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Marginality of economic and social rights 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In support of the view that specific recognition is not required, it might be argued that if a treaty envisages such recognition, it would say so explicitly. Thus treaties dealing with torture, genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity call not just for legislative recognition of the norm, but also for explicit criminalization of particular conduct. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women unequivocally requires States parties "to embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation" (art. 2 (a)). It further obliges them "to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Although many forms of discrimination are inherently unjust, the correlation between gender-based discrimination and economic inequalities deserves special mention since it potentially affects half of the world's population. While both men and women may experience myriad inequalities, based on factors such as their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability, gender-based discrimination is too often seen to be almost exclusively a women's problem. In its World Development Report 2012, the World Bank describes the forms of discrimination that still exist in many countries and that directly affect economic inequality between men and women. According to the World Bank, men and women still have different ownership rights in at least nine countries, and in many countries, women and girls still have fewer inheritance rights than men and boys. In addition, women continue to fare badly in the labour market generally. A stocktaking by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) shows that almost 80 countries maintain restrictions on the types of work that women are permitted to undertake. Also according to UN-Women, at the global level, women's labour force participation rates have stagnated since the 1990s. Currently, only half of women are in the labour force compared to more than three quarters of men. Despite considerable regional variations, nowhere has this gender gap been eliminated: globally, women earn on average 24 per cent less than men. In one study of four countries, lifetime income gaps between women and men were estimated to be between 31 and 75 per cent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Economic and social inequalities are often categorized as "vertical inequalities", referring to the distribution of something such as income, health or power. Vertical inequalities can be distinguished from "horizontal inequalities", which are group-based differences (describing between "whom" the relevant differences occur). Horizontal inequalities may for instance refer to: inequality between men and women, between majorities and minorities, between races, between groups of people with different sexual orientations or between generations. Horizontal inequalities often overlap with vertical inequalities, for instance when women are overrepresented in lower income segments or when a racial minority is underrepresented in political bodies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- At present, there is no explicitly stated right to equality, as such, under international human rights law. In order to ground equality as an organizing theme in this area of law, human rights bodies and commentators have relied on provisions such as those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that proclaim the equal rights of men and women (preamble), that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights (art. 1) and that all are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law" (art. 7). These provisions have been paired with those dealing with non-discrimination, which is also considered to be one of the central and foundational principles of international human rights law. Virtually all of the core human rights treaties contain explicit provisions on non-discrimination. Also, for the most part, human rights bodies have been careful to emphasize that the norms of equality and non-discrimination require substantive and not just formal equality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Extreme inequality and human rights 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- However, in reading the jurisprudence generated by most of the treaty bodies, it is difficult to escape certain conclusions. First, article 3 of the International Covenants on Human Rights, which asserts equal rights for men and women, has perhaps not been given its fullest reading, especially in terms of access to resources. Second, for all of the attention given to affirmative obligations to eliminate discrimination, much of the work of the treaty bodies seems unduly confined to a focus on specific violations of non-discrimination. Linked to this is a reluctance to develop notions of distributive equality, which has been much debated in the literature, and would give an important added dimension to the effort to combat extreme inequality. Third, the right to equality needs to be given greater attention so that it is able to add substantively to the jurisprudence of international human rights bodies in ways that it has not, thus far. Finally, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has to date done all too little in practice, as opposed to its analysis in general comments, to explore what might be involved in the prohibitions in article 2 (2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights against discrimination based on social origin, property or birth.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
The implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors 2014, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- This reading is reinforced by the fact that the earlier provisions of Goal 1 seek to resolve the competition between the two ways of measuring poverty by endorsing both, but in very different terms. Target 1.1 follows the World Bank by calling for the eradication, by 2030, of "extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day". Given that this is a very low standard, the aspiration is a limited one. But when it comes to "men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions", the aim in target 1.2 is only to "reduce at least by half the proportion" by 2030. In other words, that target implies acceptance that as many as half of those currently living in extreme poverty, as measured by the multidimensional approach described above, will continue to do so beyond 2030. For a planet with immense wealth and one that is able to mobilize vast resources very rapidly for projects that further the interests of the elites, that is a shameful goal and one that is clearly inconsistent with the recognition that all persons are entitled to at least the minimum core of economic and social rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action highlighted the importance of tackling the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work between men and women, as an essential step towards achieving gender equality. Unfortunately, very little progress has been made since that time. The neglect of unpaid care in policy persists, at great cost to caregivers themselves. Across the world, millions of women still find that poverty is their reward for a lifetime spent caring, and unpaid care provision by women and girls is still treated as an infinite, cost-free resource that fills the gaps when public services are not available or accessible. This report calls for a fundamental shift in this status quo, as part of States' fundamental human rights obligations. Without further delay, public policies should position care as a social and collective responsibility and treat unpaid caregivers and those they care for as rights holders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- In order to achieve greater equality in sharing unpaid care work between women and men, in general and within households, the solutions must be public as well as private. It is necessary for the State to facilitate, incentivize and support men's caring, for example by ensuring that they have equal rights to employment leave as parents and carers, and providing education and training to men, women and employers. To facilitate long-term change, educational programmes, to be used in schools and communities, should be developed to challenge stereotypical, traditional male and female roles and promote the concept of shared family responsibility for unpaid care work in the home.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Undoubtedly, women cannot enjoy this right equally if they have a disproportionate share of (unpaid) work at home. Gendered distribution of, and stereotypical assumptions about, family and caring responsibilities are at the root of much of the discrimination and limitations women experience in the labour market: barriers to entering employment, fewer opportunities for advancement, lower wages and higher levels of informal and insecure work. Moreover, women's right to decent work is consistently perceived as inferior to that of men. Simultaneously, discrimination against men who seek to perform a greater share of caring and family responsibilities further entrenches gender stereotypes and disadvantages women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The Convention obliges States parties to take all appropriate measures to modify or abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that discriminate against women (article 2 (f)). This includes the obligation to modify "the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women" (article 5). The gendered division of unpaid care work, fostered by stereotypes which delineate men as breadwinners and women as carers/nurturers, is clearly one such practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Across the world, women and girls commit substantially more time than men to unpaid care work. This heavy and unequal responsibility for unpaid care is a barrier to women's greater involvement in the labour market, affecting productivity, economic growth and poverty reduction. Most importantly, however, the unequal distribution, intensity and lack of recognition of unpaid care work undermines the dignity of women caregivers, obstructs their enjoyment of several human rights on an equal basis with men, undermines progress towards gender equality and entrenches their disproportionate vulnerability to poverty across their lifetime.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Guaranteeing the exercise and enjoyment of women's right to work on an equal basis with men requires that States take all appropriate measures to ensure "that in law and in practice, men and women have equal access to jobs at all levels and all occupations". States must thus take all appropriate measures to address a broad range of obstacles that care providers face in the exercise of their right to work. Given the centrality of unpaid care work to discrimination against women in the field of work, a meaningful gender-sensitive national policy or strategy to tackle these obstacles is essential. Necessary measures range from the adoption of appropriate labour regulations to the provision of quality services to support care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
The right to participation of people living in poverty 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Based on the principle of equality between women and men, this preparation must include a gender analysis, and members of both sexes must be given the chance to represent their views, including, if necessary, through specially targeted consultations (for example, women-only spaces) and support. Processes to identify participants must not rely on community elites in a manner than can reinforce existing inequalities, for example by requiring attestation from officials or community elites that a person is likely to be "affected" by the outcome of a decision. NGOs with close knowledge of and links with the community in question can assist in identifying those within the community who are most excluded, and support their inclusion and participation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- While fostering sociocultural change is a medium- to long-term objective, ensuring the equal enjoyment of rights of men and women is an immediate obligation for States. Therefore they must take immediate actions to alleviate the intensity of women's unpaid care work and redistribute their disproportionate share, including through the "provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life" (article 11 (2) (c)).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In order to ensure that women enjoy all their rights on equal terms with men, States must take all appropriate measures to ensure that care responsibilities are equally shared by men and women. The Convention expressly refers to the sharing of responsibility among men and women and wider society in regard to the upbringing of children (preamble). It notes that States parties must ensure "the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children" (article 5). This provision requires States to combat patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men within the family and society at large, and to address discrimination in education and employment and the compatibility of work requirements and family needs. States must, inter alia, prohibit discrimination or dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity and ensure that men and women have equal opportunities to choose their profession or occupation (see for example articles 11.2 and 16).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- Support, including financial support, should be given to the work of women's organizations and men's groups challenging the gender norms that allocate responsibility for care work to women and girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- States must identify and eliminate the underlying causes of inequality and discrimination in this context, including the causes of pay differentials, and reduce the constraints faced by men and women in reconciling professional and care responsibilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Human rights standards are concerned with the pursuit of substantive equality, rather than just formal equality. This is explicit in the approach of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which recognizes that achieving equality requires transforming unequal power relations between women and men and ensuring that all human beings can develop and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices. The Convention emphasizes that a gender-neutral policy may result in de facto discrimination against women, and that, to ensure that women enjoy the same rights as men and reach substantive equality, they may need to be treated differently.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- In both developed and developing countries women work longer hours than men when unpaid work is taken into account. However, because of structural discrimination, the work women do in the home is seen as unskilled and less valuable to society, meaning that men not only receive higher earnings but also more recognition for their contribution. This situation renders many women socially and financially dependent on men, thereby restricting their agency and autonomy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The unequal distribution of unpaid care work is highly reflective and determinative of power relations between women and men. Discriminatory gender stereotypes, which construe women as second-class citizens whose place is in the home, cause and perpetuate this unequal distribution of work, rendering women's equal enjoyment of rights impossible. Addressing care responsibilities is thus an essential component of the obligations of States to ensure gender equality at home, work and in society more broadly.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure that women and men must have an equal right to family benefits and these should be provided taking into account the resources and circumstances of the household. All women, including those in informal or atypical work, should be granted paid maternity leave and benefits for an adequate period and States must take steps to the maximum of their available resources to ensure that social security systems cover persons working in the informal economy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- One of the most significant factors inhibiting women's capacity to participate in public life is men's failure to share unpaid care work, and the lack of services supporting this work. Intense and unequal care responsibilities often confine women to the domestic sphere, excluding them from paid work and public life and preventing them from participating in important decision-making processes at the community and national level.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Lack of women's perspective in policymaking on agriculture, water and food management, despite their being key actors in these areas, results in misinformed decision-making and jeopardizes women's rights further. Similarly, policy discussions at all levels suffer from an inherent bias because women and men with intensive caring responsibilities are not present, contributing to the invisibility and inattention to care work in public policy.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- States must act to ensure more equal distribution of care work. This requires redistribution in three forms: redistribution between women and men; redistribution from households to the State; and redistribution of time and resources towards poorer families and households.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- In addition, States must closely monitor education policies, institutions, programmes, spending patterns and other practices so as to identify and take measures to redress any de facto discrimination in the right to education. States are also required to eliminate any stereotyped concept of the role of men and women in all forms of education, and encourage types of education that will break these stereotypes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- States' neglecting or failing to address women's disproportionate unpaid care workload can be seen as a major failure to comply with the obligations regarding equality and non-discrimination which are the pillars of international human rights law. States must take all necessary measures to ensure that unpaid care work does not have a disproportionate impact on women's enjoyment of rights, and create the conditions to ensure that it is undertaken on a basis of equality between men and women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The right to work is often a crucial enabling factor for dignity, personal development and social and economic inclusion. The right to work signifies the right to paid work - "the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts". Men and women must be able to exercise this right on equal basis.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- However, the demands of unpaid care work often force women into precarious and informal jobs not covered by social insurance schemes linked to employment, such as paid parental leave, unemployment insurance or pensions. This further contributes to their poverty and economic dependency on men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- As the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has stated, relieving women of some of the burdens of domestic work would allow them to engage more fully in the life of their communities. In the short term, States must ensure that women's unpaid care responsibilities are not a barrier to their participation in public and political life on an equal basis with men, at the national, regional and local levels (see A/HRC/23/36). In the long term, to ensure women's full and equal enjoyment of this right, States must work towards an equal distribution of unpaid care work, including by tackling traditional gender norms and stereotypes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Unpaid care work and women's human rights 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- International labour standards also address equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women workers with family responsibilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph