women to access both criminal and civil remedies and the
establishment of effective protection, support and rehabilitation services for survivors of
violence. The notion of reparation may also include elements of restorative justice and the
need to address the pre-existing inequalities, injustices, prejudices and biases or other
societal perceptions and practices that enabled violations to occur, including discrimination
* Late submission.
GE.10-13109 (E)
010610