Search Tips
sorted by
30 shown of 747 entities
A human rights-based approach to the administration of criminal justice in cases of trafficking in persons 2012, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- It is important to emphasize that the relevant legislation must be clear, enforceable and comprehensive to ensure effective protection of the victim. States must criminalize trafficking as it has been defined by international law. This means that criminalization must cover a range of end purposes, including forced and exploitative labour; it must recognize the possibility of women, men and children being victims of trafficking; and that the trafficking in children must be defined differently to trafficking in adults. A trafficking law that covers only one of these aspects would fall short of this standard.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Women, in particular, face significant barriers to accessing justice given their subordinate position in many societies, and the lack of information and knowledge about their rights and the ways to claim their protection. Indeed, women in rural areas often are unaware of their legal rights. In many rural areas, sociocultural norms make women fearful of retribution or ostracism if they pursue land claims or seek protection from violence. As a result, women tend to be denied access to justice more often than men, and are also more likely to be denied justice altogether.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The rights and interests of women are thus especially compromised by badly resourced and trained judicial systems and police forces, State organs that traditionally reflect and prioritize the interests of men and are dominated by men. Not only do women living in poverty come up against stark power imbalances and discriminatory cultural norms and other social structures when instituting legal proceedings, they are also disadvantaged by the lack of training afforded to officials on the application of laws relating to gender-based violence and the proper treatment of victims and handling of complaints. Women living in poverty have even less power and capacity to challenge this state of affairs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to justice for people living in poverty 2012, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Customary and traditional justice systems can also threaten women's access to fair and equal justice. Informal justice systems based on custom, tradition or ethnic or religious identity often contain unequal provisions for women and men, do not have sanctions against gender-based violence or other abuses which take place in the domestic sphere, and are sometimes procedurally biased against women. This is especially problematic as it is family laws and property laws that are most often subject to the jurisdiction of such legal systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The effort to transplant the Western concept of property rights has created a number of problems, however. Unless it is transparent and carefully monitored, the titling process itself may be appropriated by local elites or foreign investors, with the complicity of corrupt officials. In addition, if it is based on the recognition of formal ownership, rather than on land users' rights, the titling process may confirm the unequal distribution of land, resulting in practice in a counter-agrarian reform. In particular, this will be the case in countries in which a small landed elite owns most of the available land, having benefited from the unequal agrarian structure of the colonial era. There is also a risk that titling will favour men. Any measures aimed at improving security of tenure should instead seek to correct existing imbalances, as the Land Management and Administration Project in Cambodia does.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 42b (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [In order to ensure the enjoyment of the right to food, States should:] Ensure that market-led land reforms are compatible with human rights. If, despite the reservations expressed in the present report, States choose to seek to improve security of tenure through titling programmes and the creation of land rights markets, they should: Ensure that titling schemes benefit women and men equally, correcting existing imbalances if necessary;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Specific, targeted schemes should ensure that women are empowered and encouraged to participate in this construction of knowledge. Culturally-sensitive participatory initiatives with female project staff and all-female working groups, and an increase in locally-recruited female agricultural extension staff and village motivators facing fewer cultural and language barriers, should counterbalance the greater access that men have to formal sources of agricultural knowledge. It is a source of concern to the Special Rapporteur that, while women face a number of specific obstacles (poor access to capital and land, the double burden of work in their productive and family roles, and low participation in decision-making), gender issues are incorporated into less than 10 per cent of development assistance in agriculture, and women farmers receive only 5 per cent of agricultural extension services worldwide. In principle, agroecology can benefit women most, because it is they who encounter most difficulties in accessing external inputs or subsidies. But their ability to benefit should not be treated as automatic; it requires that affirmative action directed specifically towards women be taken.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In addition, several organizations highlighted that there was a normative gap at the international level and persistent obstacles to the protection of women subjected to gender-based violence, for example the normalization of sexual violence against women or an emphasis on preserving marriages and family rather than addressing men’s impunity for family violence. Concern was expressed about the spiral of fundamentalism and extremism that was currently contributing to exacerbating violence against women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations underlined that boys and men should be addressed in the treaty as both perpetrators and potential allies for change. In addition, the correlation of violence against women with violence against children, whether boys being witnesses to domestic violence against their mothers or children of all gender identities being subjected to corporal punishment, needed to be made clear and solutions needed to be part of the treaty.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Men and boys can also become victims of trafficking, particularly for forced labour and to a lesser extent for sexual exploitation. However, lack of awareness about the involvement of men as trafficked persons has resulted in identification failures, as well as significant discrimination against male victims, particularly in terms of access to protection and assistance (A/HRC/26/37/Add.2, para. 34).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Men
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- With regard to perpetrators, while the majority of traffickers are men, women constitute 28 per cent of convicted trafficking offenders. It is not uncommon for women victims of trafficking to be convicted for offences connected with, or arising out of, their trafficking situation, as a result of coercion by their perpetrators to undertake criminal activities. In those situations, they often come to the attention of the authorities primarily as offenders, whilst they should rather be identified as victims of trafficking. On the other hand, in some cases women start out as victims of trafficking and, as a means of escaping their own victimization, turn into perpetrators, undertaking the most visible and dangerous criminal tasks. In that regard, the mandate has noted the involvement of women traffickers in areas such as the recruitment and controlling of children for forced labour and domestic servitude, and of women and girls for sexual exploitation (A/HRC/23/48/Add.2 and A/HRC/26/37/Add.4).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In addition, several ILO instruments are also of relevance to combating trafficking in persons, including ILO Conventions No. 29 (1930) concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour; No. 100 (1951) concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value; No. 105 (1957) concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour; No. 111 (1958) concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation; No. 138 (1973) concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment; and No. 182 (1999) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Of particular importance is the Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 which came into force in 2014, complementing ILO Convention No. 29 and re-enforcing existing international law. The Protocol creates new obligations to prevent forced labour, to protect victims and to provide access to remedy, such as compensation for material and physical harm. It is also supported by a recommendation that provides technical guidance on its implementation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur will adopt a gendered perspective on trafficking which acknowledges that both women and men can be involved in trafficking and provides a better understanding of how to address the similarities and differences in the trafficking experience of women and men. In her work, she plans to pay particular attention to understanding the characteristics of trafficking crimes from a gender perspective to ensure the adoption of targeted measures. A gender perspective is necessary to understand why women constitute the majority of victims of trafficking in certain sectors, and why men are less likely to be identified as victims of trafficking and less likely to be reached by existing support measures for trafficked persons. In addition, the compounded effects of various types of exploitation which affect women disproportionately should be examined. For instance, in the agriculture sector, women trafficked for labour exploitation who work in the fields during the day are often sexually exploited at night by fellow workers and/or brokers and intermediaries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- In continuation of the broad interpretation of trafficking in persons adopted by the mandate, the Special Rapporteur will embrace and further develop a comprehensive understanding of trafficking for any illicit purpose. This includes - but is not limited to - trafficking in adults and children for sexual purposes, for labour exploitation, for exploitative adoption and for participation in armed conflicts; trafficking in women, men and children for forced labour and other forms of exploitation, such as exploitation in criminal or illicit activities, or forced and organized begging; trafficking in women and girls for forced and servile marriages, sexual exploitation and forced labour, including domestic servitude; and trafficking in persons for the removal of organs (A/HRC/26/37, para. 36).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- In September 1995, at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, participating Governments adopted the Beijing Declaration, by which they reaffirmed their fundamental commitment to "the equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and men" (para. 8) and stated unequivocally that "women's rights are human rights" (para. 14). They also adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, in which they pledged to ensure equality and non-discrimination under the law and in practice (strategic objective I.1), and, more specifically, to "revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex and remove gender bias in the administration of justice" (para. 232 (d)). In 2000, during the five-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action by the General Assembly at its twenty-third special session, Governments committed to reviewing legislation with a view to striving to remove discriminatory provisions against women, preferably by 2005.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Effective elimination of discrimination against women requires the consistent political will of States, with broad-based consensus of whole societies, to formulate and implement laws that promote equality between men and women, prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, and prevent and provide redress for violence against women, along with policies and measures that create a conducive environment for women's empowerment.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 19b
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group will examine:] (b) The extent to which States have met the obligation to protect women from any act by private persons or entities which would impair women's rights to equality and to the exercise and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. This will involve identifying the success or failure of States with respect to eliminating all social, cultural, economic and political practices that constitute discrimination against women, including by establishing accessible and effective gender-responsive justice systems and human rights complaint mechanisms that ensure women's equal benefit and protection of the law. Where courts based on customary or religious law are recognized, special attention will be given to the steps taken by States to ensure compliance with international human rights standards, including on fair trial. This will also involve identifying steps taken by States to enact required equality guarantees in their constitutions and required equality provisions in legislation or other appropriate measures, including but not limited to equal-employment-opportunity laws, prohibitions on trafficking, family laws, and sexual and domestic violence legislation. An examination of good practices for this purpose would highlight the processes which led to the effective protection of women's human rights and basic freedoms on an equal basis with men;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group will further refer, in particular, to articles 2, 3 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Human Rights Committee general comments No. 28 (2000) on the equality of rights between men and women and No. 25 (1996) on the right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service. With regard to the obligation of States to modify cultural patterns of conduct inhibiting the advancement of women's human rights, the Working Group also refers to Human Rights Committee general comment No. 34 (2011) on the freedoms of opinion and expression.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group will also incorporate into its review the fact that women participating in political change and public life are often exposed to violence. The Working Group takes note of reports that women defenders are more at risk than men of suffering from certain forms of violence and other violations, due to the perception that they are challenging accepted sociocultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, sexual orientation, the family and the role and status of women in society.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In order to develop its research on this thematic priority, the Working Group sent letters to all States Members of the United Nations on 8 December 2011 seeking information on: constitutional and other legislative initiatives and reforms put in place to promote women's rights and gender equality; the framework of State institutions, machineries and mechanisms to implement actions in order to fight against all forms of discrimination and violence against women; women's political participation, on equal terms with men, in the transitional and post-transitional process at all levels of decision-making; and women's access to justice, including transitional justice mechanisms. The Working Group takes this opportunity to thank the 40 States that had responded to the call for information at the time of submission of the document.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Article 3: Equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights - replaced by GC No. 28 1981, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Article 3 of the Covenant requiring, as it does, States parties to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights provided for in the Covenant, has been insufficiently dealt with in a considerable number of States reports and has raised a number of concerns, two of which may be highlighted.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1981
Paragraph
Article 3: Equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights - replaced by GC No. 28 1981, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Firstly, article 3, as articles 2 (1) and 26 insofar as those articles primarily deal with the prevention of discrimination on a number of grounds, among which sex is one, requires not only measures of protection but also affirmative action designed to ensure the positive enjoyment of rights. This cannot be done simply by enacting laws. Hence, more information has generally been required regarding the role of women in practice with a view to ascertaining what measures, in addition to purely legislative measures of protection, have been or are being taken to give effect to the precise and positive obligations under article 3 and to ascertain what progress is being made or what factors or difficulties are being met in this regard.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1981
Paragraph
Article 3: Equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights - replaced by GC No. 28 1981, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The Committee, therefore, considers that it might assist States parties if special attention were given to a review by specially appointed bodies or institutions of laws or measures which inherently draw a distinction between men and women insofar as those laws or measures adversely affect the rights provided for in the Covenant and, secondly, that States parties should give specific information in their reports about all measures, legislative or otherwise, designed to implement their undertaking under this article.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1981
Paragraph
Article 3: Equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights - replaced by GC No. 28 1981, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The Committee considers that it might help the States parties in implementing this obligation, if more use could be made of existing means of international cooperation with a view to exchanging experience and organizing assistance in solving the practical problems connected with the insurance of equal rights for men and women.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1981
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has decided to update its general comment on article 3 of the Covenant and to replace general comment No. 4 (thirteenth session, 1981), in the light of the experience it has gathered in its activities over the last 20 years. The present revision seeks to take account of the important impact of this article on the enjoyment by women of the human rights protected under the Covenant.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Article 3 implies that all human beings should enjoy the rights provided for in the Covenant, on an equal basis and in their totality. The full effect of this provision is impaired whenever any person is denied the full and equal enjoyment of any right. Consequently, States should ensure to men and women equally the enjoyment of all rights provided for in the Covenant.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to ensure to all individuals the rights recognized in the Covenant, established in articles 2 and 3 of the Covenant, requires that States parties take all necessary steps to enable every person to enjoy those rights. These steps include the removal of obstacles to the equal enjoyment of such rights, the education of the population and of State officials in human rights, and the adjustment of domestic legislation so as to give effect to the undertakings set forth in the Covenant. The State party must not only adopt measures of protection, but also positive measures in all areas so as to achieve the effective and equal empowerment of women.States parties must provide information regarding the actual role of women in society so that the Committee may ascertain what measures, in addition to legislative provisions, have been or should be taken to give effect to these obligations, what progress has been made, what difficulties are encountered and what steps are being taken to overcome them.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- States parties are responsible for ensuring the equal enjoyment of rights without any discrimination. Articles 2 and 3 mandate States parties to take all steps necessary, including the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of sex, to put an end to discriminatory actions, both in the public and the private sector, which impair the equal enjoyment of rights.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Inequality in the enjoyment of rights by women throughout the world is deeply embedded in tradition, history and culture, including religious attitudes. The subordinate role of women in some countries is illustrated by the high incidence of prenatal sex selection and abortion of female foetuses. States parties should ensure that traditional, historical, religious or cultural attitudes are not used to justify violations of women's right to equality before the law and to equal enjoyment of all Covenant rights. States parties should furnish appropriate information on those aspects of tradition, history, cultural practices and religious attitudes which jeopardize, or may jeopardize, compliance with article 3, and indicate what measures they have taken or intend to take to overcome such factors.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- In order to fulfil the obligation set forth in article 3, States parties should take account of the factors which impede the equal enjoyment by women and men of each right specified in the Covenant. To enable the Committee to obtain a complete picture of the situation of women in each State party as regards the implementation of the rights in the Covenant, this general comment identifies some of the factors affecting the equal enjoyment by women of the rights under the Covenant and spells out the type of information that is required with regard to these rights.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph