A/HRC/41/33
C.
Communications and press releases
7.
During the period under review, the Working Group addressed communications to
Governments, individually or jointly with other mandate holders. The communications
concerned a wide range of issues falling within its mandate, including discriminatory
legislation and practices, allegations of attacks against women human rights defenders,
gender-based violence and violations of the right to sexual and reproductive health. 3 The
Working Group also issued press releases, individually or jointly with other mandate
holders, treaty bodies and regional mechanisms. 4
D.
Commission on the Status of Women
8.
Members of the Working Group addressed the sixty-third session of the
Commission on the Status of Women and participated in its interactive dialogue on the
theme of “Accelerating implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action:
exchange of best practices in preparation for the Beijing+25 review and appraisal”. The
Working Group organized a side event on the theme of “Current challenges and
opportunities for women human rights defenders: how can the international community
better support their work?” and participated in a number of other events.
E.
Other activities
9.
Since its previous report to the Human Rights Council, members of the Working
Group have undertaken numerous activities, including participation in regional
consultations and expert meetings and engagement with stakeholders, descriptions of which
can be found on its website.
III. Thematic analysis: causes of women’s deprivation of liberty5
A.
Context
10.
While the Working Group recognizes that there is a wide spectrum of practices that
can be understood as depriving women of their liberty through a variety of autonomy
constraints, for the purposes of the present report, deprivation of liberty is understood as
confinement of the body. 6 Within that definition, however, the Working Group takes a
comprehensive approach, examining multiple forms of restrictions on women’s liberty by
both State and non-State actors. It analyses the underlying causes for which women can be
deprived of liberty in detention facilities, but also in other public and private institutions, in
private homes or community spaces, and in situations of conflict and crisis.
11.
The right to liberty is a fundamental right widely recognized in international
instruments. It is enshrined in articles 4, 9 and 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and in articles 8, 9, 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, among other instruments. Deprivation of liberty also concerns other fundamental
rights, including the rights to freedom of movement, personal integrity, privacy, health,
work, education, and freedom of assembly, association, expression and religion or belief.
Moreover, the rights to equality and freedom from discrimination and the equal rights of
women and men, as guaranteed by article 2 of the Declaration and article 3 of the
Covenant, as well as articles 2 and 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
3
4
5
6
4
See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WGWomen/Pages/Communications.aspx.
See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/NewsSearch.aspx?MID=WG_Women.
Throughout the report, unless otherwise specified, the term “women” should be understood to include
girls and women of all ages.
See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person,
para. 3.