Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 405 entities
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Attacks against persons with albinism and corollary issues of displacement and trafficking in body parts violate the right to life, the right to security of person and the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, as enshrined in various international human rights treaties. As reported by OHCHR, whether any particular ritual killing or attack against persons with albinism is attributable to a State agent needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. Nevertheless, the State violates its obligation to ensure the right to life and the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment by failing to take appropriate measures to prevent, investigate, prosecute, punish or redress.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The Independent Expert is of the view that specific measures to end attacks against persons with albinism should include immediate investigation of allegations and prosecution of alleged perpetrators, legal representation and adequate protection for victims and witnesses and sensitization of the judiciary and law enforcement officers on the issue. Furthermore, protection measures for persons with albinism should be adopted and implemented in their communities. Victims of attacks should be provided with the appropriate remedy and redress, not only legal, but also social, psychological and medical. The Independent Expert will also seek the adoption of measures to prevent the trafficking in body parts, as well as specific measures for improving conditions at temporary shelters for displaced persons with albinism and the execution of safe strategies for reintegrating them into their homes and communities. In that regard, she encourages international and regional cooperation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to education of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers 2010, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur further notes that child migrants and refugees, often in search of education and work opportunities, are particularly vulnerable to forced, compulsory and exploitative labour and sexual abuse. International instruments, such as the ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 and the European Social Charter (revised) (art. 7.2), establish 15 as the minimum age for both the completion of compulsory schooling and entry into employment. Consequently, the increased reduction of the right to education in elementary schooling undermines the protection of child migrants and refugees from hazardous work. This is related to the understanding that education can, and should, serve as an important tool to protect children from sexual and gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, military recruitment, crime and drugs, inter alia.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to education
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- While in the Slavery Convention reference is made to forced labour and States are called on to take all necessary measures to prevent compulsory or forced labour from developing into conditions analogous to slavery (art. 5), forced labour was not defined until the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). The right not to be subjected to forced labour is now enshrined in a number of other international instruments, including in the ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 8 (3)) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (art. 11 (1)). In the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour and the effective abolition of child labour is required.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eradicating contemporary forms of slavery from supply chains 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In agriculture, contemporary forms of slavery have reportedly occurred in many countries, involving crops such as sugar cane, cut flowers, fruit and vegetables, tropical nuts and commodities, for example, palm oil, cotton, cocoa, tobacco and beef. Production in the sector often relies on temporary or migrant labour and is characterized by complex contracting and subcontracting chains, as well as smallholder farming in some cases. Much of the work on remote farms and plantations is typified by excessive working hours, lack of compliance with labour laws, weak or non-existent labour inspections and corruption. Competition to produce at the lowest cost enhances the risk of contemporary forms of slavery being involved in agriculture, especially debt bondage in impoverished rural communities and among vulnerable categories of workers, such as indigenous people, minorities, migrants, women and children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Child and other forms of forced marriage increase during conflict and among displaced populations living in refugee or internally displaced persons camps. In 2015 the practice has been documented as being enforced by both State actors and non-State or rebel factions in Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and elsewhere, with victims being repeatedly raped, compelled to carry multiple pregnancies and subjected to other forms of physical and psychological violence over prolonged periods. While rape commonly occurs in the context of forced marriage, girls and women can also be forced into marriage as a consequence of rape or fear of sexual violence, as a form of "restitution" or "reparation". Like rape, forced marriage is used as a tactic of war and to fulfil strategic objectives such as domination, intimidation and degradation. It has been recognized as a crime against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Hate speech and incitement to hatred 2012, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- With the increasing speed at which news and information circulate around the world through the mass media and the Internet, manifestations of hate speech have become increasingly visible. Moreover, in the context of rising immigration flows and population movements, declining domestic economies and the emergence of terrorism as a crucial political challenge, there has been a growing tendency to stigmatize specific groups and communities. This has been compounded by flawed national security and anti-terrorism laws and policies, such as racial profiling, demagogic statements by opportunistic politicians and irresponsible reporting by the mass media.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to access information 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The gravity and the scale of the practice of disappearances by the regimes that were in power in Latin America from the 1960s, and the subsequent struggle of family members and society in general to establish the fate of the victims and to ensure investigation into the facts and punishment of the perpetrators, was initially at the centre of the development of the right to truth. During those regimes, the justice systems of the countries in which such acts occurred were completely ineffective in carrying out investigations into the facts. Moreover, many of the countries concerned adopted amnesty laws that not only ensured impunity for the perpetrators but, in effect, also impeded investigations by the justice systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the workplace 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Intimidation is common to the migrant worker experience. In 2015, 245 Zimbabwean migrant workers were harassed, intimidated and suffered retaliation (and four of them physical violence) after they organized to ask for a wage increase on a vegetable farm in South Africa. They had worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, and 17-hour days during the vegetable harvest, but were paid about half the minimum wage. They were forcibly evicted in September 2015, but later vindicated in court, when the judge found they were owed back pay or reinstatement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the workplace 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Violence with impunity is also common. In Mexico, migrant farmworkers at one of the country's biggest tomato exporters were physically assaulted when they complained about lack of food or tried to leave the work camp where they were kept "as prisoners". Camp bosses threatened workers who demanded their illegally withheld pay. The indebted workers could not enjoy their assembly and association rights for fear of losing wages that would not be paid until the harvest. The company received World Bank financing and supplied major United States grocers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the workplace 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Migrant domestic workers are, like other migrants, often unprotected by worker rights. They are subject to extreme abuses, including forced labour and trafficking and gender-based violence. They may be deprived of food and sleep, denied medical treatment and prohibited from leaving their workplace. Zainab Yusuf, a Kenyan worker trafficked to Saudi Arabia, had to work 21 hours a day cleaning and caring for her employers' seven children. She could not leave the house or contact her family, and faced ongoing sexual harassment and physical abuse from her employer and his sons. Under such conditions, domestic workers have no opportunity to peacefully assemble or to associate.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health and criminalization of same-sex conduct and sexual orientation, sex-work and HIV transmission 2010, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Sex workers should have the right to legal protection, with regard to various hazards such as violence, general occupational risks and labour exploitation. Judicial decisions have, in some instances, resulted in such protection being directly realized. For instance, a court in The Hague found in favour of a Czech immigrant who had been denied permission to reside in The Netherlands for the purposes of prostitution, concluding that prostitution is considered labour according to domestic law, and that the petitioner was therefore entitled to a permit.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Migrant worker’s right to health 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- States have a responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil the enjoyment of the right to health of migrant sex workers, regardless of whether they have been trafficked or not. Migrant sex workers are a highly stigmatized population as sex or sex-related work may be criminalized in many countries. Occupational health hazards for sex workers include a disproportionate risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, violence and often rape. Criminalization perpetuates discrimination, stigma and violence towards sex workers and is a barrier to accessing health-care services, which leads to poorer health outcomes. When combined with xenophobia, criminalization may legitimize harassment, intimidation and violence against migrant sex workers, especially by law enforcement authorities, without mechanism for protection or redress. The nature of the occupation is also used to justify compulsory testing for HIV and other communicable diseases. Additionally, human traffickers may take advantage of the illegality of sex work and migration and exert undue influence and control over sex workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- To date, the approach to violence reduction has been fragmented, compartmentalizing different forms of violence. Importantly, many forms of violence continue to be tolerated within societies and even supported by States. For example, violence against women and children remains accepted in many societies as a cultural norm. The institutional care of young children, a clear act of violence against children, remains widespread in many countries. Around the world, many groups in vulnerable situations, including women, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, experience numerous forms of violence. Each example is also a violation of various human rights protected under international law, including the right to health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Migration and the right to adequate housing 2010, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- For example, between 15,000 and 20,000 Roma people are currently living in the Italian capital. Most of them have Romanian citizenship or originate from countries of former Yugoslavia - Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In 2008, Roma families were victims of assaults and discrimination, including eviction from illegal settlements across Rome. These evictions were characterized by the indiscriminate destruction of their huts and lack of provision of alternative housing, which left hundreds of Roma, including women and children, without shelter.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- These and other proposals to address housing, land and property rights through the active participation of the affected people, and to build on existing community processes, were not taken up by the transitional authorities or the newly independent Government. In the aftermath of the later wave of violence, destruction and displacement of 2006-7, the need for such involvement became prominently recognised. The five pillars of the National Recovery Strategy included one aimed at building trust within communities and between the people and the Government. This was in the context of urgent attempts to achieve the reintegration and return of IDPs displaced by the violence to their communities, with the incentive of cash compensation from the State with which they could repair their homes or settle in alternative areas in cases where reintegration proved impossible. As part of a Dialogue, Communications and Outreach Programme, dialogue teams were established to manage the necessary conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation processes. This required the participation of local authorities, youth leaders and other groupings. The programme, which was still continuing in some communities in May 2010, incorporated the use of customary dispute resolution practices and peacebuilding ceremonies. It is widely regarded as having been successful and necessary for peacebuilding and the safe return of IDPs. Women reportedly participated far more actively than men in the community dialogue and reconciliation process. This was in contrast to the compensation payment process, which had been male-dominated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The indivisibility of the right to life and the right to housing is also heightened in situations of conflict, particularly where homes and residential areas are targeted. House demolitions, shelling and bombing in residential areas and the destruction of infrastructure (water, sewage and electricity systems, for example) are frequently used as acts of aggression in conflict situations, rendering entire areas unfit and inadequate for life. For example, in the 2014 incursion into Gaza, 160,000 housing units were destroyed or suffered major or minor damage. Eighteen months after the war, the reconstruction or repair of the homes of 74 per cent of Palestinian families who were displaced had not even begun, leaving approximately 90,000 people displaced or homeless.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The primary duty of the State to provide humanitarian assistance and the corresponding rights of internally displaced persons 2010, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- A third and related trend is the increased violence against humanitarian workers and operations. One study found that the number of kidnappings of humanitarian personnel more than tripled between 2006 and 2009 alone. Few of the perpetrators are ever brought to justice. Moreover, while violence against humanitarians may, in part, be simply a consequence of the general insecurity in weak or failed States, where most conflicts and some of the largest disaster-related humanitarian crises occur, politically motivated attacks are also on the rise.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Looking forward: addressing new challenges and consolidating gains 2011, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement explicitly call on States to provide protection for women and girls, including by safeguarding them from gender-specific violence and by ensuring their rights to equal access to services and participation in assistance programs. Yet, we know that abuses against displaced women and girls continue to be perpetrated with impunity in many parts of the world, and that many do not have adequate access to key rights and services, or to adequate physical, legal or social protection. While efforts have been made to strengthen legal protection for displaced women who are survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, more needs to be done both at this level, as well as in terms of concrete assistance so that these women and their families can rebuild their lives and durable solutions be found together with them. Assistance without durable solutions will never be sufficient to improve their situation and their vulnerability to further abuse and human rights violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Looking forward: addressing new challenges and consolidating gains 2011, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Sexual and gender-based violence is frequently used as a tactic of war to forcibly displace civilians in order to achieve military or political objectives, to punish communities for their political allegiances, or as a way of conducting inter-ethnic fighting. The impunity that accompanies these crimes is such that armed actors sometimes return to conduct mass rapes on survivors a second time, even after displacement. The risk of this type of violence during displacement is well documented and occurs in the context of both conflict and non-conflict induced displacement situations. Women are also particularly affected by the breakdown of basic infrastructure, given their role as care-givers, and when assistance is insufficient they often face the dilemma of having to subject themselves to sexual exploitation in order to feed their children. Once the reasons for displacement have ended, women are rarely included in peace processes or decisions relating to their future, so that durable solutions fail to take into account what would actually enable these women to rebuild their lives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Evolution, challenges and trends in internal displacement 2012, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Internal armed conflicts and violence continue to be a major cause of internal displacement and often lead to situations of protracted displacement and some of the most egregious human rights violations. That situation is aggravated in the case of asymmetric armed conflict between States and one or more non-State armed groups, for example militia groups, paramilitary groups or armed gangs, and the increasing intersection of political and criminal violence. Non-State armed groups, for example often use sexual violence as a method of warfare or in order to forcibly displace civilian populations, frequently hinder or block access to humanitarian assistance and leave behind landmines and improvised explosive devices which impede returns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Evolution, challenges and trends in internal displacement 2012, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- In particular, there is increasing interest in and research on internal displacement caused by violence linked to organized crime in situations which do not reach the threshold of armed conflict. In that context, there are indications of an increased reference to and use of humanitarian categories, actors and responses (including with regard to internal displacement) to conflicts and situations of armed violence where criminality plays an important role. An example is the debate around responses relating to internal displacement in situations of violence stemming from the activities of drug cartels or fighting between the police, the military and drug gangs. It will be important to strengthen monitoring of those causes of internal displacement and their humanitarian and human rights consequences, and of accountability mechanisms in relation to that issue and awareness-raising among all parties on applicable national and international rules and responsibilities, including with respect to the prohibition of forced displacement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
A more systematized and equitable response to internally displaced persons outside camps 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- During his recent country visit to Kenya in September 2011, the Special Rapporteur found that of an estimated 664,000 IDPs resulting from the 2007/2008 post-election violence in the country, over 300,000 had dispersed into the wider population (many in towns and cities) and neither been registered nor assisted by the State. Many displaced in previous cycles of displacement (e.g.1990s) in Kenya were also unassisted. While it is generally presumed that these IDPs found their own solution through host families and friends, the Special Rapporteur remains concerned that many of these IDPs, a large part of whom had already been poor, had seen their situation further deteriorate and could be living in urban slums or on the street. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur received reports of a significant increase in street children, many of whom were believed to be IDPs, in a number of large towns and cities since the 2007/2008 post- election violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
A more systematized and equitable response to internally displaced persons outside camps 2012, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Improved and more systematized responses to IDPs outside camps, can also help address a number of other issues, including the precarious nature and protection problems raised by unmonitored and unassisted hosting arrangements such as those between IDPs and host families or friends. Highly or entirely dependent on the assistance and shelter provided by host families, certain groups of IDPs, such as vulnerable categories of women, children and the elderly, may be particularly at risk of a number of protection concerns, including abuse, exploitation, and sexual violence by their hosts. In this regard, this mandate has recommended the establishment of appropriate monitoring and ombuds-mechanisms, and other activities such as visits by social workers, working with local associations and counselling centres, and the establishment of a hotline, in order enhance the protection of IDPs living within host-family arrangements.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Some progress has also been made in developing guidelines on prevention of and response to SGBV; setting standards for the inclusion of sexual violence concerns in peace agreements and ceasefires; implementing training programmes to prevent sexual exploitation by peacekeepers and humanitarians; rolling-out monitoring analysis and reporting arrangements in several countries pursuant to Security Council resolution 1960 (2010); developing early warning indicators on sexual violence; and establishing targets to increase the proportion of female police officers in peacekeeping operations to 20 per cent by 2014. However, these issues continue to represent stark challenges.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Despite myriad training, guidelines and manuals, displaced women and girls continue to be subject to egregious levels of sexual violence. In some situations, sexual violence or other forms of gender-based violence is used as a deliberate tactic to instil terror, and force displacement, or to discourage IDPs from demanding their rights. Beyond being a significant cause of displacement and a grievous human rights violation in its own right, SGBV or the perceived risk of it can also curtail women's access to a range of rights and services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- There is therefore a pressing need for a more preventative approach to these challenges. In this regard, the Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children (2006) of the Great Lakes region and the model law annexed thereto, the 2011 Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará) provide some important entry points and examples in terms of legal frameworks. Fuel strategies and livelihood initiatives targeting displaced women and girls, and those at risk of displacement, are further practical measures which can be central to reducing exposure to sexual violence. Reducing vulnerability to sexual violence also entails ensuring that survivors have access to appropriate support, including reproductive and psychosocial services and that adequate resources are devoted to gender-sensitive site planning.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Given that nearly 50 per cent of survivors of sexual assault are under 18 years of age, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about the prevailing tendency to overlook the needs of children and youth in this area. Additionally, a stronger focus on prevention is required regarding SGBV within internally displaced households and communities. At present, most SGBV prevention and response programmes focus on "stranger" rape rather than the more prevalent forms of sexual violence experienced within households and communities (e.g. intimate partner violence), and the problematic coping practices that IDW may be compelled to adopt (e.g. early marriages). Moreover, given that women with disabilities in non-displacement settings are more likely to be victims of sexual violence and abuse, the levels of sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities amongst displaced and conflict-affected populations are likely to be even higher.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Access to justice and accountability mechanisms remains limited and inadequate for most IDW. In some cases, women are constrained to use customary justice systems, which often discriminate against them and apply principles in contradiction with national and international standards. In others, formal justice mechanisms may also discriminate against women and therefore not provide the best outcome for IDW. The Special Rapporteur finds the most glaring gap to be in access to justice for survivors of sexual violence. Ensuring legal justice for survivors can be transformative because it sends a clear message rejecting impunity for this heinous crime. However, in some instances IDW not only lack access to effective remedies, but have themselves been charged when bringing forward allegations of rape by State security forces in camps. Conversely, legal aid, where available, has proven invaluable to IDW seeking access to justice for SGBV, as well as for other crimes and legal claims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Internally displaced women: progress, challenges and the way ahead 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The pursuit of durable solutions raises a range of concerns for IDW. Although the choice of a durable solution is, in principle, an individual matter, in practice decisions concerning durable solutions are usually made by families or communities, often marginalizing women's preferences. For example, particularly when they have been the targets of SGBV, IDW may be deterred from returning due to traumatic associations or fear of further attacks. Yet, in some instances families or other actors may pressure women to return despite these concerns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph