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Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations also claimed that the current framework failed to address violence against women in specific contexts such as violence against women in conflict; situations of “invisible violence”, namely economic violence and psychological violence against, for instance, women belonging to minority groups; and the specific experiences of children exposed to violence against women. They also pointed out that, among the substantive issues that were missing in the current legal framework, there was the need to create an intersectionality of approach, including the initiatives by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Human Rights Council and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The Secretary-General could be asked to convene a high-level panel on intensifying efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence, especially violence and discrimination against indigenous women and girls. States could increase regional monitoring and interregional cooperation; the Great Lakes treaty processes have been praised in that regard.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Agenda setting of the work of the Special Rapporteur 2015, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Violent conflicts and humanitarian crises fuel trafficking in persons. Situations such as the persecution of minorities, arbitrary detention, torture, rape, kidnapping and enforced disappearance, the destruction of homes, increased food prices and progressively scarce access to water and sanitation, which increase the risk of illness and starvation, lead to forced internal and international displacement of the population and forced migration. In their search for a safer and better life, many fall prey to traffickers and exploiters.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination based on race, ethnicity and caste also plays a role in increasing vulnerability to contemporary forms of slavery. Bonded labour in Asia, for example, disproportionately affects people with disadvantaged social statuses such as a low caste and the majority of forced labour victims in South America were from indigenous cultures, while strict social hierarchies in West Africa can dictate a person's status as a slave. In many societies, racism is very common and typically the darker the skin, the more abuse that follows.
- 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
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Challenges and lessons in combating contemporary forms of slavery 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In many countries in which slavery occurs, victims are poor, have few political connections and have little power to voice their grievances. These communities are normally marginalized and discriminated against as a result of their caste, race, gender and/or their origin as migrants or indigenous populations. In contrast, perpetrators may be wealthy, well-connected individuals who are able to influence policy and enforcement. This can result in corruption and a system in which there is little pressure on authorities to take action to combat exploitation. In Peru, gold generates tremendous profits and breeds corruption at every level, making it extremely difficult to combat labour abuses in illegal gold mining, including significant indicators of slavery. Such corruption facilitates the continued operation of illegal mines and gold-laundering and frustrates government enforcement efforts. In many cases, even when authorities have the will to carry out enforcement, they lack the training and resources to adequately do so.
- 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
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- With regard to violence against women cases, merits decisions of the Commission and the jurisprudence of the Court have been influenced by the relevant international and regional instruments. These rulings have generated legal standards addressing crucial issues applicable to the rights of women in key areas, including the right of women to live free from all forms of discrimination and violence; the obligation of States to act with due diligence; access to justice for women victims of discrimination and violence; the economic, social and cultural rights of women; and the reproductive rights of women. Some of the most important standards include the duty of States to exercise due diligence to prevent, promptly investigate and sanction all forms of violence against women, committed by either State or non-State actors; the obligation to provide effective and impartial judicial avenues for victims of all forms of violence against women; the holding of rape as a form of torture when it is committed by State agents; the obligation of States to take action to eradicate discrimination against women and stereotypical patterns of behavior that promote their unequal treatment in their societies; and the recognition of multiple forms of discrimination and violence that indigenous women can suffer based on grounds of sex, race, ethnicity and economic position. Most of the Commission's recommendations have traditionally centred on the following themes: violence, the duty to act with due diligence, access to justice, and the different facets of discrimination, including its structural, systemic and intersectional nature.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Constitutional Court used its power to assess implementation of its own judgment, issuing two further orders on the rights of displaced women. In 2008, the Court handed down a decision that was considered a global pioneer in the treatment of sexual violence during internal armed conflict. It identified 10 risks that forcibly displaced women faced, including extreme risk of sexual violence, and 18 gender facets of displacement, including patterns of discrimination and violence. Accordingly, the Court ordered the Government to create and implement 13 programmes with a gender-sensitive approach, including violence prevention, the right to health and education and access to land, justice and reparations. The Court also took an intersectoral approach, highlighting heightened risks faced by girls, indigenous, black and community women leaders, and women with disabilities. The Court ordered the allocation of sufficient resources to guarantee implementation of the programmes, refusing to recognize lack of budget as valid justification for non-compliance.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- In one State in the Western Europe and others group, indigenous women and girls continued to be the target of racially motivated sexual and gender-based violence that began with colonization, as affirmed in a 2015 inquiry report by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in which the Committee noted grave and systemic violations of indigenous women’s rights, exacerbated by entrenched discrimination that impeded access to justice. In a rural, predominantly indigenous region of the State, a series of high-profile cases, including the acquittal of federal police officers for sexual assault and the death of an indigenous man in police custody, had led to the mobilization of civil society organizations and public outcry, precipitating a government review of the police force in 2010. Local women’s organizations lobbied for inclusion in order to push for an improved response by the justice system to violence against women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- In that context, an indigenous women’s organization in a small community initiated a protocol with the local federal police force that mandated: ongoing engagement, including police training and capacity-building, to address the interrelated phenomena of violence directed towards indigenous women and lack of due diligence in investigating crimes; open dialogue sessions to promote cultural awareness; and community-police feedback and knowledge-sharing sessions, during which information on the justice system and community rights would be offered.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- The bottom-up approach of the practice, which was developed at the impetus of women’s organizations — while demonstrative of the innovative means used by the community to address the structural reality of the situation of violence and discrimination in which they live — has raised the question as to why grave and well-documented human rights violations have not been addressed on a systematic or institutional level within the federal police and Government. Political will to support, expand and institutionalize this good practice is required for its replication and sustainability. In all post- and ongoing colonial contexts, the disproportionate and intersectional discrimination faced by indigenous women, often aided and abetted by legal systems, must be systematically addressed by State duty holders.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Prosecution of domestic and other forms of family violence remains low. El Salvador saw a decline from 4,890 (2003) to 1,240 (2007) in the number of judicial proceedings in intra-family violence cases initiated in family courts. The Special Rapporteur recurrently hears accounts of police officers encouraging informal resolutions and reconciliation between the parties rather than arresting the perpetrators. In Zambia, women preferred conciliation primarily due to family pressure and economic dependency on the abuser. Women facing multiple forms of discrimination, such as immigrant and indigenous women or women belonging to a minority, may be particularly reluctant to reach out to the authorities, who they may perceive as oppressive rather than protective. The Special Rapporteur received reports of the arrest of women of colour and of minority women following domestic violence incidents during her visit to the United States of America.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Violence perpetrated or condoned by the State may include gender-based violence during conflict, custodial violence, violence against refugees and internally displaced persons as well as against women from indigenous and minority groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Continuum of violence against women from the home to the transnational sphere: the challenges of effective redress 2011, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Nevertheless, these measures will not bring about substantive results if not implemented within a holistic approach that targets both societal transformation and the empowerment of women. This mandate has stressed that linkages should be made between violence and other systems of oppression prevalent within societies, in order to tackle the structural causes of violence against women. In order for women to be able to progressively realize the full range of their human rights (civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights), States should promote and support their empowerment through education, skills training, legal literacy and access to productive resources. This will enhance women's self-awareness, self-esteem, self-confidence and self-reliance. Existing social and economic power systems and structures, at the institutional and individual levels, reinforce gender inequalities that make women more vulnerable to violence, in particular women living in poverty, migrant women, indigenous women, and young or elderly women. The economic empowerment of women through preventative factors, such as property and land rights for women, adequate housing, economic independence, or secondary education, may serve as a deterrent to such violence. Women that are empowered understand that they are not destined to subordination and violence. They resist internalizing oppression, they develop their capabilities as autonomous beings and they increasingly question and negotiate the terms of their existence in both public and private spheres.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Debt bondage occurs worldwide and is not confined to any one country or region and it occurs across various sectors of the economy. A global trend can be seen whereby vulnerable people, including those belonging to minority groups, indigenous people, women, children, people determined as being of low caste, and migrant workers, are disproportionately impacted by debt bondage. As will be discussed below, many victims of debt bondage face multiple and intersecting sources of discrimination which make them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- It has also been reported that indigenous peoples in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are subjected to practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage, by the Bantu majority. Indigenous peoples are often trapped in debt bondage by Bantu "masters" who often sell them goods such as clothes, food and medicine at inflated prices and add exorbitant rates of interest if the goods are not paid for on time and who demand their work in return. It is also a common practice for the Bantu to create new debts in order to sustain the exploitation of bonded labourers. For example, it has been reported that they provide food to indigenous children and then add inflated costs to the debts of parents.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In Pakistan, debt bondage has been reported in industries such as the brick kilns, agriculture, fisheries, mining, carpet weaving and glass bangle production, among others. Debt bondage is primarily concentrated in the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in agriculture, and in the brickmaking industry where often entire families are held in bondage. Landless sharecroppers (haris) in Sindh and brickmakers (patheras) in Punjab are the most affected by debt bondage. It has been reported that bonded labourers are often held in captivity by armed guards or their family members are held as hostages, severely limiting the freedom of movement both of the bonded labourers and of their families. The estimates reported by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan pertaining to the period from 2011 to 2014 on the number of releases of bonded labourers ordered by courts in Sindh indicate that the largest number of releases occurred in the districts of Mirpur Khas, Sanghar and Umerkot. Furthermore, natural disasters such as the monsoon floods in 2010 have had a negative impact on the levels of debt bondage in agriculture and have increased migration-based bonded labour in numerous sectors such as construction and brickmaking. Debt bondage in Pakistan is mainly found among minorities, such as non-Muslims (Hindus or Christians) or Muslims who have converted from Hinduism.
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In Peru, debt bondage is reported to occur in the illegal logging and timber extraction industries, with mestizos (individuals of mixed colonial and indigenous descent) and indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon commonly victimized. Two forms of forced labour in logging activities have been identified in the Amazon. The first involves indigenous workers being contracted to perform activities in their own communities, whereas the second sees indigenous and mestizo workers being hired to work in logging camps owned by timber bosses. Enforcement of the arrangements between workers and employers is in some cases ensured through threats and abuse, including physical violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- In the Plurinational State of Bolivia, bonded labour has been reported among the indigenous Guaranis in the Chaco region and among indigenous workers and mestizos on sugar plantations, and in relation to the production of Brazil nuts in the northern Amazon. The indigenous Guaranis in the Chaco region are mainly involved in farming and ranching, in activities such as the production of corn, beans, cassava, plantain and fruits, and fishing and hunting. It is estimated that a large number of indigenous Guarani families in the Bolivian Chaco are subjected to debt bondage and forced labour and are thus referred to as "captive communities". Furthermore, every year during the sugar harvest, tens of thousands of indigenous workers and their families, recruited by intermediaries or contractors through the enganche recruitment system, migrate to Santa Cruz and Tarija.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Gender inequalities and discrimination make women vulnerable to bondage, as they are often excluded from the labour market and consequently are involved in unskilled and poorly paid jobs. Furthermore, discrimination against children belonging to minority groups is a factor that limits their full access to education and thus increases their vulnerability to exploitation. Many bonded labourers, including women and children, face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, which significantly increases their vulnerability to debt bondage and at the same time limits their opportunities for escaping such abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Debt bondage as a key form of contemporary slavery 2016, para. B.
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to Member States:] Undertake national and/or regional surveys to identify victims of debt bondage; these should include disaggregated information on those affected, by age, gender, nationality, caste and ethnic group, as well as information about the industries in which debt bondage is prevalent. Such surveys should cover remote areas and informal workplaces. Data collected from such surveys should be used as the basis for the development of effective legislation, policy and programmes.
- 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
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Diversity in humanity, humanity in diversity 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Violence and discrimination often appear not as singular events but as part of a prolonged vicious circle. They are multiple and multiplied — inextricably linked emotionally, psychologically, physically and structurally. They intersect in a variety of ways, and most clearly where the victim is not only attacked or discriminated against for having a different sexual orientation and gender identity but also on grounds of race, ethnic origin, age, gender, or membership of a minority or indigenous community. The person might also be a child, a young girl, an intersex person, a refugee, an internally displaced person, a migrant worker, a person with a disability, and more. This intersectionality involves a conglomeration of incidents, actors, perpetrators, and victims — the latter being revictimized an infinite number of times, possibly in different phases of life. The situation becomes aggravated precisely because of the convoluted nature of the phenomenon, where crimes are replicated against the same victims and where impunity prevails subsequently, from the home to the school, to the community, to the nation State and to the international spectrum. In today’s cyber world and social media, incitement to hatred and violence driven by hate speech relating to sexual orientation and gender identity has an exponential reach, spinning the web of violations in real time and into the future.
- Body
- Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Children of minorities have less access to basic social services and protections, and are more vulnerable to sale, trafficking and sexual exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Commission reaffirms that indigenous women often suffer multiple forms of discrimination and poverty which increase their vulnerability to all forms of violence; and stresses the need to seriously address violence against indigenous women and girls.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The huge impact of conflict and instability on minorities in Iraq has been documented, including for Muslim minorities, Baha'is, Christians, Armenians, Chaldo-Assyrians, Faili Kurds, Palestinians, Jews, Sabian Mandaeans, Yazidis and others. Minority Rights Group states that: "Minorities in Iraq have continued to be targeted on the grounds of their religion or ethnicity since the US-led invasion and fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. They have suffered from killings, kidnappings, torture, harassment, forced conversions and the destruction of homes and property." Persecution, human rights violations and targeted attacks have led to vast numbers of internally displaced persons and a mass exodus of minority communities to neighbouring countries, where they continue to experience severe challenges and poverty. Equally, in Egypt and the Syrian Arab Republic, the full extent of unrest and conflict on minorities is becoming evident and has far-reaching implications for their rights and security.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- As a result, these root causes have long-term effects, contributing to the establishment of a two-tier system in which the law is more assiduously applied to small-scale farmers, ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples who are not able to provide property deeds while human rights violations committed by business interests and their allies continue with impunity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
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
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- With regard to violence against women cases, merits decisions of the Commission and the jurisprudence of the Court have been influenced by the relevant international and regional instruments. These rulings have generated legal standards addressing crucial issues applicable to the rights of women in key areas, including the right of women to live free from all forms of discrimination and violence; the obligation of States to act with due diligence; access to justice for women victims of discrimination and violence; the economic, social and cultural rights of women; and the reproductive rights of women. Some of the most important standards include the duty of States to exercise due diligence to prevent, promptly investigate and sanction all forms of violence against women committed by either State or non-State actors; the obligation to provide effective and impartial judicial avenues for victims of all forms of violence against women; the holding of rape as a form of torture when it is committed by State agents; the obligation of States to take action to eradicate discrimination against women and stereotypical patterns of behaviour that promote their unequal treatment in their societies; and the recognition of multiple forms of discrimination and violence that indigenous women can suffer based on grounds of sex, race, ethnicity and economic position. Most of the Commission's recommendations have traditionally centred on the following themes: violence, the duty to act with due diligence, access to justice, and the different facets of discrimination, including its structural, systemic and intersectional nature.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Extractive industries operating within or near indigenous territories 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- According to respondents, non-indigenous migration into indigenous territories and its related consequences also have a negative effect on indigenous social structures. Examples identified by respondents of non-indigenous migration into indigenous lands include illegal settlement by loggers or miners, the influx of non-indigenous workers and industry personnel brought in to work on specific projects, and the increased traffic into indigenous lands owing to the construction of roads and other infrastructure in previously isolated areas. For its part, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo expressed concern regarding the alarming rates of alcoholism and prostitution previously unheard of among the indigenous peoples. In Colombia, the arrival of extractive industries in indigenous areas has reportedly triggered the infiltration of indigenous territories by drug traffickers and guerrillas, together with the militarization of those territories.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 26a
- Paragraph text
- [Legislative level] According to articles 2 (b), (c), (e), (f) and (g) and 5 (a), States are required to adopt legislation prohibiting all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, harmonizing national law with the Convention. In the legislation, women who are victims/survivors of such violence should be considered to be right holders. It should contain age-sensitive and gender-sensitive provisions and effective legal protection, including sanctions on perpetrators and reparations to victims/survivors. The Convention provides that any existing norms of religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems are to be harmonized with its standards and that all laws that constitute discrimination against women, including those which cause, promote or justify gender-based violence or perpetuate impunity for such acts, are to be repealed. Such norms may be part of statutory, customary, religious, indigenous or common law, constitutional, civil, family, criminal or administrative law or evidentiary and procedural law, such as provisions based on discriminatory or stereotypical attitudes or practices that allow for gender-based violence against women or mitigate sentences in that context;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 29c (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following legislative measures:] Repeal, including in customary, religious and indigenous laws, all legal provisions that are discriminatory against women and thereby enshrine, encourage, facilitate, justify or tolerate any form of gender-based violence. In particular, repeal the following: Discriminatory evidentiary rules and procedures, including procedures allowing for the deprivation of women’s liberty to protect them from violence, practices focused on “virginity” and legal defences or mitigating factors based on culture, religion or male privilege, such as the defence of so-called “honour”, traditional apologies, pardons from the families of victims/survivors or the subsequent marriage of the victim/survivor of sexual assault to the perpetrator, procedures that result in the harshest penalties, including stoning, lashing and death, often being reserved for women and judicial practices that disregard a history of gender-based violence to the detriment of women defendants;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph