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Adolescents and youth 2012, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming its commitment to realizing the right of everyone to education, and emphasizing that education shall be directed to the full development of the human person and his or her dignity and shall strengthen respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and recalling that commitments made at the international level emphasize inclusive quality learning, including early childhood education, and universal access to complete, free and compulsory primary education as well as access to secondary, tertiary and vocational education and training and lifelong learning, as well as equal access to education and successful schooling for girls and women,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage is often accompanied by early and frequent pregnancy and childbirth, resulting in higher than average maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls between 15 and 19 years of age, whether married or unmarried, around the world. Infant mortality among the children of very young mothers is higher (sometimes as much as two times higher) than among those of older mothers. In cases of child and/or forced marriage, in particular where the husband is significantly older than the wife, and where girls have limited education, the girls generally have limited decision-making power in relation to their own lives. Child marriage also contributes to higher rates of school dropout, especially among girls, forced exclusion from school and an increased risk of domestic violence, in addition to limiting the enjoyment of the right to freedom of movement.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- In ensuring their access, States must assess and address the particular plight and vulnerabilities of such children. They should, in particular, take into account the fact that unaccompanied children have undergone separation from family members and have also, to varying degrees, experienced loss, trauma, disruption and violence. Many such children, in particular those who are refugees, have further experienced pervasive violence and the stress associated with a country afflicted by war. This may have created deep-rooted feelings of helplessness and undermined a child's trust in others. Moreover, girls are particularly susceptible to marginalization, poverty and suffering during armed conflict, and many may have experienced gender-based violence in the context of armed conflict. The profound trauma experienced by many affected children calls for special sensitivity and attention in their care and rehabilitation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The legal rights of women and girls to equality and non-discrimination in cultural and family life, established in 1948 by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by international human rights law, are often restricted in national laws and in practice, including in cultural practice. The Working Group emphasizes that, in accordance with international human rights law, States have an obligation to adopt appropriate measures with a view to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls in laws, cultural practices and the family, whether perpetrated by State agents or private actors.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The reasons behind the failure to women's access to adequate food can arguably be linked to two structural disconnects which exist at the crossroads between Women's Rights and the Right to Food. The first disconnect refers to the failure in international law to fully endow women with their right to food. In the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and the ICESCR, the right to food is accorded to himself and his family. Although the ICESCR General Comment 12 and other documents have underscored the non-discriminatory intention of the right to food, the archaic language of patriarchy taints the UDHR and treaty language. Concurrently the economic and social rights of the ICESCR are generally reviewed in CEDAW, but not the right to food, which is indirectly touched upon only through a call for rural women. In CEDAW, as in the Convention of the Rights of Child (CRC), food access and adequacy for adult women and teenage girls are addressed only on behalf of pregnant and breastfeeding females .
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- In some communities, honour is connected with virtue, good works, righteous behaviour and obligations to one's parents, older persons and the community. Honour-related killings have often been associated with religious beliefs. These, however, are traditional or cultural practices. Among some Asian tribes, honour (or izzat) is associated with the female body and therefore women and girls must be guarded, protected and passed on to another member of the tribe. A girl or woman dishonours her family and tribe if her body is violated, even by force, and the shame can be cleansed only through her death.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Reparations to women who have been subjected to violence 2010, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- A form of collective harm that deserves particular attention is group-based harm as a result of group-based affiliation. Collective measures of redress may be thought of as particularly apposite to address the legacy of violence on the identity or status of groups such as indigenous peoples. Women or children, however, are rarely thought of in collective terms, even though gender-specific and age-specific forms of violence happen to women and children precisely because they are women and children. Women and girls should not be rendered invisible under the notion of the collective and should be consulted at all stages of discussions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 2017, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon States to promote the meaningful participation of and active consultation with children and adolescents affected by humanitarian settings, especially girls, on all issues affecting them, and to raise awareness about their rights, including the negative impact of child, early and forced marriage, through safe spaces, forums and support networks that provide girls and boys with information, life skills and leadership skills training and opportunities to be empowered, to express themselves, to participate meaningfully in all decisions that affect them and to become agents of change within their communities;
- Body
- United Nations Human Rights Council
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106s
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Establish mechanisms to support and involve non-governmental organizations, particularly women's organizations, professional groups and other bodies working to improve the health of girls and women, in government policy-making, programme design, as appropriate, and implementation within the health sector and related sectors at all levels;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 107k
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, the mass media, the private sector and relevant international organizations, including United Nations bodies, as appropriate:] Develop and undertake media campaigns and information and educational programmes that inform women and girls of the health and related risks of substance abuse and addiction and pursue strategies and programmes that discourage substance abuse and addiction and promote rehabilitation and recovery;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106b
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Reaffirm the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, protect and promote the attainment of this right for women and girls and incorporate it in national legislation, for example; review existing legislation, including health legislation, as well as policies, where necessary, to reflect a commitment to women's health and to ensure that they meet the changing roles and responsibilities of women wherever they reside;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 108b
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, international bodies including relevant United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors and non-governmental organizations:] Review and amend laws and combat practices, as appropriate, that may contribute to women's susceptibility to HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, including enacting legislation against those socio-cultural practices that contribute to it, and implement legislation, policies and practices to protect women, adolescents and young girls from discrimination related to HIV/AIDS;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106a
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Support and implement the commitments made in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, as established in the report of that Conference and the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and the obligations of States parties under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other relevant international agreements, to meet the health needs of girls and women of all ages;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106l
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Give particular attention to the needs of girls, especially the promotion of healthy behaviour, including physical activities; take specific measures for closing the gender gaps in morbidity and mortality where girls are disadvantaged, while achieving internationally approved goals for the reduction of infant and child mortality - specifically, by the year 2000, the reduction of mortality rates of infants and children under five years of age by one third of the 1990 level, or 50 to 70 per 1,000 live births, whichever is less; by the year 2015 an infant mortality rate below 35 per 1,000 live births and an under-five mortality rate below 45 per 1,000;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106w
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Promote and ensure household and national food security, as appropriate, and implement programmes aimed at improving the nutritional status of all girls and women by implementing the commitments made in the Plan of Action on Nutrition of the International Conference on Nutrition, including a reduction world wide of severe and moderate malnutrition among children under the age of five by one half of 1990 levels by the year 2000, giving special attention to the gender gap in nutrition, and a reduction in iron deficiency anaemia in girls and women by one third of the 1990 levels by the year 2000;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106i
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Strengthen and reorient health services, particularly primary health care, in order to ensure universal access to quality health services for women and girls; reduce ill health and maternal morbidity and achieve world wide the agreed-upon goal of reducing maternal mortality by at least 50 per cent of the 1990 levels by the year 2000 and a further one half by the year 2015; ensure that the necessary services are available at each level of the health system and make reproductive health care accessible, through the primary health-care system, to all individuals of appropriate ages as soon as possible and no later than the year 2015;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 106q
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of international institutions:] Integrate mental health services into primary health-care systems or other appropriate levels, develop supportive programmes and train primary health workers to recognize and care for girls and women of all ages who have experienced any form of violence especially domestic violence, sexual abuse or other abuse resulting from armed and non-armed conflict;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 136
- Paragraph text
- Women and children constitute some 80 per cent of the world's millions of refugees and other displaced persons, including internally displaced persons. They are threatened by deprivation of property, goods and services and deprivation of their right to return to their homes of origin as well as by violence and insecurity. Particular attention should be paid to sexual violence against uprooted women and girls employed as a method of persecution in systematic campaigns of terror and intimidation and forcing members of a particular ethnic, cultural or religious group to flee their homes. Women may also be forced to flee as a result of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons enumerated in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, including persecution through sexual violence or other gender-related persecution, and they continue to be vulnerable to violence and exploitation while in flight, in countries of asylum and resettlement and during and after repatriation. Women often experience difficulty in some countries of asylum in being recognized as refugees when the claim is based on such persecution.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 133
- Paragraph text
- Violations of human rights in situations of armed conflict and military occupation are violations of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law as embodied in international human rights instruments and in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto. Gross human rights violations and policies of ethnic cleansing in war- torn and occupied areas continue to be carried out. These practices have created, inter alia, a mass flow of refugees and other displaced persons in need of international protection and internally displaced persons, the majority of whom are women, adolescent girls and children. Civilian victims, mostly women and children, often outnumber casualties among combatants. In addition, women often become caregivers for injured combatants and find themselves, as a result of conflict, unexpectedly cast as sole manager of household, sole parent, and caretaker of elderly relatives.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 125g
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, including local governments, community organizations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, the public and private sectors, particularly enterprises, and the mass media, as appropriate:] Organize and fund information campaigns and educational and training programmes in order to sensitize girls and boys and women and men to the personal and social detrimental effects of violence in the family, community and society; teach them how to communicate without violence and promote training for victims and potential victims so that they can protect themselves and others against such violence;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 122
- Paragraph text
- The effective suppression of trafficking in women and girls for the sex trade is a matter of pressing international concern. Implementation of the 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, as well as other relevant instruments, needs to be reviewed and strengthened. The use of women in international prostitution and trafficking networks has become a major focus of international organized crime. The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, who has explored these acts as an additional cause of the violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls, is invited to address, within her mandate and as a matter of urgency, the issue of international trafficking for the purposes of the sex trade, as well as the issues of forced prostitution, rape, sexual abuse and sex tourism. Women and girls who are victims of this international trade are at an increased risk of further violence, as well as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection, including infection with HIV/AIDS.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 130b
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments of countries of origin, transit and destination, regional and international organizations, as appropriate:] Take appropriate measures to address the root factors, including external factors, that encourage trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and other forms of commercialized sex, forced marriages and forced labour in order to eliminate trafficking in women, including by strengthening existing legislation with a view to providing better protection of the rights of women and girls and to punishing the perpetrators, through both criminal and civil measures;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 125a
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, including local governments, community organizations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, the public and private sectors, particularly enterprises, and the mass media, as appropriate:] Provide well-funded shelters and relief support for girls and women subjected to violence, as well as medical, psychological and other counselling services and free or low-cost legal aid, where it is needed, as well as appropriate assistance to enable them to find a means of subsistence;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 120
- Paragraph text
- The absence of adequate gender-disaggregated data and statistics on the incidence of violence makes the elaboration of programmes and monitoring of changes difficult. Lack of or inadequate documentation and research on domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence against women and girls in private and in public, including the workplace, impede efforts to design specific intervention strategies. Experience in a number of countries shows that women and men can be mobilized to overcome violence in all its forms and that effective public measures can be taken to address both the causes and the consequences of violence. Men's groups mobilizing against gender violence are necessary allies for change.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 135
- Paragraph text
- While entire communities suffer the consequences of armed conflict and terrorism, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society and their sex. Parties to conflict often rape women with impunity, sometimes using systematic rape as a tactic of war and terrorism. The impact of violence against women and violation of the human rights of women in such situations is experienced by women of all ages, who suffer displacement, loss of home and property, loss or involuntary disappearance of close relatives, poverty and family separation and disintegration, and who are victims of acts of murder, terrorism, torture, involuntary disappearance, sexual slavery, rape, sexual abuse and forced pregnancy in situations of armed conflict, especially as a result of policies of ethnic cleansing and other new and emerging forms of violence. This is compounded by the life-long social, economic and psychologically traumatic consequences of armed conflict and foreign occupation and alien domination.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 108f
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, international bodies including relevant United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors and non-governmental organizations:] Facilitate the development of community strategies that will protect women of all ages from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases; provide care and support to infected girls, women and their families and mobilize all parts of the community in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic to exert pressure on all responsible authorities to respond in a timely, effective, sustainable and gender-sensitive manner;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 117
- Paragraph text
- Acts or threats of violence, whether occurring within the home or in the community, or perpetrated or condoned by the State, instil fear and insecurity in women's lives and are obstacles to the achievement of equality and for development and peace. The fear of violence, including harassment, is a permanent constraint on the mobility of women and limits their access to resources and basic activities. High social, health and economic costs to the individual and society are associated with violence against women. Violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men. In many cases, violence against women and girls occurs in the family or within the home, where violence is often tolerated. The neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and rape of girl children and women by family members and other members of the household, as well as incidences of spousal and non-spousal abuse, often go unreported and are thus difficult to detect. Even when such violence is reported, there is often a failure to protect victims or punish perpetrators.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 108e
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, international bodies including relevant United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors and non-governmental organizations:] Develop gender-sensitive multisectoral programmes and strategies to end social subordination of women and girls and to ensure their social and economic empowerment and equality; facilitate promotion of programmes to educate and enable men to assume their responsibilities to prevent HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 112
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace. Violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in the case of violence against women is a matter of concern to all States and should be addressed. Knowledge about its causes and consequences, as well as its incidence and measures to combat it, have been greatly expanded since the Nairobi Conference. In all societies, to a greater or lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture. The low social and economic status of women can be both a cause and a consequence of violence against women.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 152
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination in education and training, hiring and remuneration, promotion and horizontal mobility practices, as well as inflexible working conditions, lack of access to productive resources and inadequate sharing of family responsibilities, combined with a lack of or insufficient services such as child care, continue to restrict employment, economic, professional and other opportunities and mobility for women and make their involvement stressful. Moreover, attitudinal obstacles inhibit women's participation in developing economic policy and in some regions restrict the access of women and girls to education and training for economic management.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 147f
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other institutions involved in providing protection, assistance and training to refugee women, other displaced women in need of international protection and internally displaced women, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme, as appropriate:] Ensure that the international community and its international organizations provide financial and other resources for emergency relief and other longer-term assistance that takes into account the specific needs, resources and potentials of refugee women, other displaced women in need of international protection and internally displaced women; in the provision of protection and assistance, take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in order to ensure equal access to appropriate and adequate food, water and shelter, education, and social and health services, including reproductive health care and maternity care and services to combat tropical diseases;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 147a
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other institutions involved in providing protection, assistance and training to refugee women, other displaced women in need of international protection and internally displaced women, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme, as appropriate:] Take steps to ensure that women are fully involved in the planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all short-term and long-term projects and programmes providing assistance to refugee women, other displaced women in need of international protection and internally displaced women, including the management of refugee camps and resources; ensure that refugee and displaced women and girls have direct access to the services provided;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 206j
- Paragraph text
- [By national, regional and international statistical services and relevant governmental and United Nations agencies, in cooperation with research and documentation organizations, in their respective areas of responsibility:] Develop improved gender-disaggregated and age-specific data on the victims and perpetrators of all forms of violence against women, such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, incest and sexual abuse, and trafficking in women and girls, as well as on violence by agents of the State;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 213
- Paragraph text
- The Platform for Action reaffirms that all human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social, including the right to development - are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, as expressed in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights. The Conference reaffirmed that the human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. The full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls is a priority for Governments and the United Nations and is essential for the advancement of women.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 232p
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments:] Strengthen and encourage the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, paying special attention to ensure non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls with disabilities, including their access to information and services in the field of violence against women, as well as their active participation in and economic contribution to all aspects of society;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 293
- Paragraph text
- Governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the Platform for Action. Commitment at the highest political level is essential to its implementation, and Governments should take a leading role in coordinating, monitoring and assessing progress in the advancement of women. The Fourth World Conference on Women is a conference of national and international commitment and action. This requires commitment from Governments and the international community. The Platform for Action is part of a continuing process and has a catalytic effect as it will contribute to programmes and practical outcomes for girls and women of all ages. States and the international community are encouraged to respond to this challenge by making commitments for action. As part of this process, many States have made commitments for action as reflected, inter alia, in their national statements.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 236
- Paragraph text
- The continued projection of negative and degrading images of women in media communications - electronic, print, visual and audio - must be changed. Print and electronic media in most countries do not provide a balanced picture of women's diverse lives and contributions to society in a changing world. In addition, violent and degrading or pornographic media products are also negatively affecting women and their participation in society. Programming that reinforces women's traditional roles can be equally limiting. The world-wide trend towards consumerism has created a climate in which advertisements and commercial messages often portray women primarily as consumers and target girls and women of all ages inappropriately.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 282c(iii)
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments:] [Protect young girls at work, inter alia, through:] Application of social security coverage;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 274a
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments:] By States that have not signed or ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, take urgent measures towards signing and ratifying the Convention, bearing in mind the strong exhortation made at the World Conference on Human Rights to sign it before the end of 1995, and by States that have signed and ratified the Convention, ensure its full implementation through the adoption of all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures and by fostering an enabling environment that encourages full respect for the rights of children;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 269
- Paragraph text
- Sexual violence and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, have a devastating effect on children's health, and girls are more vulnerable than boys to the consequences of unprotected and premature sexual relations. Girls often face pressures to engage in sexual activity. Due to such factors as their youth, social pressures, lack of protective laws, or failure to enforce laws, girls are more vulnerable to all kinds of violence, particularly sexual violence, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, possibly the sale of their organs and tissues, and forced labour.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. Objective L1
- Paragraph text
- Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 259
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that "States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or status" (art. 2, para. 1). However, in many countries available indicators show that the girl child is discriminated against from the earliest stages of life, through her childhood and into adulthood. In some areas of the world, men outnumber women by 5 in every 100. The reasons for the discrepancy include, among other things, harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference - which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection - early marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, discrimination against girls in food allocation and other practices related to health and well-being. As a result, fewer girls than boys survive into adulthood.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. Objective L8
- Paragraph text
- Promote the girl child's awareness of and participation in social, economic and political life
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 268
- Paragraph text
- More than 15 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth each year. Motherhood at a very young age entails complications during pregnancy and delivery and a risk of maternal death that is much greater than average. The children of young mothers have higher levels of morbidity and mortality. Early child-bearing continues to be an impediment to improvements in the educational, economic and social status of women in all parts of the world. Overall, early marriage and early motherhood can severely curtail educational and employment opportunities and are likely to have a long-term adverse impact on their and their children's quality of life.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 247
- Paragraph text
- All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world. Hurricanes, typhoons and other natural disasters and, in addition, the destruction of resources, violence, displacements and other effects associated with war, armed and other conflicts, the use and testing of nuclear weaponry, and foreign occupation can also contribute to environmental degradation. The deterioration of natural resources displaces communities, especially women, from income-generating activities while greatly adding to unremunerated work. In both urban and rural areas, environmental degradation results in negative effects on the health, well-being and quality of life of the population at large, especially girls and women of all ages. Particular attention and recognition should be given to the role and special situation of women living in rural areas and those working in the agricultural sector, where access to training, land, natural and productive resources, credit, development programmes and cooperative structures can help them increase their participation in sustainable development. Environmental risks in the home and workplace may have a disproportionate impact on women's health because of women's different susceptibilities to the toxic effects of various chemicals. These risks to women's health are particularly high in urban areas, as well as in low-income areas where there is a high concentration of polluting industrial facilities.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 282c(iv)
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments:] [Protect young girls at work, inter alia, through:] Establishment of continuous training and education;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. Objective L7
- Paragraph text
- Eradicate violence against the girl child
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 263
- Paragraph text
- Although the number of educated children has grown in the past 20 years in some countries, boys have proportionately fared much better than girls. In 1990, 130 million children had no access to primary school; of these, 81 million were girls. This can be attributed to such factors as customary attitudes, child labour, early marriages, lack of funds and lack of adequate schooling facilities, teenage pregnancies and gender inequalities in society at large as well as in the family as defined in paragraph 29 above. In some countries the shortage of women teachers can inhibit the enrolment of girls. In many cases, girls start to undertake heavy domestic chores at a very early age and are expected to manage both educational and domestic responsibilities, often resulting in poor scholastic performance and an early drop-out from schooling.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 282c(i)
- Paragraph text
- [By Governments:] [Protect young girls at work, inter alia, through:] A minimum age or ages for admission to employment;
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. Objective L9
- Paragraph text
- Strengthen the role of the family* in improving the status of the girl child
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 332
- Paragraph text
- [United Nations Secretariat] [Other units of the United Nations Secretariat] The Department of Public Information should seek to integrate a gender perspective in its general information activities and, within existing resources, strengthen and improve its programmes on women and the girl child. To this end, the Department should formulate a multimedia communications strategy to support the implementation of the Platform for Action, taking new technology fully into account. Regular outputs of the Department should promote the goals of the Platform, particularly in developing countries.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment of women, and the elimination of all kinds of violence against women, and ensuring women's ability to control their own fertility, are cornerstones of population and development- related programmes. The human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. The full and equal participation of women in civil, cultural, economic, political and social life, at the national, regional and international levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex, are priority objectives of the international community.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 334
- Paragraph text
- [International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women] INSTRAW has a mandate to promote research and training on women's situation and development. In the light of the Platform for Action, INSTRAW should review its work programme and develop a programme for implementing those aspects of the Platform for Action that fall within its mandate. It should identify those types of research and research methodologies to be given priority, strengthen national capacities to carry out women's studies and gender research, including that on the status of the girl child, and develop networks of research institutions that can be mobilized for that purpose. It should also identify those types of education and training that can be effectively supported and promoted by the Institute.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 1.12
- Paragraph text
- The present Programme of Action recommends to the international community a set of important population and development objectives, as well as qualitative and quantitative goals that are mutually supportive and of critical importance to these objectives. Among these objectives and goals are: sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development; education, especially for girls; gender equity and equality; infant, child and maternal mortality reduction; and the provision of universal access to reproductive health services, including family planning and sexual health.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Infants
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Everyone has the right to education, which shall be directed to the full development of human resources, and human dignity and potential, with particular attention to women and the girl child. Education should be designed to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including those relating to population and development. The best interests of the child shall be the guiding principle of those responsible for his or her education and guidance; that responsibility lies in the first place with the parents.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Working towards the elimination of crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour 2004, para. 3i
- Paragraph text
- [Calls upon all States:] To establish, strengthen or facilitate, where possible, support services to respond to the needs of actual and potential victims by, inter alia, providing for them the appropriate protection, safe shelter, counselling, legal aid, health-care services, including in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, psychological health and other relevant areas, rehabilitation and reintegration into society;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2004
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3.18
- Paragraph text
- Existing inequities and barriers to women in the workforce should be eliminated and women's participation in all policy-making and implementation, as well as their access to productive resources, and ownership of land, and their right to inherit property should be promoted and strengthened. Governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector should invest in, promote, monitor and evaluate the education and skill development of women and girls and the legal and economic rights of women, and in all aspects of reproductive health, including family planning and sexual health, in order to enable them to effectively contribute to and benefit from economic growth and sustainable development.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 7.4
- Paragraph text
- Governments and communities should urgently take steps to stop the practice of female genital mutilation and protect women and girls from all such similar unnecessary and dangerous practices. Steps to eliminate the practice should include strong community outreach programmes involving village and religious leaders, education and counselling about its impact on girls' and women's health, and appropriate treatment and rehabilitation for girls and women who have suffered mutilation. Services should include counselling for women and men to discourage the practice.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.29
- Paragraph text
- National and community leaders should promote the full involvement of men in family life and the full integration of women in community life. Parents and schools should ensure that attitudes that are respectful of women and girls as equals are instilled in boys from the earliest possible age, along with an understanding of their shared responsibilities in all aspects of a safe, secure and harmonious family life. Relevant programmes to reach boys before they become sexually active are urgently needed.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.21
- Paragraph text
- Governments should strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. In addition, Governments should strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age at marriage and should raise the minimum age at marriage where necessary. Governments and non-governmental organizations should generate social support for the enforcement of laws on the minimum legal age at marriage, in particular by providing educational and employment opportunities.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.15
- Paragraph text
- Since in all societies discrimination on the basis of sex often starts at the earliest stages of life, greater equality for the girl child is a necessary first step in ensuring that women realize their full potential and become equal partners in development. In a number of countries, the practice of prenatal sex selection, higher rates of mortality among very young girls, and lower rates of school enrolment for girls as compared with boys, suggest that "son preference" is curtailing the access of girl children to food, education and health care. This is often compounded by the increasing use of technologies to determine foetal sex, resulting in abortion of female foetuses. Investments made in the girl child's health, nutrition and education, from infancy through adolescence, are critical.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.17
- Paragraph text
- Overall, the value of girl children to both their family and society must be expanded beyond their definition as potential child-bearers and caretakers and reinforced through the adoption and implementation of educational and social policies that encourage their full participation in the development of the societies in which they live. Leaders at all levels of the society must speak out and act forcefully against patterns of gender discrimination within the family, based on preference for sons. One of the aims should be to eliminate excess mortality of girls, wherever such a pattern exists. Special education and public information efforts are needed to promote equal treatment of girls and boys with respect to nutrition, health care, education and social, economic and political activity, as well as equitable inheritance rights.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 4.19
- Paragraph text
- Schools, the media and other social institutions should seek to eliminate stereotypes in all types of communication and educational materials that reinforce existing inequities between males and females and undermine girls' self-esteem. Countries must recognize that, in addition to expanding education for girls, teachers' attitudes and practices, school curricula and facilities must also change to reflect a commitment to eliminate all gender bias, while recognizing the specific needs of the girl child.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 8.17
- Paragraph text
- All Governments should assess the underlying causes of high child mortality and should, within the framework of primary health care, extend integrated reproductive health-care and child-health services, [including safe motherhood, child-survival programmes and family-planning services, to all the population and particularly to the most vulnerable and underserved groups. Such services should include prenatal care and counselling, with special emphasis on high-risk pregnancies and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection; adequate delivery assistance; and neonatal care, including exclusive breast-feeding, information on optimal breast-feeding and on proper weaning practices, and the provision of micronutrient supplementation and tetanus toxoid, where appropriate. Interventions to reduce the incidence of low birth weight and other nutritional deficiencies, such as anaemia, should include the promotion of maternal nutrition through information, education and counselling and the promotion of longer intervals between births. All countries should give priority to efforts to reduce the major childhood diseases, particularly infectious and parasitic diseases, and to prevent malnutrition among children, especially the girl child, through measures aimed at eradicating poverty and ensuring that all children live in a sanitary environment and by disseminating information on hygiene and nutrition. It is also important to provide parents with information and education about child care, including the use of mental and physical stimulation.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 11.3
- Paragraph text
- The relationship between education and demographic and social changes is one of interdependence. There is a close and complex relationship among education, marriage age, fertility, mortality, mobility and activity. The increase in the education of women and girls contributes to greater empowerment of women, to a postponement of the age of marriage and to a reduction in the size of families. When mothers are better educated, their children's survival rate tends to increase. Broader access to education is also a factor in internal migration and the composition of the working population.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 11.6
- Paragraph text
- The eradication of illiteracy is one of the prerequisites for human development. All countries should consolidate the progress made in the 1990s towards providing universal access to primary education, as agreed upon at the World Conference on Education for All, held at Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990. All countries should further strive to ensure the complete access to primary school or an equivalent level of education by both girls and boys as quickly as possible, and in any case before the year 2015. Attention should also be given to the quality and type of education, including recognition of traditional values. Countries that have achieved the goal of universal primary education are urged to extend education and training to, and facilitate access to and completion of education at secondary school and higher levels.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 11.8
- Paragraph text
- Countries should take affirmative steps to keep girls and adolescents in school by building more community schools, by training teachers to be more gender sensitive, by providing scholarships and other appropriate incentives and by sensitizing parents to the value of educating girls, with a view to closing the gender gap in primary and secondary school education by the year 2005. Countries should also supplement those efforts by making full use of non-formal education opportunities. Pregnant adolescents should be enabled to continue their schooling.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Supporting efforts to end obstetric fistula 2007, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon States to ensure that girls have equal access to free and compulsory primary education of good quality and that they complete their education at that level, and to renew their efforts to improve and expand girls' and women's education at all levels, including at secondary and higher levels, as well as vocational education and technical training, in order to, inter alia, achieve gender equality, the empowerment of women and poverty eradication;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 11.16
- Paragraph text
- Information, education and communication efforts should raise awareness through public education campaigns on such priority issues as: safe motherhood, reproductive health and rights, maternal and child health and family planning, discrimination against and valorization of the girl child and persons with disabilities; child abuse; violence against women; male responsibility; gender equality; sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS; responsible sexual behaviour; teenage pregnancy; racism and xenophobia; ageing populations; and unsustainable consumption and production patterns. More education is needed in all societies on the implications of population-environment relationships, in order to influence behavioural change and consumer lifestyles and to promote sustainable management of natural resources. The media should be a major instrument for expanding knowledge and motivation.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments, the international community and all other relevant stakeholders to give particular attention to the areas of shortfall in the implementation of the Programme of Action, including, the elimination of preventable maternal morbidity and mortality through strengthening health systems, equitable and universal access to quality, integrated and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, and by ensuring the access of adolescents and youth to full and accurate information and education on sexual and reproductive health, including evidence-based comprehensive education on human sexuality, and promotion, respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights, especially the human rights of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, and by addressing the persistence of discriminatory laws and the unfair and discriminatory application of laws;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to address existing gaps in the implementation of the Programme of Action, including in such areas as respect for, and protection, promotion and fulfilment of, human rights, and gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, as well as unequal progress in achieving universal and equitable access to health services, including for sexual and reproductive health, and newborn and child health, uneven progress in health conditions and life expectancy, and the elimination of violence and discrimination without distinction of any kind;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Emphasizes that, in order to realize and capitalize on demographic dividend, it is essential to increase and sustain investment in women and youth, especially education for girls, maternal, newborn and child health, and to meet the unmet needs of women for family planning, as well as in job creation, and that a well-trained and healthy workforce together with appropriate economic reforms and policies will result in high return on investment for the growing working-age population;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Infants
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Assessment of the status of implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 2014, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Expresses deep concern about the pervasiveness of gender-based violence, in particular violence against women and girls, and reiterates the need to further intensify efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and harmful practices, including child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, and recognizes that violence against women and girls is one of the obstacles to achieving the empowerment of women and that women's poverty and lack of political, social and economic empowerment, as well as their marginalization, may result from their exclusion from social policies for and the benefits of sustainable development and can place them at increased risk of violence;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescents and youth 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Also calls upon Governments to strengthen national social and child protection systems, and care and support programmes for adolescents and youth, in particular for young women and adolescent girls affected by and vulnerable to HIV, as well as their families and caregivers, including through the provision of equal opportunities to support the development to full potential of orphans and other children affected by and living with HIV, especially through equal access to education, the creation of safe and non-discriminatory learning environments, supportive legal systems and protections, including civil registration systems, and provision of comprehensive information and support, including youth-friendly health centres, to children and their families and caregivers, especially age-appropriate HIV information to assist children living with HIV as they transition through adolescence, consistent with their evolving capacities;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescents and youth 2012, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Emphasizing that the full implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons will contribute to address all factors and root factors that foster demand and make adolescents and youth, especially young women and girls, vulnerable to trafficking, as well as the protection and rehabilitation of victims and will, inter alia, promote, as appropriate, increased ratification and full implementation of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Health, morbidity, mortality and development 2010, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments, in order to ensure the contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, to, inter alia, protect and promote the full respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of age and marital status, including by eliminating all forms of discrimination against girls and women; working more effectively to achieve equality between women and men in all areas of family responsibility and in sexual and reproductive life; empowering women and girls, promoting and protecting women's and girls' right to education at all levels; providing young people with comprehensive education on human sexuality, on sexual and reproductive health, on gender equality and on how to deal positively and responsibly with their sexuality; enacting and enforcing laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses; ensuring the right of women to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence; combating all forms of violence against women, including harmful traditional and customary practices such as female genital mutilation; developing strategies to eliminate gender stereotypes in all spheres of life and achieving gender equality in political life and decision-making, which would contribute to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Health, morbidity, mortality and development 2010, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Expressing deep concern that hundreds of thousands of women die every year from largely preventable complications related to pregnancy or childbirth; that, for every death, an estimated twenty additional women and girls suffer from pregnancy-related and childbirth-related injury, disability, infection and disease; that more than 200 million women worldwide lack access to safe, affordable and effective forms of contraception, and that complications from pregnancy and childbirth are one of the leading causes of death for women between the ages of 15 and 19, in particular in many developing countries,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Health, morbidity, mortality and development 2010, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Emphasizes that advances in health depend, among other factors, on the promotion and protection of all human rights, the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, and the elimination of gender-based discrimination, especially by ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in education, employment and access to social services, including health services; by instituting zero tolerance regarding violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation or cutting; by preventing child and forced marriage; and by ensuring women's and men's access to the means to determine the number and spacing of their children;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescents and youth 2012, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of age and marital status, including, inter alia, by eliminating all forms of discrimination against girls and women, by working more effectively to achieve equality between women and men in all areas of family responsibility, in sexual and reproductive life, and in education at all levels, and by protecting the human rights of adolescents and youth to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Urges Governments, in order to ensure the contribution of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development to the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, to, inter alia, protect and promote full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of age and marital status, including by eliminating all forms of discrimination against girls and women, working more effectively to achieve equality between women and men in all areas of family responsibility and in sexual and reproductive life, empowering women and girls, promoting and protecting the right of women and girls to education at all levels, providing young people with comprehensive education on human sexuality, on sexual and reproductive health, on gender equality and on how to deal positively and responsibly with their sexuality, enacting and enforcing laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses, ensuring the right of women to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, combating all forms of violence against women, including harmful traditional and customary practices such as female genital mutilation, developing strategies to eliminate gender stereotypes in all spheres of life and achieving gender equality in political life and decision-making, which would contribute to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Calls upon Governments to incorporate gender perspectives and human rights into health-sector policies, programmes and research activities, paying attention to the specific needs and priorities of women and girls, ensuring women's right to the highest attainable standards of health and their access to affordable and adequate health-care services, including sexual, reproductive and maternal health care and lifesaving obstetric care, in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and recognizes that lack of economic empowerment and independence has increased women's vulnerability to a range of negative consequences, involving the risk of contracting HIV and AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other poverty-related diseases;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing also the right of women and girls to education at all levels as well as access to life skills and sex education based on full and accurate information and, with respect to girls and boys, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities, and with appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, in order to help women and girls, men and boys, to develop knowledge to enable them to make informed and responsible decisions to reduce early childbearing and maternal mortality, to promote access to prenatal and post-natal care and to combat sexual harassment and gender-based violence,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Encourages Governments to prioritize universal access to sexual and reproductive health as part of health systems strengthening to eliminate preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and to take action at all levels to address the interlinked root causes of sexual and reproductive ill health, unintended pregnancy, complications arising from unsafe abortion, and maternal mortality and morbidity, including poverty, malnutrition, harmful practices, lack of accessible and appropriate health-care services, information and education, and gender inequality, taking into account people living in the most vulnerable situations, including persons with disabilities, displaced and refugee populations and irregular migrants, and paying particular attention to achieving gender equality and eliminating all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls, with the full involvement of men;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Stresses that States should eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child and the root causes of son preference, which results in harmful and unethical practices regarding female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, increase public awareness of the value of the girl child, and concurrently, strengthen the girl child's self-image, self-esteem and status, and improve the welfare of the girl child, especially in regard to health, nutrition and education, and urges Governments to take the necessary measures to prevent infanticide, prenatal sex selection, trafficking in girl children and the use of girls in prostitution and pornography;
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that under-age and forced marriage and early sexual relationships have adverse psychological effects on girls and that early pregnancy and early motherhood entail complications during pregnancy and delivery and a risk of maternal mortality and morbidity that is much greater than average, and deeply concerned that early childbearing and limited access to the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive health, including in the area of emergency obstetric care, cause high levels of obstetric fistula and maternal mortality and morbidity,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Refugee Women and International Protection 1990, para. (a) ix
- Paragraph text
- [Urges States, relevant United Nations organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, as appropriate, to ensure that the needs and resources of refugee women are fully understood and integrated, to the extent possible, into their activities and programmes and, to this end, to pursue, among others, the following aims in promoting measures for improving the international protection of refugee women:] Provide all refugee women and girls with effective and equitable access to basic services, including food, water and relief supplies, health and sanitation, education and skills training, and make wage-earning opportunities available to them;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1990
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Judicial and non-judicial proceedings shall apply gender-sensitive procedures which avoid re-victimization and stigmatization of victims of torture or ill-treatment. With respect to sexual or gender-based violence and access to due process and an impartial judiciary, the Committee emphasizes that in any proceedings, civil or criminal, to determine the victim's right to redress, including compensation, rules of evidence and procedure in relation to gender-based violence must afford equal weight to the testimony of women and girls, as should be the case for all other victims, and prevent the introduction of discriminatory evidence and harassment of victims and witnesses. The Committee considers that complaints mechanisms and investigations require specific positive measures which take into account gender aspects in order to ensure that victims of abuses such as sexual violence and abuse, rape, marital rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation and trafficking are able to come forward and seek and obtain redress.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- As noted by the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the position of female migrants is different from that of male migrants with regard to, inter alia, the migration channels used, the sectors of the labour market where they are employed, the forms of abuse they suffer and the consequences and impact thereof. Recognizing that most domestic workers are women and girls and taking into consideration traditional roles, the gendered labour market, the universal prevalence of gender-based violence and the worldwide feminization of poverty and labour migration, States should incorporate a gender perspective in efforts to understand their specific problems and develop remedies to the gender-based discrimination that they face throughout the migration process.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 58g
- Paragraph text
- [Schools: Educational environments should play a major role in fulfilling the obligations under article 31, including:] Physical environment of settings: States parties should aim to ensure the provision of adequate indoor and outdoor space to facilitate play, sports, games and drama, during and around school hours; active promotion of equal opportunities for both girls and boys to play; adequate sanitation facilities for boys and girls; playgrounds, play landscapes and equipment that are safe and properly and regularly inspected; playgrounds with appropriate boundaries; equipment and spaces designed to enable all children, including children with disabilities, to participate equally; play areas which afford opportunities for all forms of play; location and design of play areas with adequate protection and with the involvement of children in the design and development;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 57f
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to protect requires that States parties take action to prevent third parties from interfering in or restricting the rights provided for in article 31. Accordingly, States are obliged to ensure:] Marketing and media: Action should be initiated to: Review policies concerning the commercialization of toys and games to children, including through children's television programmes and directly related advertisements, with particular regard to those promoting violence, girls or boys in a sexual way and reinforcing gender and disability stereotypes;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Marketing and commercialization of play: The Committee is concerned that many children and their families are exposed to increasing levels of unregulated commercialization and marketing by toy and game manufacturers. Parents are pressured to purchase a growing number of products which may be harmful to their children's development or are antithetical to creative play, such as products that promote television programmes with established characters and storylines which impede imaginative exploration; toys with microchips which render the child as a passive observer; kits with a pre-determined pattern of activity; toys that promote traditional gender stereotypes or early sexualization of girls; toys containing dangerous parts or chemicals; realistic war toys and games. Global marketing can also serve to weaken children's participation in the traditional cultural and artistic life of their community.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Children’s rights in juvenile justice 2007, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- States parties have to take all necessary measures to ensure that all children in conflict with the law are treated equally. Particular attention must be paid to de facto discrimination and disparities, which may be the result of a lack of a consistent policy and involve vulnerable groups of children, such as street children, children belonging to racial, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, indigenous children, girl children, children with disabilities and children who are repeatedly in conflict with the law (recidivists). In this regard, training of all professionals involved in the administration of juvenile justice is important (see paragraph 97 below), as well as the establishment of rules, regulations or protocols which enhance equal treatment of child offenders and provide redress, remedies and compensation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Girls: A combination of significant burdens of domestic responsibilities and sibling and family care, protective concerns on the part of parents, lack of appropriate facilities and cultural assumptions imposing limitations on the expectations and behaviour of girls can serve to diminish their opportunities to enjoy the rights provided for in article 31, particularly in the adolescent years. In addition, gender differentiation in what is considered girls' and boys' play and which is widely reinforced by parents, caregivers, the media and producers/manufacturers of games and toys serve to maintain traditional gender-role divisions in society. Evidence indicates that whereas boys' games prepare them for successful performance in a wide range of professional and other settings in modern society, girls' games, in contrast, tend to direct them towards the private sphere of the home and future roles as wives and mothers. Adolescent boys and girls are often discouraged from engaging in joint recreational activities. Furthermore, girls generally have lower participation rates in physical activities and organized games as a consequence of either external cultural or self-imposed exclusion or lack of appropriate provision. This pattern is of concern in the light of the proven physical, psychological, social and intellectual benefits associated with participation in sports activities. Given these widespread and pervasive barriers impeding girls' realization of their rights under article 31, the Committee urges States parties to take action to challenge gender stereotypes which serve to compound and reinforce patterns of discrimination and inequality of opportunity.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 56b
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to respect includes the adoption of specific measures aimed at achieving respect for the right of every child, individually or in association with others, to realise his or her rights under article 31, including:] Awareness raising: States should invest in measures to challenge widespread cultural attitudes which attach low value to the rights provided for in article 31, including: Public awareness of both the right to and the significance of play, recreation, rest, leisure and participation in cultural and artistic activities for both boys and girls of all ages in contributing to the enjoyment of childhood, promoting the optimum development of the child and building positive learning environments;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Children’s rights in juvenile justice 2007, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- It is quite common that criminal codes contain provisions criminalizing behavioural problems of children, such as vagrancy, truancy, runaways and other acts, which often are the result of psychological or socio-economic problems. It is particularly a matter of concern that girls and street children are often victims of this criminalization. These acts, also known as Status Offences, are not considered to be such if committed by adults. The Committee recommends that the States parties abolish the provisions on status offences in order to establish an equal treatment under the law for children and adults. In this regard, the Committee also refers to article 56 of the Riyadh Guidelines which reads: "In order to prevent further stigmatization, victimization and criminalization of young persons, legislation should be enacted to ensure that any conduct not considered an offence or not penalized if committed by an adult is not considered an offence and not penalized if committed by a young person."
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 58f
- Paragraph text
- [Municipal planning: Local municipalities should assess provision of play and recreation facilities to guarantee equality of access by all groups of children, including through child-impact assessments. Consistent with the obligations under article 31, public planning must place a priority on the creation of environments which promote the well-being of the child. In order to achieve the necessary child-friendly urban and rural environments, consideration should be given to, inter alia:] Provision of clubs, sports facilities, organized games and activities for both girls and boys of all ages and from all communities;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Overly structured and programmed schedules: For many children, the ability to realize the rights provided for in article 31 is restricted by the imposition of adult-decided activities, including, for example, compulsory sports, rehabilitative activities for children with disabilities or domestic chores, particularly for girls, which allow little or no time for self-directed activities. Where Government investment exists, it tends to focus on organized competitive recreation, or sometimes children are required or pressured to participate in youth organizations not of their own choosing. Children are entitled to time that is not determined or controlled by adults, as well as time in which they are free of any demands - basically to do "nothing, if they so desire. Indeed, the absence of activity can serve as a stimulus to creativity. Narrowly focusing all of a child's leisure time into programmed or competitive activities can be damaging to his or her physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 58a
- Paragraph text
- Legislation and planning: The Committee strongly encourages States to consider introducing legislation to ensure the rights under article 31 for every child, together with a timetable for implementation. Such legislation should address the principle of sufficiency - all children should be given sufficient time and space to exercise these rights. Consideration should also be given to the development of a dedicated plan, policy or framework for article 31 or to its incorporation into an overall national plan of action for the implementation of the Convention. Such a plan should address the implications of article 31 for boys and girls of all age groups, as well as children in marginalized groups and communities; it should also recognize that creating time and space for children's self-directed activity is as important as the provision of facilities and opportunities for organized activities;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based discrimination is particularly pervasive, affecting a wide range of outcomes, from female infanticide/foeticide to discriminatory infant and young child feeding practices, gender stereotyping and access to services. Attention should be given to the differing needs of girls and boys, and the impact of gender-related social norms and values on the health and development of boys and girls. Attention also needs to be given to harmful gender-based practices and norms of behaviour that are ingrained in traditions and customs and undermine the right to health of girls and boys.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
General Conclusion On International Protection 1997, para. (t)
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirms its Conclusions No. 39 (XXXVI), No. 54 (XXXIX), No. 60 (XL), No. 64 (XLI) and No.73 (XLIV), and urges States, UNHCR, and other humanitarian organizations, as appropriate, to take all necessary steps to implement these Conclusions, including through recognizing as refugees women whose claims to refugee status are based upon a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons enumerated in the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, including persecution through sexual violence or other gender-related persecution; by the integration of activities on behalf of refugee women in every aspect of programme planning and implementation; and by taking action to eliminate incidents of violence against women and girls;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1997
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
General Conclusion On International Protection 2000, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Welcoming the continued grant of asylum to large numbers of refugees by many States but deeply disturbed by violations of internationally recognized rights of refugees which include refoulement of refugees, militarization of refugee camps, participation of refugee children in military activities, gender-related violence and discrimination directed against refugees, particularly female refugees, and arbitrary detention of asylum-seekers and refugees; also concerned about the less than full application of international refugee instruments by some States Parties;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2000
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (j) vi
- Paragraph text
- [Secure environments are to be established and strengthened, including by partnerships and actions to:] establish and/or implement codes of conduct, including on the elimination of sexual exploitation and abuse, for all humanitarian staff, including those working in the delivery of services and for other staff in authority, such as border guards, and ensure that confidential and accessible complaints systems are in place which include investigation and follow-up, so as to encourage the reporting of abuse and exploitation where codes of conduct are breached.
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Children At Risk 2007, para. (h) vii
- Paragraph text
- [Further recommends that States, UNHCR and other relevant agencies and partners undertake the following non-exhaustive prevention, response and solution measures in order to address specific wider environmental or individual risks factors:] Take effective and appropriate measures, including legislative, administrative and judicial, to prevent and eliminate traditional practices that are harmful to children taking into account the physical and mental harm caused to the child, and the different impact on girls and boys;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (d)
- Paragraph text
- In certain cases, the presence of one factor or incident may alone be sufficient to require an urgent protection intervention. In others, the presence of a combination of individual and wider protection environment factors will expose women and girls to heightened risk. In still others, if women and girls have been subjected, for instance, to SGBV in the area of origin or during flight, this may leave them at heightened risk in the place of displacement. Continuing assessment is required to monitor threat levels, as they may change over time.
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Children At Risk 2007, para. (h) viii
- Paragraph text
- [Further recommends that States, UNHCR and other relevant agencies and partners undertake the following non-exhaustive prevention, response and solution measures in order to address specific wider environmental or individual risks factors:] Encourage the inclusion of all children in education programmes and strengthen children's capacities, including by enabling their equal access to quality education for girls and boys in all stages of the displacement cycle and in situations of statelessness; promote learning and school environments that are safe, do not perpetuate violence, and promote a culture of peace and dialogue; designate child- friendly spaces in camp and urban environments; and promote access to post-primary education wherever possible and appropriate, life-skills and vocational trainings for adolescents and support recreational activities, sports, play and cultural activities;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Bearing in mind Conclusion No. 75 (XLV) on internally displaced persons and noting that the protection challenges for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees may differ, that the normative legal frameworks for their protection are different, that humanitarian access to internally displaced persons can be more difficult, that internally displaced women and girls are more likely to be caught in armed conflict and may face specific protection risks as a result and that the responses and solutions available to refugee and internally displaced women and girls may be different,
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (k) i
- Paragraph text
- [The empowerment of displaced women and girls is to be enhanced including by partnerships and actions to:] strengthen women's leadership, including by enhancing their representation and meaningful participation in displaced community and camp management committees, in decision making, and in dispute resolution systems, by enhancing their access to and control over services and resources, promoting their rights and leadership skills and supporting implementation of UNHCR's Five Commitments to Refugee Women;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (f)
- Paragraph text
- These factors related to the wider protection environment may be combined with individual risk factors which increase the risks for these women and girls. Individual risk factors can be grouped non-exhaustively under factors relating to their individual civil status or situation in society; their having already been subject to SGBV and/or their risk of exposure to SGBV or other forms of violence; and their need for specific health and/or other support services, including in the case of women and girls with disabilities.
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (e)
- Paragraph text
- Risk factors in the wider protection environment can arise as a result of and after flight for women and girls and may include problems resulting from insecurity and armed conflict threatening or exposing them to SGBV or other forms of violence; inadequate or unequal access to and enjoyment of assistance and services; lack of access to livelihoods; lack of understanding of women's and men's roles, responsibilities and needs in relation to reproductive healthcare, and lack of understanding of the consequences of SGBV on women's and girls' health; the position of women and girls in the displaced or host community which can result in their marginalization and in discrimination against them; legal systems, which do not adequately uphold the rights of women and girls under international human rights law, including those relating to property; those informal justice practices which violate the human rights of women and girls; asylum systems which are not sensitive to the needs and claims of female asylum-seekers; and mechanisms for delivering protection which do not adequately monitor and reinforce women's and girls' rights.
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (p) iv
- Paragraph text
- [Recommended longer-term responses and solutions include partnerships and actions to:] establish mechanisms, where voluntary repatriation for individual refugee women and girls at risk is not a safe option and resettlement is not available, to enable them, where appropriate, to integrate locally and safely in the country of asylum, including by examining possibilities for voluntary relocation elsewhere in the country; for internally displaced women and girls at risk, examine possibilities for allowing them to relocate elsewhere in their own country if they wish and if their safety cannot be ensured where they are; and
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that, while women and girls may be exposed to certain risks, such as trafficking, in any location, the different nature of camp and urban environments can expose women and girls to different protection risks and that in camps, for example, their freedom of movement and capacity to earn a livelihood may be more restricted and they may be more exposed there to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), whereas in urban situations, they may be less able to exercise their rights effectively, to access protection and services or reach UNHCR or implementing partner offices,
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Reaffirming its call to the international community, in cooperation with UNHCR and other international organizations, to mobilize the financial and other resources necessary, including in support of host communities, to ensure the provision of protection and material assistance, and of durable solutions, based on international solidarity, cooperation, burden and responsibility sharing and the understanding that inadequate protection, or inadequate, inappropriate or poorly distributed assistance can increase the risks women and girls face,
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Recalling that Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security and the subsequent Action Plan (S/2005/636) provide an integrated framework for a consolidated international and UN-wide response to this challenge, that Security Council resolution 1261 (1999) and five subsequent resolutions on children and armed conflict, call on governments, parties to a conflict and other organizations, including UN bodies, to take wide-ranging action to protect children in armed conflict and afterwards, and that Security Council resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000) and 1674 (2006), similarly call on parties to armed conflict to ensure the protection of affected civilians, including women and children,
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (i) i
- Paragraph text
- [Identification, assessment and monitoring of risks faced by women and girls in the wider protection environment are to be strengthened by partnerships and actions to:] provide disaggregated data by sex and age; ensure registration on an individual and ongoing basis for refugees, recognizing the need to protect the confidential nature of personal data, and promote mechanisms to identify the internally displaced; strengthen protection monitoring of individuals by working with the community; monitor access to and enjoyment of protection, assistance and services by women and girls;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Women And Girls At Risk 2006, para. (c)
- Paragraph text
- Identification and analysis of the presence and severity of these different factors help determine which women and girls are at heightened risk and enable targeted responses to be devised and implemented. Identification can present particular challenges because women and girls are often less visible in displaced populations than men and boys, they may not be or feel able to report protection incidents, particularly if these occur in the private domain. It is therefore important to ensure an enabling environment which supports continuing identification and analysis of the situation.
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion On Children At Risk 2007, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- Recalling its Conclusions Nos. 47 (XXXVIII), 59 (XL) and 84 (XLVIII), specifically on refugee children and/or adolescents, Conclusion No. 105 (LVI) on Women and Girls at Risk, Conclusion No. 106 (LVI) on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons, Conclusion No. 94 (LIII) on the Civilian and Humanitarian Character of Asylum, Conclusion No. 98 (LIV) on Protection from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, Conclusion No. 100 (LV) on International Cooperation and Burden and Responsibility Sharing in Mass Influx Situations as well as all provisions of relevance to the protection of refugee children set out in other Conclusions, many of which are relevant for other children of concern to UNHCR,
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Conclusion on Protracted Refugee Situations 2009, para. (k)
- Paragraph text
- Recognizes that protracted refugee situations can increase the risks to which refugees may be exposed and that, in this respect, there is a need to identify and respond effectively to the specific protection concerns of men, women, girls and boys, in particular, unaccompanied and separated children, adolescents, persons with disabilities, and older persons, who may be exposed to heightened risks, including sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of violence and exploitation; and encourages UNHCR and States to pursue age, gender and diversity mainstreaming and participatory approaches with a view to enhancing the safety, well-being and development of refugees and promoting appropriate solutions for them;
- Body
- Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Document type
- ExCom Conclusion
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Older persons
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2009
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- State reports frequently lack specific and sufficient information on the implementation of the Convention with respect to women. The Committee emphasizes that gender is a key factor. Being female intersects with other identifying characteristics or status of the person such as race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, age, immigrant status etc. to determine the ways that women and girls are subject to or at risk of torture or ill-treatment and the consequences thereof. The contexts in which females are at risk include deprivation of liberty, medical treatment, particularly involving reproductive decisions, and violence by private actors in communities and homes. Men are also subject to certain gendered violations of the Convention such as rape or sexual violence and abuse. Both men and women and boys and girls may be subject to violations of the Convention on the basis of their actual or perceived non-conformity with socially determined gender roles. States parties are requested to identify these situations and the measures taken to punish and prevent them in their reports.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The obligation of States parties to protect children (art. 24) should be carried out equally for boys and girls. States parties should report on measures taken to ensure that girls are treated equally to boys in education, in feeding and in health care, and provide the Committee with disaggregated data in this respect. States parties should eradicate, both through legislation and any other appropriate measures, all cultural or religious practices which jeopardize the freedom and well-being of female children.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2000
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 3: The equality of rights between men and women - replaces GC No. 4 2000, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In relation to article 19, States parties should inform the Committee of any laws or other factors which may impede women from exercising the rights protected under this provision on an equal basis. As the publication and dissemination of obscene and pornographic material which portrays women and girls as objects of violence or degrading or inhuman treatment is likely to promote these kinds of treatment of women and girls, States parties should provide information about legal measures to restrict the publication or dissemination of such material.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 9: Liberty and security of person 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Liberty of person concerns freedom from confinement of the body, not a general freedom of action. Security of person concerns freedom from injury to the body and the mind, or bodily and mental integrity, as further discussed in paragraph 9 below. Article 9 guarantees those rights to everyone. "Everyone" includes, among others, girls and boys, soldiers, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, aliens, refugees and asylum seekers, stateless persons, migrant workers, persons convicted of crime, and persons who have engaged in terrorist activity.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Temporary special measures 1988, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- States parties should clearly distinguish between temporary special measures taken under article 4, paragraph 1, to accelerate the achievement of a concrete goal for women of de facto or substantive equality, and other general social policies adopted to improve the situation of women and the girl child. Not all measures that potentially are, or will be, favourable to women are temporary special measures. The provision of general conditions in order to guarantee the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of women and the girl child, designed to ensure for them a life of dignity and non-discrimination, cannot be called temporary special measures.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1988
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Some countries provide for different ages for marriage for men and women. As such provisions assume incorrectly that women have a different rate of intellectual development from men, or that their stage of physical and intellectual development at marriage is immaterial, these provisions should be abolished. In other countries, the betrothal of girls or undertakings by family members on their behalf is permitted. Such measures contravene not only the Convention, but also a woman's right freely to choose her partner.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The issues of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are central to the rights of women and adolescent girls to sexual health. Adolescent girls and women in many countries lack adequate access to information and services necessary to ensure sexual health. As a consequence of unequal power relations based on gender, women and adolescent girls are often unable to refuse sex or insist on safe and responsible sex practices. Harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation, polygamy, as well as marital rape, may also expose girls and women to the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Women in prostitution are also particularly vulnerable to these diseases. States parties should ensure, without prejudice or discrimination, the right to sexual health information, education and services for all women and girls, including those who have been trafficked, even if they are not legally resident in the country. In particular, States parties should ensure the rights of female and male adolescents to sexual and reproductive health education by properly trained personnel in specially designed programmes that respect their right to privacy and confidentiality.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 12b
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should report on their understanding of how policies and measures on health care address the health rights of women from the perspective of women's needs and interests and how it addresses distinctive features and factors that differ for women in comparison to men, such as:] Socio-economic factors that vary for women in general and some groups of women in particular. For example, unequal power relationships between women and men in the home and workplace may negatively affect women's nutrition and health. They may also be exposed to different forms of violence which can affect their health. Girl children and adolescent girls are often vulnerable to sexual abuse by older men and family members, placing them at risk of physical and psychological harm and unwanted and early pregnancy. Some cultural or traditional practices such as female genital mutilation also carry a high risk of death and disability;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Article 12 reads as follows: 1. States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health-care services, including those related to family planning. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, States parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation." States parties are encouraged to address the issue of women's health throughout the woman's lifespan. For the purposes of the present general recommendation, therefore, "women" includes girls and adolescents. The general recommendation will set out the Committee's analysis of the key elements of article 12.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 15a
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to protect rights relating to women's health requires States parties, their agents and officials to take action to prevent and impose sanctions for violations of rights by private persons and organizations. Since gender-based violence is a critical health issue for women, States parties should ensure:] The enactment and effective enforcement of laws and the formulation of policies, including health-care protocols and hospital procedures to address violence against women and sexual abuse of girl children and the provision of appropriate health services;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- When reporting on measures taken to comply with article 12, States parties are urged to recognize its interconnection with other articles in the Convention that have a bearing on women's health. Those articles include article 5 (b), which requires States parties to ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function; article 10, which requires States parties to ensure equal access to education, thus enabling women to access health care more readily and reducing female student drop-out rates, which are often a result of premature pregnancy; article 10 (h), which requires that States parties provide to women and girls access to specific educational information to help ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family planning; article 11, which is concerned, in part, with the protection of women's health and safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the reproductive function, special protection from harmful types of work during pregnancy and with the provision of paid maternity leave; article 14, paragraph 2 (b), which requires States parties to ensure access for rural women to adequate health-care facilities, including information, counselling and services in family planning, and (h), which obliges States parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure adequate living conditions, particularly housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications, all of which are critical for the prevention of disease and the promotion of good health care; and article 16, paragraph 1 (e), which requires States parties to ensure that women have the same rights as men to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise those rights. Article 16, paragraph 2, proscribes the betrothal and marriage of children, an important factor in preventing the physical and emotional harm which arise from early childbirth.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- While biological differences between women and men may lead to differences in health status, there are societal factors that are determinative of the health status of women and men and can vary among women themselves. For that reason, special attention should be given to the health needs and rights of women belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such as migrant women, refugee and internally displaced women, the girl child and older women, women in prostitution, indigenous women and women with physical or mental disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Core obligations of States parties under article 2 2010, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- States parties in particular are obliged to promote the equal rights of girls since girls are part of the larger community of women and are more vulnerable to discrimination in such areas as access to basic education, trafficking, maltreatment, exploitation and violence. All these situations of discrimination are aggravated when the victims are adolescents. Therefore, States shall pay attention to the specific needs of (adolescent) girls by providing education on sexual and reproductive health and carrying out programmes that are aimed at the prevention of HIV/AIDS, sexual exploitation and teenage pregnancy.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- There may be cases in which States parties also have extraterritorial obligations of international cooperation, as set out in international law, such as treaty law on women with disabilities (art. 32 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), girls in armed conflict (art. 24 (4) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the first two optional protocols thereto) and the non-discriminatory enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights (arts. 2 (1), 11 (1), 22 and 23 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). In such cases, the extraterritorial application of the Convention requires States to comply with the Convention in implementing those obligations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has previously noted that the Convention applies at every stage of the displacement cycle and that situations of forced displacement and statelessness often affect women differently from men and include gender-based discrimination and violence. Internal and external displacement have specific gender dimensions that occur at all stages in the displacement cycle; during flight, settlement and return within conflict-affected areas, women and girls are especially vulnerable to forced displacement. In addition, they are often subjected to gross human rights violations during flight and in the displacement phase, as well as within and outside camp settings, including risks relating to sexual violence, trafficking and the recruitment of girls into armed forces and rebel groups.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Trafficking in women and girls, which constitutes gender-based discrimination, is exacerbated during and after conflict owing to the breakdown of political, economic and social structures, high levels of violence and increased militarism. Conflict and post-conflict situations can create particular war-related demand structures for women's sexual, economic and military exploitation. Conflict-affected regions can be areas of origin, transit and destination with regard to trafficking in women and girls, with the forms of trafficking varying by region, specific economic and political context and State and non-State actors involved. Women and girls living in or returning from camps for internally displaced persons, refugees or those searching for livelihoods are particularly at risk of trafficking.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Under the Convention, States parties' obligations to prevent, investigate and punish trafficking and sexual and gender-based violence are reinforced by international criminal law, including jurisprudence of the international and mixed criminal tribunals and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, pursuant to which enslavement in the course of trafficking in women and girls, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity may constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity or an act of torture, or constitute an act of genocide. International criminal law, including the definitions of gender-based violence, in particular sexual violence, must also be interpreted consistently with the Convention and other internationally recognized human rights instruments without adverse distinction as to gender.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Provide protection and assistance for internally displaced and refugee women and girls, including by safeguarding them from gender-based violence, including forced and child marriage; ensure their equal access to services and health care and full participation in the distribution of supplies, as well as in the development and implementation of assistance programmes that take into account their specific needs; provide protection against the displacement of indigenous, rural and minority women with special dependency on land; and ensure education and income-generation and skills training activities are available;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57g
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Provide internally displaced and refugee women and girl victims of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, with free and immediate access to medical services, legal assistance and a safe environment; provide access to female health-care providers and services, such as reproductive health care and appropriate counselling; and ensure that military and civilian authorities present in displacement contexts have received appropriate training on protection challenges, human rights and the needs of displaced women;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The total breakdown of State public and service provision infrastructure is one of the major and direct consequences of armed conflict, resulting in the lack of delivery of essential services to the population. In such situations, women and girls are at the front line of suffering, bearing the brunt of the socioeconomic dimensions of the conflict. In conflict-affected areas, schools are closed owing to insecurity, occupied by State and non-State armed groups or destroyed, all of which impede girls' access to school. Other factors preventing girls' access to education include targeted attacks and threats against them and their teachers by non-State actors, in addition to the additional caregiving and household responsibilities that they are obliged to assume.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- During and after conflict, specific groups of women and girls are at particular risk of violence, especially sexual violence, such as internally displaced and refugee women; women's human rights defenders; women of diverse caste, ethnic, national or religious identities, or other minorities, who are often attacked as symbolic representatives of their community; widows; and women with disabilities. Female combatants and women in the military are also vulnerable to sexual assault and harassment by State and non-State armed groups and resistance movements.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In addition to the heightened risks faced by internally displaced persons, refugees and asylum seekers, conflict can also be both a cause and a consequence of statelessness, rendering women and girls particularly vulnerable to various forms of abuse in both the private and public domains. Statelessness can arise when a woman's experience of conflict intersects with discrimination with regard to nationality rights, such as laws that require women to change nationality upon marriage or its dissolution or that deny them the ability to pass on their nationality.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Inequalities in marriage and family relations affect women's experiences in conflict and post-conflict situations. In such situations, women and girls may be forced into marriage to placate armed groups or because their post-conflict poverty forces them to marry for financial security, affecting their rights to choose a spouse and enter freely into marriage, as guaranteed by article 16 (1)(a) and 16 (1)(b). During conflict, girls are particularly susceptible to forced marriage, a harmful practice that is increasingly used by armed groups. Families also force girls into marriage as a result of poverty and a misconception that it may protect them against rape.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- Although international tribunals have contributed to recognizing and prosecuting gender-based crimes, a number of challenges remain to ensuring women's access to justice and many procedural, institutional and social barriers continue to prevent them from participating in international justice processes. Passive acquiescence of past violence reinforces the culture of silence and stigmatization. Reconciliation processes such as truth and reconciliation commissions often provide women survivors with an opportunity to deal with their past in a safe setting and constitute official historical records. They should, however, never be used as a substitute for investigations into and prosecutions of perpetrators for human rights violations committed against women and girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57b
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Address the specific risks and particular needs of different groups of internally displaced and refugee women who are subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including women with disabilities, older women, girls, widows, women who head households, pregnant women, women living with HIV/AIDS, rural women, indigenous women, women belonging to ethnic, national, sexual or religious minorities, and women human rights defenders;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 52a
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Develop programmes for conflict-affected girls who leave school early so that they can be reintegrated into schools or universities as soon as possible; engage in the prompt repair and reconstruction of school infrastructure; take measures to prevent the occurrence of attacks and threats against girls and their teachers; and ensure that perpetrators of such acts of violence are promptly investigated, prosecuted and punished;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 38c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Ensure women's and girls' access to justice; adopt gender-sensitive investigative procedures to address gender-based violence, in particular sexual violence; conduct gender-sensitive training and adopt codes of conduct and protocols for the police and military, including peacekeepers; and build the capacity of the judiciary, including in the context of transitional justice mechanisms, to ensure its independence, impartiality and integrity;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Stateless women and girls face heightened risks of abuse in times of conflict because they do not enjoy the protection that flows from citizenship, including consular assistance, and also because many are undocumented and/or belong to ethnic, religious or linguistic minority populations. Statelessness also results in the widespread denial of fundamental human rights and freedoms in post-conflict periods. For example, women may be denied access to health care, employment and other socioeconomic and cultural rights as Governments restrict services to nationals in times of increased resource constraints. Women deprived of a nationality are also often excluded from political processes and from participating in the new government and governance of their country, in violation of articles 7 and 8 of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Even when women and girls are included in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes, the support is inadequate, gender stereotyped and limits their economic empowerment by providing skills development only in traditionally female fields. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes also fail to deal with the psychosocial trauma that women and girls experience in conflict and post-conflict situations. That in turn can cause further rights violations, given that women's social stigma, isolation and economic disempowerment can force some women to remain in exploitative situations (such as with their captors) or force them into new ones if they have to turn to illicit activities to provide for themselves and their dependants.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 61c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Guarantee conflict-affected women and girls equal rights to obtain documents necessary for the exercise of their legal rights and the right to have such documentation issued in their own names, and ensure the prompt issuance or replacement of documents without imposing unreasonable conditions, such as requiring displaced women and girls to return to their area of original residence to obtain documents;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Harm perpetrated against women and girls is often at the hands of non-State actors, including family members, neighbours or society more generally. In such cases, article 2 (e) of the Convention requires that States parties assume their due diligence obligation and ensure that women are effectively protected from harm that may be inflicted by non-State actors. It does not suffice to strive for vertical gender equality of the individual woman vis-à-vis public authorities; States must also work to secure non-discrimination at the horizontal level, even within the family. Harm perpetrated by non-State actors is persecution where the State is unable or unwilling to prevent such harm or protect the claimant because of discriminatory governmental policies or practices.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States parties should recognize that trafficking is part and parcel of gender- related persecution, with the result that women and girls who are victims of trafficking or who fear becoming victims should be informed of and effectively enjoy the right of access to asylum procedures without discrimination or any preconditions. States parties are encouraged to classify victims of trafficking under the "social group" ground in the refugee definition in line with the UNHCR "Guidelines on international protection: the application of article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to victims of trafficking and persons at risk of being trafficked" and are recommended to take measures so that women and girls are not returned to places where they risk being retrafficked.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In addition, articles 2, 15 (1) and 16 require States parties to recognize that women may present independent claims to asylum. In this respect, their claims may also be based on fears relating to their children. For example, claims to refugee status may arise from a fear that their daughters will suffer female genital mutilation, be forced into marriage or be subjected to severe community ostracism and exclusion for being girls. The child's protection claim should also be considered on its own merits in a child-sensitive manner in the best interests of the child. Once the principal claimant is recognized as a refugee, other members of the family should normally also be recognized as refugees ("derivative status").
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The provisions of the Convention reinforce and complement the international legal protection regime for refugees and stateless women and girls, especially because explicit gender equality provisions are absent from relevant international agreements, notably the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto, the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 50c
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should institute gender-sensitive procedural safeguards in asylum procedures to ensure that women asylum seekers are able to present their cases on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. States parties should ensure:] That women asylum seekers have access to competent legal representation in advance of the initial asylum interview. Where necessary, they should be afforded legal assistance free of charge. Unaccompanied and separated girls must in all cases be assigned a qualified legal representative and a guardian to assist them through the asylum procedure and ensure respect for their best interests;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 63m
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the foregoing, the Committee recommends that States parties that have not already done so:] Take measures to achieve the timely registration of all births and, in this regard, take measures to raise awareness, especially in rural and remote areas of their respective territories, of the importance of registering births to ensure that all children are registered and that girls benefit from the same rights as boys.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In some contexts, children are betrothed or married very young and, in many cases, young girls are forced to marry a man who may be decades older. In 2012, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that almost 400 million women between 20 and 49 years of age around the world had been married or had entered into a union before reaching 18 years of age. The Committees have therefore been paying particular attention to cases in which girls have been married against their full, free and informed consent, such as when they have been married too young to be physically and psychologically ready for adult life or to make conscious and informed decisions and thus not ready to consent to marriage. Other examples include cases in which guardians have the legal authority to consent to marriage of girls in accordance with customary or statutory law and in which girls are thus married contrary to the right to freely enter into marriage.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage, also referred to as early marriage, is any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both formal and informal, involve girls, although at times their spouses are also under 18 years of age. A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. As a matter of respecting the child's evolving capacities and autonomy in making decisions that affect her or his life, a marriage of a mature, capable child below 18 years of age may be allowed in exceptional circumstances, provided that the child is at least 16 years of age and that such decisions are made by a judge based on legitimate exceptional grounds defined by law and on the evidence of maturity, without deference to culture and tradition.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 55m
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions adopt or amend legislation with a view to effectively addressing and eliminating harmful practices. In doing so, they should ensure:] That legislation and policies relating to immigration and asylum recognize the risk of being subjected to harmful practices or being persecuted as a result of such practices as a ground for granting asylum. Consideration should also be given, on a case-by-case basis, to providing protection to a relative who may be accompanying the girl or woman;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Both women and girls find themselves in polygamous unions, with evidence showing that girls are much more likely to be married or betrothed to much older men, increasing the risk of violence and violations of their rights. The coexistence of statutory laws with religious, personal status and traditional customary laws and practices often contributes to the persistence of the practice. In some States parties, however, polygamy is authorized by civil law. Constitutional and other provisions that protect the right to culture and religion have also at times been used to justify laws and practices that allow for polygamous unions.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- There is a clear correlation between the low educational attainment of girls and women and the prevalence of harmful practices. States parties to the Conventions have obligations to ensure the universal right to high-quality education and to create an enabling environment that allows girls and women to become agents of change (Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 28-29; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 10). This entails providing universal, free and compulsory primary school enrolment and ensuring regular attendance, discouraging dropping out, eliminating existing gender disparities and supporting access for the most marginalized girls, including those living in remote and rural communities. In implementing the obligations, consideration should be given to making schools and their surroundings safe, friendly to girls and conducive to their optimal performance.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Childhood, and early adolescence at the latest, are entry points for assisting both girls and boys and supporting them to change gender-based attitudes and adopt more positive roles and forms of behaviour in the home, at school and in wider society. This means facilitating discussions with them on social norms, attitudes and expectations that are associated with traditional femininity and masculinity and sex- and gender-linked stereotypical roles and working in partnership with them to support personal and social change aimed at eliminating gender inequality and promoting the importance of valuing education, especially girls' education, in the effort to eliminate harmful practices that specifically affect pre-adolescent and adolescent girls.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The best interests of the child and the protection of the rights of girls and women should always be taken into consideration and the necessary conditions must be in place to enable them to express their point of view and ensure that their opinions are given due weight. Careful consideration should also be given to the potential short-term and long-term impact on children or women of the dissolution of child and/or forced marriages and the return of dowry payments and bride prices.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 55f
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions adopt or amend legislation with a view to effectively addressing and eliminating harmful practices. In doing so, they should ensure:] That a minimum legal age of marriage for girls and boys, with or without parental consent, is established at 18 years. When a marriage at an earlier age is allowed in exceptional circumstances, the absolute minimum age must not be below 16 years, the grounds for obtaining permission must be legitimate and strictly defined by law and the marriage must be permitted only by a court of law upon the full, free and informed consent of the child or both children, who must appear in person before the court;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Female genital mutilation, female circumcision or female genital cutting is the practice of partially or wholly removing the external female genitalia or otherwise injuring the female genital organs for non-medical or non-health reasons. In the context of the present joint general recommendation/general comment, it is referred to as female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is performed in every region and, within some cultures, is a requirement for marriage and believed to be an effective method of controlling the sexuality of women and girls. It may have various immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including severe pain, shock, infections and complications during childbirth (affecting both the mother and the child), long-term gynaecological problems such as fistula, psychological effects and death. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund estimate that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to a type of female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The efforts to combat harmful practices notwithstanding, the overall number of women and girls affected remains extremely high and may be increasing, including, for example, in conflict situations and as a result of technological developments such as the widespread use of social media. Through the examination of State parties' reports, the Committees have noted that there is often continued adherence to harmful practices by members of practising communities who have moved to destination countries through migration or to seek asylum. Social norms and cultural beliefs supporting such harmful practices persist and are at times emphasized by a community in an attempt to preserve its cultural identity in a new environment, in particular in destination countries where gender roles provide women and girls with greater personal freedom.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Another means of encouraging the empowerment of women and girls is by building their social assets. This can be facilitated through the creation of safe spaces where girls and women can connect with peers, mentors, teachers and community leaders and express themselves, speak out, articulate their aspirations and concerns and participate in decisions affecting their lives. This can help them to develop self-esteem and self-efficacy, communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills and awareness of their rights and can be particularly important for migrant girls. Given that men have traditionally held positions of power and influence at all levels, their engagement is crucial to ensuring that children and women have the support and committed engagement of their families, communities, civil society and policymakers.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Committees acknowledge that harmful practices affect adult women, both directly and/or owing to the long-term impact of practices to which they were subjected as girls. The present joint general recommendation/general comment therefore further elaborates on the obligations of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with regard to the relevant provisions for the elimination of harmful practices that affect the rights of women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Crimes committed in the name of so-called honour are acts of violence that are disproportionately, although not exclusively, committed against girls and women because family members consider that some suspected, perceived or actual behaviour will bring dishonour to the family or community. Such forms of behaviour include entering into sexual relations before marriage, refusing to agree to an arranged marriage, entering into a marriage without parental consent, committing adultery, seeking divorce, dressing in a way that is viewed as unacceptable to the community, working outside the home or generally failing to conform to stereotyped gender roles. Crimes in the name of so-called honour may also be committed against girls and women because they have been victims of sexual violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- The completion of primary and secondary education provides girls with short-term and long-term benefits by contributing to the prevention of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy and lower rates of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, preparing women and girls to better claim their right to freedom from violence and increasing their opportunities for effective participation in all spheres of life. The Committees have consistently encouraged States parties to take measures to boost enrolment and retention in secondary education, including by ensuring that pupils complete primary school, abolishing school fees for both primary and secondary education, promoting equitable access to secondary education, including technical-vocational educational opportunities and giving consideration to making secondary education compulsory. The right of adolescent girls to continue their studies, during and after pregnancy, can be guaranteed through non-discriminatory return policies.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- One of the first steps in combating harmful practices is through prevention. Both Committees have underlined that prevention can be best achieved through a rights-based approach to changing social and cultural norms, empowering women and girls, building the capacity of all relevant professionals who are in regular contact with victims, potential victims and perpetrators of harmful practices at all levels and raising awareness of the causes and consequences of harmful practices, including through dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Women and girls are enabled to build their economic assets through training in livelihood and entrepreneurship skills and benefit from programmes that offer an economic incentive to postpone marriage until 18 years of age, such as scholarships, microcredit programmes or savings schemes (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, arts. 11 and 13; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 28). Complementary awareness-raising programmes are essential to communicating the right of women to work outside the home and challenging taboos about women and work.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causes of harmful practices are multidimensional and include stereotyped sex- and gender-based roles, the presumed superiority or inferiority of either of the sexes, attempts to exert control over the bodies and sexuality of women and girls, social inequalities and the prevalence of male-dominated power structures. Efforts to change the practices must address those underlying systemic and structural causes of traditional, re-emerging and emerging harmful practices, empower girls and women and boys and men to contribute to the transformation of traditional cultural attitudes that condone harmful practices, act as agents of such change and strengthen the capacity of communities to support such processes.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- States parties to the Conventions have a duty to comply with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of women and children. They also have a due-diligence obligation to prevent acts that impair the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of rights by women and children and ensure that private actors do not engage in discrimination against women and girls, including gender-based violence, in relation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, or any form of violence against children, in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, the Committees recognize that boys are also the victims of violence, harmful practices and bias and that their rights must be addressed for their protection and to prevent gender-based violence and the perpetuation of bias and gender inequality later in their lives. Accordingly, reference is made herein to the obligations of States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding harmful practices stemming from discrimination that affect boys' enjoyment of their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Polygamy is contrary to the dignity of women and girls and infringes on their human rights and freedoms, including equality and protection within the family. Polygamy varies across, and within, legal and social contexts and its impact includes harm to the health of wives, understood as physical, mental and social well-being, the material harm and deprivation that wives are liable to suffer and emotional and material harm to children, often with serious consequences for their welfare.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- States parties have an obligation to challenge and change patriarchal ideologies and structures that constrain women and girls from fully exercising their human rights and freedoms. For girls and women to overcome the social exclusion and poverty that many experience, which increase their vulnerability to exploitation, harmful practices and other forms of gender-based violence, they need to be equipped with the skills and competencies necessary to assert their rights, including to make autonomous and informed decisions and choices about their own lives. In this context, education is an important tool for empowering women and girls to claim their rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain legally binding obligations that relate both in general and specifically to the elimination of harmful practices. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have consistently drawn attention to those practices affecting women and children, primarily girls, in the execution of their monitoring mandates. It is by virtue of that overlapping mandate and the shared commitment to prevent, respond to and eliminate harmful practices, wherever and in whichever form they occur, that the Committees decided to develop the present joint general recommendation/general comment.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 73d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions:] Conduct specialized awareness and training programmes for health-care providers working with immigrant communities to address the unique health-care needs of children and women who have undergone female genital mutilation or other harmful practices and provide specialized training also for professionals within child welfare services and services focused on the rights of women and the education and police and justice sectors, politicians and media personnel working with migrant girls and women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- When a woman or a girl who was subjected to or refused to undergo a practice leaves her family or community to seek refuge, her decision to return must be supported by adequate national protection mechanisms. In assisting her in making this free and informed choice, the mechanisms are required to ensure her safe return and reintegration based on the principle of her best interest, including avoiding revictimization. Such situations require close follow-up and monitoring to ensure that victims are protected and enjoy their rights in the short term and the long term.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 18f
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the good quality of justice systems, the Committee recommends that States parties:] When necessary to protect women's privacy, safety and other human rights, ensure that, in a manner consistent with due process and fair proceedings, legal proceedings can be held privately in whole or in part or that testimony can be given remotely or using communications equipment, such that only the parties concerned are able to gain access to their content. The use of pseudonyms or other measures to protect the identities of such women during all stages of the judicial process should be permitted. States parties should guarantee the possibility of taking measures to protect the privacy and image of victims through the prohibition of image capturing and broadcasting in cases where doing so may violate the dignity, emotional condition and security of girls and women;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The right to access to justice for women is essential to the realization of all the rights protected under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It is a fundamental element of the rule of law and good governance, together with the independence, impartiality, integrity and credibility of the judiciary, the fight against impunity and corruption, and the equal participation of women in the judiciary and other law implementation mechanisms. The right to access to justice is multidimensional. It encompasses justiciability, availability, accessibility, good quality, the provision of remedies for victims and the accountability of justice systems. For the purposes of the present general recommendation, all references to "women" should be understood to include women and girls, unless otherwise specifically noted.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- The most effective efforts are inclusive and engage relevant stakeholders at all levels, especially girls and women from affected communities and boys and men. Moreover, those efforts require the active participation and support of local leaders, including through the allocation of adequate resources. Establishing or strengthening existing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, institutions, organizations and social networks (religious and traditional leaders, practitioners and civil society) can help to build bridges between constituencies.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Victims seeking justice for violations of their rights as a result of harmful practices often face stigmatization, a risk of revictimization, harassment and possible retribution. Steps must therefore be taken to ensure that the rights of girls and women are protected throughout the legal process, in accordance with articles 2 (c) and 15 (2) and (3) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and that children are enabled to effectively engage in court proceedings as part of their right to be heard under article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 25e
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against rural women and girls, and, in line with general recommendations No. 19 and No. 33:] Implement measures to prevent and address threats and attacks against rural women human rights defenders, with particular attention to those engaged on issues relating to land and natural resources, women's health, including sexual and reproductive rights, the elimination of discriminatory customs and practices, and gender-based violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 25c
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against rural women and girls, and, in line with general recommendations No. 19 and No. 33:] Ensure that victims living in rural areas have effective access to justice, including legal aid, as well as compensation and other forms of redress or reparation, and that authorities at all levels in rural areas, including the judiciary, judicial administrators and civil servants, have the resources needed and the political will to respond to violence against rural women and girls and protect them against retaliation when reporting abuses;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- States parties should address specific threats posed to rural women by climate change, natural disasters, land and soil degradation, water pollution, droughts, floods, desertification, pesticides and agrochemicals, extractive industries, monocultures, biopiracy and the loss of biodiversity, in particular agro-biodiversity. They should alleviate and mitigate those threats and ensure that rural women enjoy a safe, clean and healthy environment. They should effectively address the impact of such risks on rural women in the planning and implementation of all policies concerning the environment, climate change, disaster risk reduction, preparedness and management and ensure the full participation of rural women in designing, planning and implementing such policies. States parties should also ensure the protection and security of rural women and girls in all phases of disasters and other crises, ranging from early warning to relief, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 25b
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Ensure that independent, safe, effective, accessible and child-sensitive complaint and reporting mechanisms are available to girls. Such mechanisms should be established in conformity with international norms, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and staffed by appropriately trained officials, working in an effective and gender-sensitive manner, in accordance with general comment No. 14 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, so that the best interests of the girls concerned is taken as a primary consideration;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination against rural women cannot be fully understood without taking into account the macroeconomic roots of gender inequality. States often fail to acknowledge the role of rural women and girls in unpaid work, their contribution to the gross domestic product and, therefore, to sustainable development. Bilateral and multilateral agreements on trade, tax and other economic and fiscal policies can have a significant negative impact on the lives of rural women. Environmental issues, including climate change and natural disasters, often provoked by the unsustainable use of natural resources, as well as poor waste management practices, also have detrimental impacts on the well-being of rural women. Gender-neutral policies, reforms and laws may uphold and strengthen existing inequalities related to all of the above.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In line with general recommendation No. 31 (2014) on harmful practices, States parties should eliminate harmful practices, including child and/or forced marriage, female genital mutilation and the inheritance of ancestral debt, which negatively affect the health, well-being and dignity of rural women and girls. They should eliminate discriminatory stereotypes, including those that compromise the equal rights of rural women to land, water and other natural resources. In this regard, States parties should adopt a range of measures, including outreach and support programmes, awareness-raising and media campaigns, in collaboration with traditional leaders and civil society, to eliminate harmful practices and stereotypes.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Article 5 (a) addresses the elimination of discriminatory stereotypes and practices, which are often more prevalent in rural areas. Rural women and girls are often disadvantaged by harmful practices (see CEDAW/C/GC/31-CRC/C/GC/18, para. 9), such as child and/or forced marriage, polygamy and female genital mutilation, which endanger their health and well-being and may push them to migrate in order to escape such practices, potentially exposing them to other risks. They are also disadvantaged by practices such as the inheritance of ancestral debt, which perpetuates cycles of poverty, and by discriminatory stereotypes and related practices that prevent them from enjoying rights over land, water and natural resources, such as male primogeniture and property grabbing from widows.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- In general recommendation No. 19 (1992) on violence against women, it is stated that rural women are at risk of violence because of traditional attitudes regarding the subordinate role of women that persist in many rural communities. Girls from rural communities are at special risk of violence, sexual exploitation and harassment when they leave the rural community to seek employment in towns. Rural women human rights defenders are often at risk of violence when working, for example, to protect victims, transform local customs or secure natural resource rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory or otherwise inadequate legal frameworks, complex legal systems, conflict and post-conflict settings, a lack of information and sociocultural constraints can combine to make justice inaccessible to rural women. Factors that contribute to discriminatory stereotypes and practices, especially in rural areas, include the parallel existence of often overlapping and conflicting statutory, customary and religious laws and authorities. Many rural women and girls live in communities in which informal justice mechanisms are used to resolve disputes. While informal justice may be more accessible to them, rules and mechanisms that are not in conformity with the Convention must be brought into line with it and with general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women's access to justice.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Maternal mortality and morbidity are disproportionately high in many rural areas. Child marriage exposes rural girls to early pregnancy and significantly contributes to maternal mortality, in particular in developing countries. Globally, the presence of skilled birth attendants and medical personnel is lower in rural than urban areas and leads to poor prenatal, perinatal and postnatal care. There is a greater unmet need for family planning services and contraception owing to poverty, the lack of information and the limited availability and accessibility of services. Rural women are more likely to resort to unsafe abortion than their urban counterparts, a situation that puts their lives at risk and compromises their health. Even in countries in which abortion is legal, restrictive conditions, including unreasonable waiting periods, often impede access for rural women. When abortion is illegal, the health impact is even greater.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- States parties should address the root causes of the traffic in women by economically empowering rural women and raising awareness in rural areas of the risks of being lured by traffickers and the ways in which traffickers operate. States parties should ensure that anti-trafficking legislation addresses the social and economic challenges faced by rural women and girls and provide gender-responsive training on prevention measures, protection and assistance for victims to the judiciary, the police, border guards, other law enforcement officials and social workers, especially in rural areas and indigenous communities.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- ICT (including radio, television, mobile phones, computers and the Internet) plays an important role in empowering rural women and girls by connecting them to the broader world and providing easy access to information and education. Various forms of technology can meet a diversity of needs, from joining online communities to taking advantage of distance learning. However, rural women and girls are disproportionately affected by gender gaps in access to ICT, which is an important dimension of the digital divide. For rural women and girls, poverty, geographic isolation, language barriers, a lack of computer literacy and discriminatory gender stereotypes can all hamper access to ICT.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take steps to prevent and prohibit child and/or forced marriage among rural women and girls, including through the reform and enforcement of laws prohibiting such practices in rural areas, media campaigns, particularly aimed at raising the awareness of men, the provision of school-based prevention programmes, including comprehensive age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education, as well as the provision of social and health services for rural married girls and girls at risk of child and/or forced marriage. In addition, States parties should discourage and prohibit the practice of polygamy, which may be more common in rural areas.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Rural women and girls are among those most affected by water scarcity; a situation that is aggravated by unequal access to natural resources and the lack of infrastructure and services. Rural women and girls are frequently obliged to walk long distances to fetch water, sometimes exposing them to a heightened risk of sexual violence and attacks. Owing to poor rural infrastructure and services in many regions, rural women often spend four to five hours per day (or more) collecting water from sometimes poor-quality sources, carrying heavy containers and suffering acute physical problems, as well as facing illnesses caused by the use of unsafe water. Various forms of low-cost and effective technology exist that could ease the burden, including well-drilling technology, water extraction systems, wastewater reuse technology, labour-saving irrigation technology, rain-harvesting and household water treatment and purification systems.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Worldwide, rural women and girls have lower levels of literacy and are disadvantaged when it comes to access to education and training. Rural girls may be victims of child and/or forced marriage and experience sexual harassment and violence in and out of educational settings, which may force them to drop out of school. Their school attendance is also often curtailed by chores, such as domestic and care work, including cooking, childcare, farm work and fetching water and firewood, the long distances to travel to school and the lack of adequate water, toilet facilities and sanitation in schools, which fail to meet the needs of menstruating girls. In some regions, students and teachers in girls' schools face threats and attacks from opponents of girls' education.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 43b
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should protect the right of rural girls and women to education, and ensure that:] Systematic training is provided for teaching personnel at all levels of the education system on the rights of rural girls and women and on the need to combat discriminatory sex-based and gender-based, ethnic and other stereotypes that limit the educational opportunities of rural women and girls. Curricula should be reviewed to eliminate discriminatory stereotypes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 43a
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should protect the right of rural girls and women to education, and ensure that:] High-quality education is accessible to and affordable for all rural women and girls, including those with disabilities, by improving educational infrastructures in rural areas, increasing the number of qualified teachers, including women, and ensuring that primary education is compulsory and provided free of charge and that education is provided in local languages and in a culturally appropriate manner;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 39a
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should safeguard the right of rural women and girls to adequate health care, and ensure:] That high-quality health-care services and facilities are physically accessible to and affordable for rural women, including older women, heads of household and women with disabilities (provided free of charge when necessary), culturally acceptable to them and staffed with trained medical personnel. Services should provide: primary health care, including family planning; access to contraception, including emergency contraception, and to safe abortion and high-quality post-abortion care, regardless of whether abortion is legal; prenatal, perinatal, postnatal and obstetric services; HIV prevention and treatment services, including emergency intervention following rape; mental health services; counselling on nutrition, the feeding of infants and young children; mammography and other gynaecological examinations services; the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer; access to essential medicines, including pain relief; and palliative care;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 39f
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should safeguard the right of rural women and girls to adequate health care, and ensure:] That health-care information is widely disseminated in local languages and dialects through various media, including in writing, through illustrations and orally, and that it includes information on, inter alia: hygiene; preventing communicable, non-communicable and sexually transmitted diseases; healthy lifestyles and nutrition; family planning and the benefits of delayed childbearing; health during pregnancy; breastfeeding and its impact on child and maternal health; and the need to eliminate violence against women, including sexual and domestic violence and harmful practices;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Rural women's access to electricity and other forms of energy is often limited. The responsibility for biomass collection and use for energy production, and the associated health and safety risks, falls primarily on women and girls. They are traditionally responsible for meeting household energy requirements and, as the principal consumers of energy at the household level, are also likely to be more directly affected by cost increases or resource scarcity. While a specific reference to electricity is made in article 14, paragraph 2 (h), it is important to recognize that rural women may also have other energy needs, for example for cooking, heating, cooling and transportation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Plans of action for primary education (Art. 14) 1999, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Plans of action prepared by States parties to the Covenant in accordance with article 14 are especially important as the work of the Committee has shown that the lack of educational opportunities for children often reinforces their subjection to various other human rights violations. For instance these children, who may live in abject poverty and not lead healthy lives, are particularly vulnerable to forced labour and other forms of exploitation. Moreover, there is a direct correlation between, for example, primary school enrolment levels for girls and major reductions in child marriages.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Plans of action for primary education (Art. 14) 1999, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In line with its clear and unequivocal obligation under article 14, every State party is under a duty to present to the Committee a plan of action drawn up along the lines specified in paragraph 8 below. This obligation needs to be scrupulously observed in view of the fact that in developing countries, 130 million children of school age are currently estimated to be without access to primary education, of whom about two thirds are girls. 1 The Committee is fully aware that many diverse factors have made it difficult for States parties to fulfil their obligation to provide a plan of action. For example, the structural adjustment programmes that began in the 1970s, the debt crises that followed in the 1980s and the financial crises of the late 1990s, as well as other factors, have greatly exacerbated the extent to which the right to primary education is being denied. These difficulties, however, cannot relieve States parties of their obligation to adopt and submit a plan of action to the Committee, as provided for in article 14 of the Covenant.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to education (Art. 13) 1999, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In relation to article 13 (2), States have obligations to respect, protect and fulfil each of the "essential features" (availability, accessibility, acceptability, adaptability) of the right to education. By way of illustration, a State must respect the availability of education by not closing private schools; protect the accessibility of education by ensuring that third parties, including parents and employers, do not stop girls from going to school; fulfil (facilitate) the acceptability of education by taking positive measures to ensure that education is culturally appropriate for minorities and indigenous peoples, and of good quality for all; fulfil (provide) the adaptability of education by designing and providing resources for curricula which reflect the contemporary needs of students in a changing world; and fulfil (provide) the availability of education by actively developing a system of schools, including building classrooms, delivering programmes, providing teaching materials, training teachers and paying them domestically competitive salaries.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to education (Art. 13) 1999, para. 16e
- Paragraph text
- [An introduction to technology and to the world of work should not be confined to specific TVE programmes but should be understood as a component of general education. According to the UNESCO Convention on Technical and Vocational Education (1989), TVE consists of "all forms and levels of the educational process involving, in addition to general knowledge, the study of technologies and related sciences and the acquisition of practical skills, know-how, attitudes and understanding relating to occupations in the various sectors of economic and social life" (art. 1 (a)). This view is also reflected in certain ILO Conventions. Understood in this way, the right to TVE includes the following aspects:] It consists, in the context of the Covenant's non discrimination and equality provisions, of programmes which promote the TVE of women, girls, out of school youth, unemployed youth, the children of migrant workers, refugees, persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights 2005, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to fulfil requires States parties to take steps to ensure that in practice, men and women enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights on a basis of equality. Such steps should include:] To integrate, in formal and non-formal education, the principle of the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, and to promote equal participation of men and women, boys and girls, in schools and other education programmes;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights 2005, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Article 13, paragraph 1, of the Covenant requires States parties to recognize the right of everyone to education and in paragraph 2 (a) stipulates that primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all. Implementing article 3, in relation to article 13, requires, inter alia, the adoption of legislation and policies to ensure the same admission criteria for boys and girls at all levels of education. States parties should ensure, in particular through information and awareness-raising campaigns, that families desist from giving preferential treatment to boys when sending their children to school, and that curricula promote equality and non discrimination. States parties must create favourable conditions to ensure the safety of children, in particular girls, on their way to and from school.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights 2005, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to fulfil requires States parties to take steps to ensure that in practice, men and women enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights on a basis of equality. Such steps should include:] To develop monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the implementation of laws and policies aimed at promoting the equal enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by men and women do not have unintended adverse effects on disadvantaged or marginalized individuals or groups, particularly women and girls;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (Art. 2, para. 2) 2009, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination is frequently encountered in families, workplaces, and other sectors of society. For example, actors in the private housing sector (e.g. private landlords, credit providers and public housing providers) may directly or indirectly deny access to housing or mortgages on the basis of ethnicity, marital status, disability or sexual orientation while some families may refuse to send girl children to school. States parties must therefore adopt measures, which should include legislation, to ensure that individuals and entities in the private sphere do not discriminate on prohibited grounds.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2009
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Due to numerous legal, procedural, practical and social barriers, access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health facilities, services, goods and information is seriously restricted. In fact, the full enjoyment of the right to sexual and reproductive health remains a distant goal for millions of people, especially for women and girls, throughout the world. Certain individuals and population groups that experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that exacerbate exclusion in both law and practice, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and persons with disabilities, the full enjoyment of the right to sexual and reproductive health is further restricted.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The realization of the rights of women and gender equality, both in law and in practice, requires repealing or reforming discriminatory laws, policies and practices in the area of sexual and reproductive health. Removal of all barriers interfering with access by women to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, goods, education and information is required. To lower rates of maternal mortality and morbidity requires emergency obstetric care and skilled birth attendance, including in rural and remote areas, and prevention of unsafe abortions. Preventing unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions requires States to adopt legal and policy measures to guarantee all individuals access to affordable, safe and effective contraceptives and comprehensive sexuality education, including for adolescents; to liberalize restrictive abortion laws; to guarantee women and girls access to safe abortion services and quality post-abortion care, including by training health care providers; and to respect the right of women to make autonomous decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Individuals belonging to particular groups may be disproportionately affected by intersectional discrimination in the context of sexual and reproductive health. As identified by the Committee, groups such as, but not limited to, poor women, persons with disabilities, migrants, indigenous or other ethnic minorities, adolescents, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and people living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to experience multiple discrimination. Trafficked and sexually exploited women, girls and boys are subject to violence, coercion and discrimination in their everyday lives, with their sexual and reproductive health at great risk. Also, women and girls living in conflict situations are disproportionately exposed to a high risk of violation of their rights, including through systematic rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and forced sterilization. Measures to guarantee non-discrimination and substantive equality should be cognizant of and seek to overcome the often exacerbated impact that intersectional discrimination has on the realization of the right to sexual and reproductive health.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Migrant domestic workers 2011, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- While transiting through foreign countries, women and girls are particularly at risk of being subjected to physical and sexual abuse by agents and intermediaries.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- States must also take affirmative measures to eradicate social barriers in terms of norms or beliefs that inhibit individuals of different ages and genders, women, girls and adolescents from autonomously exercising their right to sexual and reproductive health. Social misconceptions, prejudices and taboos about menstruation, pregnancy, delivery, masturbation, wet dreams, vasectomy and fertility should be modified so that these do not obstruct an individual's enjoyment of the right to sexual and reproductive health.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents, both girls and boys, are at risk of being infected with and affected by STDs, including HIV/AIDS. States should ensure that appropriate goods, services and information for the prevention and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS, are available and accessible. To this end, States parties are urged (a) to develop effective prevention programmes, including measures aimed at changing cultural views about adolescents' need for contraception and STD prevention and addressing cultural and other taboos surrounding adolescent sexuality; (b) to adopt legislation to combat practices that either increase adolescents' risk of infection or contribute to the marginalization of adolescents who are already infected with STDs, including HIV; (c) to take measures to remove all barriers hindering the access of adolescents to information, preventive measures such as condoms, and care.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 39d
- Paragraph text
- [In exercising their obligations in relation to the health and development of adolescents, States parties shall always take fully into account the four general principles of the Convention. It is the view of the Committee that States parties must take all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the realization and monitoring of the rights of adolescents to health and development as recognized in the Convention. To this end, States parties must notably fulfil the following obligations:] To ensure that adolescent girls and boys have the opportunity to participate actively in planning and programming for their own health and development;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In light of articles 3, 17 and 24 of the Convention, States parties should provide adolescents with access to sexual and reproductive information, including on family planning and contraceptives, the dangers of early pregnancy, the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In addition, States parties should ensure that they have access to appropriate information, regardless of their marital status and whether their parents or guardians consent. It is essential to find proper means and methods of providing information that is adequate and sensitive to the particularities and specific rights of adolescent girls and boys. To this end, States parties are encouraged to ensure that adolescents are actively involved in the design and dissemination of information through a variety of channels beyond the school, including youth organizations, religious, community and other groups and the media.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents have the right to access adequate information essential for their health and development and for their ability to participate meaningfully in society. It is the obligation of States parties to ensure that all adolescent girls and boys, both in and out of school, are provided with, and not denied, accurate and appropriate information on how to protect their health and development and practise healthy behaviours. This should include information on the use and abuse, of tobacco, alcohol and other substances, safe and respectful social and sexual behaviours, diet and physical activity.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention of the Rights of the Child 2003, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Under article 4 of the Convention, "States parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized" therein. In the context of the rights of adolescents to health and development, States parties need to ensure that specific legal provisions are guaranteed under domestic law, including with regard to setting a minimum age for sexual consent, marriage and the possibility of medical treatment without parental consent. These minimum ages should be the same for boys and girls (article 2 of the Convention) and closely reflect the recognition of the status of human beings under 18 years of age as rights holders, in accordance with their evolving capacity, age and maturity (arts. 5 and 12 to 17). Further, adolescents need to have easy access to individual complaint systems as well as judicial and appropriate non-judicial redress mechanisms that guarantee fair and due process, with special attention to the right to privacy (art. 16).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 72f
- Paragraph text
- [Elements to be mainstreamed into national coordinating frameworks. The following elements need to be mainstreamed across the measures (legislative, administrative, social and educational) and stages of intervention (from prevention through to recovery and reintegration):] Risk factors. Proactive, tailored measures need to be taken to reduce the risk factors to which individual children or groups of children may be exposed in general or in particular contexts. This includes parental risk factors such as substance abuse, mental health problems and social isolation as well as family risk factors such as poverty, unemployment, discrimination and marginalization. At a universal level all children aged 0-18 years are considered vulnerable until the completion of their neural, psychological, social and physical growth and development. Babies and young children are at higher risk due to the immaturity of their developing brain and their complete dependency on adults. Both girls and boys are at risk, but violence often has a gender component;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters disproportionately impact the right to inclusive education. States parties should adopt inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction strategies for comprehensive school safety and security in emergencies, which are sensitive to learners with disabilities. Temporary learning environments in such contexts must ensure the right of persons, and particularly children, with disabilities to education on the basis of equality with others. This includes accessible educational materials, school facilities, counselling, or access to training in local sign language for deaf learners. According to Article 11, and recognizing the heightened risk of sexual violence in such settings, measures must be taken to ensure that learning environments are safe and accessible for women and girls with disabilities. Learners with disabilities must not be denied access to educational establishments on the basis that their evacuation in emergency situations would be impossible, and reasonable accommodation must be provided.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 2011, para. 72g
- Paragraph text
- [Elements to be mainstreamed into national coordinating frameworks. The following elements need to be mainstreamed across the measures (legislative, administrative, social and educational) and stages of intervention (from prevention through to recovery and reintegration):] Children in potentially vulnerable situations. Groups of children which are likely to be exposed to violence include, but are not limited to, children: not living with their biological parents, but in various forms of alternative care; not registered at birth; in street situations; in actual or perceived conflict with the law; with physical disabilities, sensory disabilities, learning disabilities, psychosocial disabilities and congenital, acquired and/or chronic illnesses or serious behavioural problems; who are indigenous and from other ethnic minorities; from minority religious or linguistic groups; who are lesbian, gay, transgender or transsexual; at risk of harmful traditional practices; in early marriage (especially girls, and especially but not exclusively forced marriage); in hazardous child labour, including the worst forms; who are on the move as migrants or refugees, or who are displaced and/or trafficked; who have already experienced violence; who experience and witness violence in the home and in communities; in low socio-economic urban environments, where guns, weapons, drugs and alcohol may be easily available; living in accident- or disaster-prone areas or in toxic environments; affected by HIV/AIDS or who are themselves HIV infected; who are malnourished; looked after by other children; who are themselves carers and heads of households; born to parents who are themselves still under 18; who are unwanted, born prematurely or part of a multiple birth; hospitalized with inadequate supervision or contact with caregivers; or exposed to ICTs without adequate safeguards, supervision or empowerment to protect themselves. Children in emergencies are extremely vulnerable to violence when, as a consequence of social and armed conflicts, natural disasters and other complex and chronic emergencies, social systems collapse, children become separated from their caregivers and caregiving and safe environments are damaged or even destroyed;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Article 6 recognises that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination and States parties must adopt measures to ensure the equal enjoyment of their rights. Intersectional discrimination and exclusion pose significant barriers to the realization of the right to education for women and girls with disabilities. States parties must identify and remove these barriers including, inter alia, gender-based violence and lack of value placed on education of women and girls, and put in place specific measures to ensure that their right to education is not impeded by gender and/or disability discrimination, stigma or prejudice. Harmful gender and/or disability stereotypes must be combatted in textbooks and curricula. Education plays a vital role in combating traditional notions of gender that perpetuate patriarchal and paternalistic societal frameworks. States parties must ensure the access and retention of girls and women with disabilities in education and rehabilitation services as instruments for their development, advancement and empowerment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to inclusive education 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- States parties should respect, protect and fulfill each of the essential features of the right to inclusive education: availability, accessibility, acceptability, adaptability. The obligation to respect requires avoiding measures that hinder the enjoyment of the right, such as legislation excluding certain children with disabilities from education, or denial of accessibility or reasonable accommodation. The obligation to protect requires taking measures that prevent third parties from interfering with the enjoyment of the right, for example, parents refusing to send girls with disabilities to school, or private institutions refusing to enrol persons with disabilities based on their impairment. The obligation to fulfill requires taking measures that enable and assist persons with disabilities to enjoy the right to education, for example, that education institutions are accessible and that education systems are adapted appropriately with resources and services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Gender equality is central to human rights. Equality is a fundamental human rights principle that is inherently relative and context specific. Ensuring the human rights of women requires, firstly, a comprehensive understanding of the social structures and power relations that frame laws and policies as well as the economy, social dynamics, family and community life, and cultural beliefs. Gender stereotypes can also limit women's capacity to develop their personal abilities, pursue their professional careers and make choices about their lives and life plans. Both hostile/negative or seemingly benign stereotypes can be harmful. There is a recognized need to address harmful gender stereotypes in order to promote gender equality . The Convention equally enshrines an obligation to combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to persons with disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of life .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- This general comment reflects an interpretation of article 6 which is premised on the general principles of the Convention, as outlined in article 3, namely, respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy - including the freedom to make one's own choices -, and independence of persons; non-discrimination; full and effective participation and inclusion in society; respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity; equality of opportunity; accessibility; equality between men and women; and respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- All measures must ensure the full development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities. Although development relates to economic growth and eradication of poverty, it is not limited to these fields. While gender and disability-sensitive development in the field of, among others, education, employment, income generation, and relating to combating violence may be appropriate measures to ensure the full economic empowerment of women with disabilities, additional measures are necessary with regard to health, political and cultural and sports participation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination on the basis of disability is defined by the Convention as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodation" . Discrimination against women is defined by CEDAW as "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, or enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field" .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 17a
- Paragraph text
- Direct discrimination occurs when women with disabilities are treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation for a reason related to a prohibited ground. It also includes detrimental acts or omissions on the basis of prohibited grounds where there is no comparable similar situation . For example, direct discrimination occurs when the testimonies of women with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities are dismissed from court proceedings because of legal capacity, thus denying them justice and effective remedies as victims of violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- There is strong evidence to show that women and girls with disabilities face barriers in most areas of life. These barriers create situations of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against women and girls with disabilities, particularly, with regard to equal access to education, access to economic opportunities, access to social interaction, access to justice and equal recognition before the law , the ability to participate politically, and the ability to exercise control over their own lives across a range of contexts, for example: with regard to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health; and where and with whom they wish to live.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The Convention defines "reasonable accommodation" as 'necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms' requiring that State parties guarantee to persons with disabilities equal and effective legal protection against discrimination on all grounds . Recent jurisprudence from the CEDAW Committee has referenced reasonable accommodation with respect to women with disabilities' access to employment . The duty to provide reasonable accommodation is an ex nunc duty, meaning it is enforceable from the moment a person requests it in a given situation in order to enjoy their rights on an equal basis in a particular context. Failure to provide reasonable accommodation for women with disabilities may amount to discrimination under articles 5 and 6 . An example of reasonable accommodation could be a woman with a disability in the workplace requiring an accessible place to breast feed.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The Convention sets out that States parties must take "all appropriate measures" to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons with disabilities. These measures are legislative, educational, administrative, cultural, political, linguistic, and others. Measures are appropriate if they respect the principles of the Convention, including achieving the goal of guaranteeing women with disabilities the exercise and enjoyment of the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Convention. Measures may be temporary or long term and should overcome de jure and de facto inequality. While special temporary measures such as quotas, might be necessary to overcome structural and systemic multiple discrimination, long term measures such as reforming laws and policies to ensure the equal participation of women with disabilities in all areas of life are essential prerequisites for achieving substantive equality for women with disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Article 6 paragraph 1 recognizes that women with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination and requires that States parties take measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women with disabilities of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Convention references multiple discrimination in article 5 paragraph 2 which not only requires States parties to prohibit any kind of discrimination based on disability, but also to protect against discrimination on other grounds . Jurisprudence by the CRPD Committee has included measures to address multiple and intersectional discrimination .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are subjected to the same harmful practices committed against women without disabilities such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation, crimes committed in the name of so called honour, dowry related violence, widowhood practices and accusations of witchcraft . The consequences of harmful practices goes far beyond social exclusion. It reinforces harmful gender stereotypes, perpetuates inequalities and contributes to discrimination against women and girls. They can result in physical, and psychological violence and economic exploitation. Harmful practice based on patriarchal interpretations of culture cannot be evoked to justify violence against women and girls with disabilities. In addition, women and girls with disabilities are particularly at risk of 'virgin testing' and, regarding HIV/AIDS misbeliefs, "virgin rapes" .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Gradual changes in law and policy have occurred since the 1980s and the recognition of women with disabilities has increased. Jurisprudence developed under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) have highlighted concerns that need to be addressed regarding women and girls with disabilities and recommendations to be implemented. At a policy level, various United Nations bodies have started addressing issues facing women with disabilities and a number of regional strategies addressing disability inclusive development include them.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to fulfil imposes an ongoing and dynamic duty to adopt and apply the measures needed to secure the development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities. States parties must adopt a twin track approach through: a) systematically mainstreaming the interests and rights of women and girls with disabilities across all national action plans, strategies and policies concerning women, chilhood and disability as well as in sectoral plans concerning, for example: gender equality, health, violence, education, political participation, employment, access to justice and social protection; and b) targeted and monitored action aimed specifically at women with disabilities. A twin track approach is an essential pre-cursor to reducing inequality with regard to participation and enjoyment of rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Girls with disabilities are particularly at risk of harmful practices, which are justified by invoking sociocultural and religious customs and values. For example, girls with disabilities are more likely to die through "mercy killings" than boys with disabilities because their families are unwilling or lack the support to raise a girl with an impairment . Other examples of harmful practices include: infanticide , accusations of "spirit possession" and restrictions in feeding and nutrition. In addition, the marriage of girls with disabilities, especially girls with intellectual disabilities, is justified under the pretext of providing future security, care and finance for her. In turn, child marriage contributes to higher rates of school drop-out as well as early and frequent childbirth. The social isolation, segregation and exploitation of girls with disabilities inside the family, includes: exclusion from family activities, prevention from leaving home, forced unpaid housework and being forbidden from attending school.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination not only in the public, but also in the private sphere, for example, within family relations or by private social service providers. International human rights law has long acknowledged State party responsibility for discrimination perpetrated by private, non-state actors . States parties must adopt legal provisions and procedures which explicitly recognise multiple discrimination to ensure complaints made on the basis of more than one ground of discrimination are considered in the context of the determination of both liability and remedies.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to respect requires States parties to refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of the rights of women with disabilities. As such, existing laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women with disabilities must be abolished. Laws that do not allow women with disabilities to marry or choose the number and spacing of their children on an equal basis with others are frequent examples of such discrimination. Further, the duty to respect implies refraining from engaging in any act or practice that is inconsistent with article 6 and other substantive provisions, to ensure that public authorities and institutions act in conformity with it .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Intersectional discrimination recognizes that individuals do not experience discrimination as members of a homogenous group but rather, as individuals with multidimensional layers of identities, statuses and life circumstances. It means acknowledging the lived realities and experiences of heightened disadvantage of individuals caused by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, which requires targeted measures with respect to disaggregated data collection, consultation, policymaking, enforceability of non-discrimination and provision of effective remedies.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Terminology used in this general comment includes: a. ‘Women with disabilities’ refers to all adult women, girls and adolescents. b. Sex and gender: Where sex refers to biological differences and gender refers to the characteristics that a society or culture delineates as masculine or feminine. c. Multiple discrimination is a situation where a person can experience discrimination on two or several grounds, in the sense that discrimination is compounded or aggravated . Intersectional discrimination refers to a situation where several grounds operate and interact with each other at the same time in such a way that they are inseparable . Grounds for discrimination include, but are not limited to: age, disability, ethnic, indigenous, national or social origin, gender identity, political or other opinion, race, refugee, migrant or asylum status, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In line with a human rights-based approach, ensuring the empowerment of women with disabilities means promoting their participation in public decision-making. Women and girls with disabilities have historically encountered many barriers to participation in public decision-making. Due to power imbalances and multiple forms of discrimination, they have had fewer opportunities to establish or join organizations that can represent their needs as women and persons with disabilities. States parties should reach out directly to women and girls with disabilities andestablish adequate measures to guarantee that the perspectives of women and girls with disabilities are fully taken into account and that they will not be subjected to any reprisals for expressing their viewpoints and concerns, especially in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence including sexual violence. Finally, States parties must promote the participation of representative organizations of women with disabilities beyond disability-specific consultative bodies and mechanisms .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Article 6 of the Convention is a response to the lack of recognition of the rights of women and girls with disabilities, who worked hard for its inclusion in the treaty text. It reinforces the non-discriminatory approach of the Convention in its particular application to women and girls and requires that States parties go beyond refraining from discriminatory actions, to adopting measures aiming at the development, advancement and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities and promotes measures to empower them, by recognizing these constituencies as distinct right holders, providing channels for voice and agency, raising their self-confidence and increasing their power and authority to take decisions in all areas affecting their lives. Article 6 serves as an interpretation tool to approach the responsibilities of States parties across the Convention, to promote, protect and fulfill the human rights of women and girls with disabilities, from a human rights-based approach and a development perspective.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to protect means that States parties have to ensure that the rights of women with disabilities are not infringed upon by third parties. Thus, States parties must take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex and/or impairment by any person, organization or private enterprise. It also includes the duty to exercise due diligence through preventing violence or violations of human rights, protecting victims and witnesses from violations, investigating, prosecuting and punishing those responsible, including private actors, and providing access to redress and reparations where human rights violations occur . For example, promoting the training of professionals in the justice sector to ensure there are effective remedies for women with disabilities who have been subjected to violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The right to freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse for women with disabilities can be impacted negatively by harmful stereotypes that heighten their risk of experiencing violence. Harmful stereotypes that infantilize women with disabilities, call into question their ability to make judgements, and perceptions of women with disabilities as being asexual, or hypersexual; and erroneous beliefs and myths, heavily influenced by superstition, which increase the risk of sexual violence against women with albinism , all contribute to women with disabilities not exercising their rights as set out in article 16.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are not a homogenous group. They include: indigenous women; refugee, migrant, asylum seeker and internally displaced women; women in detention (hospitals, residential institutions, juvenile or correctional facilities and prisons); women living in poverty; women from different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds; women with multiple disabilities and high levels of support; women with albinism; and lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender women, and intersex persons. The diversity of women with disabilities also includes all types of impairments which is understood as physical, psychosocial, intellectual or sensory conditions which may or may not come with functional limitations. Disability is understood as the social effect of the interaction between individual impairment and the social and material environment, as described in article 1.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Certain forms of violence, exploitation or abuse may be considered as cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment and breaches a number of international human rights treaties. Among these are forced, coerced and otherwise involuntary pregnancy or sterilisation ; as well as any other medical procedure or intervention performed without free and informed consent, including those related to contraception and abortion; the invasive and irreversible surgical practises including psychosurgery, female genital mutilation or surgery or treatment performed on intersex children without their informed consent; the administration of electroshocks, chemical, physical or mechanical restraints; isolation or seclusion.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The often preferential care and treatment of boys means that violence against girls with disabilities is more prevalent when compared to boys with disabilities or the broader population of girls. Violence against girls with disabilities includes gender-specific neglect, humiliation, concealment, abandonment, abuse, including sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, which increases during puberty. Children with disabilities are also disproportionately likely to experience non-registration at birth , which exposes them to exploitation and violence. Girls with disabilities are particularly at risk of violence from family members and caregivers .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Of particular concern is gender based discrimination combined with taboos or negative or judgemental attitudes to sexual activity of girls, often limiting their access to preventive measures and other services. Of concern also is discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the design of HIV/AIDS-related strategies, and in keeping with their obligations under the Convention, States parties must give careful consideration to prescribed gender norms within their societies with a view to eliminating gender-based discrimination as these norms impact on the vulnerability of both girls and boys to HIV/AIDS. States parties should, in particular, recognize that discrimination in the context of HIV/AIDS often impacts girls more severely than boys.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Discrimination is responsible for heightening the vulnerability of children to HIV and AIDS, as well as seriously impacting the lives of children who are affected by HIV/AIDS, or are themselves HIV infected. Girls and boys of parents living with HIV/AIDS are often victims of stigma and discrimination as they too are often assumed to be infected. As a result of discrimination, children are denied access to information, education (see the Committee's General Comment No. 1 on the aims of education), health or social care services or community life. At its extreme, discrimination against HIV infected children has resulted in their abandonment by their family, community and/or society. Discrimination also fuels the epidemic by making children in particular those belonging to certain groups like children living in remote or rural areas where services are less accessible, more vulnerable to infection. These children are thus doubly victimized.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Initially children were considered to be only marginally affected by the epidemic. However, the international community has discovered that, unfortunately, children are at the heart of the problem. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the most recent trends are alarming: in most parts of the world the majority of new infections are among young people between the ages of 15 and 24, sometimes younger. Women, including young girls, are also increasingly becoming infected. In most regions of the world, the vast majority of infected women do not know that they are infected and may unknowingly infect their children. Consequently, many States have recently registered an increase in their infant and child mortality rates. Adolescents are also vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because their first sexual experience may take place in an environment in which they have no access to proper information and guidance. Children who use drugs are at high risk.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62a ii
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Combat multiple discrimination through inter alia: Adopting appropriate laws, policies and actions to ensure the rights of women with disabilities are included in all policies, especially in policies related to women in general, as well as in policies on disability.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Harmful gender and disability stereotypes combine to fuel discriminatory attitudes, policies and practices, such as: the higher valuing of education of boys over girls, educational material perpetuating wrongful gender and disability stereotypes, child marriage of girls with disabilities, gender-based family activities, female caregiver roles, lack of accessible sanitation facilities at schools to ensure hygienic menstrual management. In turn this results in high rates of illiteracy, school failure, uneven daily attendance rates, absenteeism and dropping out of school entirely.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- The right of women with disabilities to choose their place of residence may be adversely affected by cultural norms and patriarchal family values that limit autonomy and oblige them to live in a particular living arrangement. Thus, multiple discrimination can prevent the full and equal enjoyment of the right to live independently in the community. In the case of older persons with disabilities, age and impairment, separately or jointly, can increase their risk of institutionalization . In addition, it has been widely documented that institutionalization may expose persons with disabilities to violence and abuse, with women with disabilities particularly exposed .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Wrongful stereotyping related to disability and gender are a form of discrimination, which particularly impacts the enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the right to a found a family. Harmful stereotypes of women with disabilities include but are not limited to beliefs that they are: asexual, incapable, irrational, lacking control and/or hypersexual. Like all women, women with disabilities have the right to choose the number and spacing of their children, as well as the right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62a iii
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Combat multiple discrimination through inter alia: Addressing all barriers that prevent or restrict the participation of women with disabilities and ensuring that women with disabilities as well as the views and opinions of girls with disabilities, through their representative organizations, are included in the design, implementation and monitoring of all programmes which have an impact on their lives; including women with disabilities in all branches and bodies of the national monitoring system.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62a v
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Combat multiple discrimination through inter alia: Ensuring that all international cooperation is disability and gender sensitive and inclusive, and including data and statistics on women with disabilities in the implementation of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, targets and indicators, as well as other international frameworks.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62b i
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Take all appropriate measures to ensure the development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities through, inter alia: Repealing any law or policy that restricts women with disabilities from their effective and full participation in political and public life on an equal basis with others, including the right to form and join organizations and networks of women in general, and of women with disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- In practice, the choices of women with disabilities, especially women with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities are often ignored, their decisions are often substituted by third parties, including legal representatives, service providers, guardians and family members, thus violating their rights under article 12 . All women with disabilities must be able to exercise their legal capacity by taking their own decisions, with support when desired with regard to medical and/or therapeutic treatment, including decisions on: retaining their fertility, reproductive autonomy, their right to choose the number and spacing of children, to consent and accept a statement of fatherhood, and the right to establish relationships. Restricting or removing legal capacity can facilitate forced interventions, such as: sterilisation, abortion, contraception, female genital mutilation, or surgery, or treatment performed on intersex children without their informed consent and forced detention in institutions .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62a i
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Combat multiple discrimination through inter alia: Repealing discriminatory laws, policies and practices that prevent women with disabilities from enjoying all the rights of the Convention; outlawing gender and disability-based discrimination and its intersectional forms; criminalizing sexual violence against girls and women with disabilities; prohibiting all forms of forced sterilization, forced abortion and non-consensual birth control; prohibiting all forms of forced gender and/or disability related medical treatment and taking all appropriate legislative steps to protect women with disabilities against discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62a iv
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Combat multiple discrimination through inter alia: Collecting and analysing data on the situation of women with disabilities in all areas relevant to them in consultation with organizations of women with disabilities with a view to guiding policy planning for the implementation of article 6, and eliminating all forms of discrimination, especially multiple and intersectional discrimination and improving data collection systems for adequate monitoring and evaluation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities, more often than men with disabilities and than the broader population of women, are denied their right to legal capacity. Their rights to maintain control over their reproductive health, including on the basis of free and informed consent , the right to found a family, the right to choose where and with whom to live, the right to physical and mental integrity, the right to own and inherit properties, to control their own financial affairs and to have equal access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit are often violated through patriarchal systems of substituted decision-making.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62b v
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Take all appropriate measures to ensure the development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities through, inter alia: Support and promotion of international cooperation and assistance in a manner consistent with all national efforts to eliminate the legal, procedural, practical or social barriers to the full development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities in their communities as well as at the national, regional and global levels and the inclusion of women with disabilities in the design, implementation and monitoring of international cooperation projects and programmes that affect their lives.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities face barriers to accessing health and rehabilitation services; these include but are not limited to: lack of education and information on sexual and reproductive health and rights; physical barriers to gynaecological, obstetric and oncology services; and attitudinal barriers to fertility and hormone treatments. In addition, physical and psychological rehabilitation service provision, including counselling for acts of gender-based violence, may not be accessible, inclusive, age or gender sensitive.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities face multiple barriers to the enjoyment of sexual and reproductive health and rights, equal recognition before the law and access to justice, which are addressed below. In addition to barriers resulting from multiple discrimination on the grounds of gender and disability, some women with disabilities, such as refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, face additional barriers because they are denied access to healthcare. Likewise, women with disabilities may face harmful eugenic stereotypes when it is assumed that women with disabilities give birth to children with disabilities and are thus discouraged or prevented from realizing their right to motherhood .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The lack of consideration of gender and/or disability aspects in policies relating to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas, prevents women with disabilities from living independently and participating fully in all areas of life on an equal basis with others. This is specially relevant in their access to safe houses, support services and procedures in order to provide effective and meaningful protection from violence, abuse and exploitation or when providing health care, particularly reproductive health care.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 62b iii
- Paragraph text
- [In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, State parties should take the following steps to ensure the full implementation of article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing adequate resources in this regard:] Take all appropriate measures to ensure the development, advancement and empowerment of women with disabilities through, inter alia: Support and promotion of the creation of organizations and networks of women with disabilities and the promotion and support for women with disabilities to take leadership roles in public decision-making bodies at all levels.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Forced contraception and sterilization can also result in sexual violence without the consequence of pregnancy, especially for women with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities and those in psychiatric or other institutions or custody. Therefore, it is particularly important to reaffirm that the legal capacity of women with disabilities should be recognised on an equal basis with others, that women with disabilities have the right to found a family and be provided with appropriate assistance to raise their children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities may also be denied access to information and communication, including comprehensive sexuality education, based on harmful stereotypes which assume they are asexual and thus that they do not require such information. Information may also not be available in accessible formats. Sexual and reproductive health information includes, but is not limited to information, on the basis of equality with others, about "all aspects of sexual and reproductive health, including maternal health, contraceptives, family planning, sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention, safe abortion and post abortion care, infertility and fertility options, and reproductive cancers" .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Violations relating to deprivation of liberty disproportionately affect women with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities and those in institutional settings. Those deprived of their liberty in places such as psychiatric institutions, on the basis of actual or perceived impairment, are subject to higher levels of violence as well as cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment , are segreggated and exposed to the risk of sexual violence and trafficking within care and special education institutions . Violence against women with disabilities in institutions includes: involuntary undressing by male staff against the will of the woman concerned; forced psychiatric medication; and overmedication which can reduce the ability to describe and/or remember sexual violence. Perpetrators may act with impunity because they perceive little risk of discovery or punishment as access to judicial remedies is severely restricted, and women with disabilities subjected to such violence are unlikely to be able to access helplines or other forms of support to report such violations.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities face barriers to accessing justice including with regard to exploitation, violence and abuse, due to harmful stereotypes, discrimination and lack of procedural and reasonable accommodations, which can lead to their credibility being doubted and their accusations being dismissed . Procedures or enforcement attitudes may intimidate victims or discourage them from pursuing justice. These can include: complicated or degrading reporting procedures; referral of victims to social services rather than legal remedies; dismissive attitudes by police or other enforcement agencies. This can lead to impunity and invisibility of the issue, resulting in violence lasting for extended periods of time . Women with disabilities may also fear reporting violence, exploitation or abuse because they are concerned they may lose their support requirements from caregivers .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are more likely to be subjected to forced interventions than other women in general and men with disabilities, and are 'wrongfully justified by theories of incapacity and therapeutic necessity (and) are legitimized under national laws, and may enjoy wide public support as being in the alleged "best interest" of the person concerned' . Forced interventions violate a number of articles of the Convention, namely: the right to equal recognition before the law; freedom from exploitation, violence and abuse; the right to found a family; protecting the integrity of the person; sexual and reproductive health and rights; and freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment .
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
HIV/AIDS and the rights of the children 2003, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Programmes must be specifically adapted to the environment in which children live, to their ability to recognize and report abuses and to their individual capacity and autonomy. The Committee considers that the relationship between HIV/AIDS and the violence or abuse suffered by children in the context of war and armed conflict requires specific attention. Measures to prevent violence and abuse in these situations are critical, and States parties must ensure the incorporation of HIV/AIDS and child rights issues in addressing and supporting children - girls and boys - who were used by military or other uniformed personnel to provide domestic help or sexual services, or who are internally displaced or living in refugee camps. In keeping with States parties' obligations, including under articles 38 and 39 of the Convention, active information campaigns, combined with the counselling of children and mechanisms for the prevention and early detection of violence and abuse, must be put in place within conflict- and disaster-affected regions, and must form part of national and community responses to HIV/AIDS.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2003
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Reminding States of the need for age and gender-sensitive asylum procedures and an age and gender-sensitive interpretation of the refugee definition, the Committee highlights that under-age recruitment (including of girls for sexual services or forced marriage with the military) and direct or indirect participation in hostilities constitutes a serious human rights violation and thereby persecution, and should lead to the granting of refugee status where the well-founded fear of such recruitment or participation in hostilities is based on "reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion" (article 1A (2), 1951 Refugee Convention).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Child soldiers should be considered primarily as victims of armed conflict. Former child soldiers, who often find themselves unaccompanied or separated at the cessation of the conflict or following defection, shall be given all the necessary support services to enable reintegration into normal life, including necessary psychosocial counselling. Such children shall be identified and demobilized on a priority basis during any identification and separation operation. Child soldiers, in particular, those who are unaccompanied or separated, should not normally be interned, but rather, benefit from special protection and assistance measures, in particular as regards their demobilization and rehabilitation. Particular efforts must be made to provide support and facilitate the reintegration of girls who have been associated with the military, either as combatants or in any other capacity.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Treatment of Unaccompanied and Separated Children Outside Their Country of Origin 2005, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- States should ensure that access to education is maintained during all phases of the displacement cycle. Every unaccompanied and separated child, irrespective of status, shall have full access to education in the country that they have entered in line with articles 28, 29 (1) (c), 30 and 32 of the Convention and the general principles developed by the Committee. Such access should be granted without discrimination and in particular, separated and unaccompanied girls shall have equal access to formal and informal education, including vocational training at all levels. Access to quality education should also be ensured for children with special needs, in particular children with disabilities.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts 2013, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Human factors can also combine to place children at risk in the public environment: high levels of crime and violence; community unrest and civil strife; drug and gang-related violence; risk of kidnapping and child trafficking; open spaces dominated by hostile youth or adults; aggression and sexual violence towards girls. Even where parks, playgrounds, sports facilities and other provisions exist, they may often be in locations where children are at risk, unsupervised and exposed to hazards. The dangers posed by all these factors severely restrict children's opportunities for safe play and recreation. The increasing erosion of many spaces traditionally available to children creates a need for greater Government intervention to protect the rights under article 31.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- Given the high rates of pregnancy among adolescents globally and the additional risks of associated morbidity and mortality, States should ensure that health systems and services are able to meet the specific sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents, including family planning and safe abortion services. States should work to ensure that girls can make autonomous and informed decisions on their reproductive health. Discrimination based on adolescent pregnancy, such as expulsion from schools, should be prohibited, and opportunities for continuous education should be ensured.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Access to services, especially for the most vulnerable. The Committee calls on States parties to ensure that all young children (and those with primary responsibility for their well being) are guaranteed access to appropriate and effective services, including programmes of health, care and education specifically designed to promote their well being. Particular attention should be paid to the most vulnerable groups of young children and to those who are at risk of discrimination (art. 2). This includes girls, children living in poverty, children with disabilities, children belonging to indigenous or minority groups, children from migrant families, children who are orphaned or lack parental care for other reasons, children living in institutions, children living with mothers in prison, refugee and asylum seeking children, children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, and children of alcohol or drug addicted parents (see also section VI).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Sexual and reproductive health education should include self-awareness and knowledge about the body, including anatomical, physiological and emotional aspects, and should be accessible to all children, girls and boys. It should include content related to sexual health and well-being, such as information about body changes and maturation processes, and designed in a manner through which children are able to gain knowledge regarding reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence, and adopt responsible sexual behaviour.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that preventable maternal mortality and morbidity constitute grave violations of the human rights of women and girls and pose serious threats to their own and their children's right to health. Pregnancy and child birth are natural processes, with known health risks that are susceptible to both prevention and therapeutic responses, if identified early. Risk situations can occur during pregnancy, delivery and the ante- and postnatal periods and have both short- and long-term impact on the health and well-being of both mother and child.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- As new, proven technologies in children's health, including drugs, equipment and interventions, become available, States should introduce them into policies and services. Mobile arrangements and community-based efforts can substantially reduce some risks and should be made universally available and these include: immunization against the common childhood diseases; growth and developmental monitoring, especially in early childhood; vaccination against human papillomavirus for girls; tetanus toxoid injections for pregnant women; access to oral rehydration therapy and zinc supplementation for diarrhoea treatment; essential antibiotics and antiviral drugs; micronutrient supplements, such as vitamins A and D, iodized salt and iron supplements; and condoms. Health workers should advise parents how they can access and administer these simple technologies as required.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Right to rest, leisure and play. The Committee notes that insufficient attention has been given by States parties and others to the implementation of the provisions of article 31 of the Convention, which guarantees "the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts". Play is one of the most distinctive features of early childhood. Through play, children both enjoy and challenge their current capacities, whether they are playing alone or with others. The value of creative play and exploratory learning is widely recognized in early childhood education. Yet realizing the right to rest, leisure and play is often hindered by a shortage of opportunities for young children to meet, play and interact in child centred, secure, supportive, stimulating and stress free environments. Children's right to play space is especially at risk in many urban environments, where the design and density of housing, commercial centres and transport systems combine with noise, pollution and all manner of dangers to create a hazardous environment for young children. Children's right to play can also be frustrated by excessive domestic chores (especially affecting girls) or by competitive schooling. Accordingly, the Committee appeals to States parties, non governmental organizations and private actors to identify and remove potential obstacles to the enjoyment of these rights by the youngest children, including as part of poverty reduction strategies. Planning for towns, and leisure and play facilities should take account of children's right to express their views (art. 12), through appropriate consultations. In all these respects, States parties are encouraged to pay greater attention and allocate adequate resources (human and financial) to the implementation of the right to rest, leisure and play.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child contain legally binding obligations that relate both in general and specifically to the elimination of harmful practices. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child have consistently drawn attention to those practices affecting women and children, primarily girls, in the execution of their monitoring mandates. It is by virtue of that overlapping mandate and the shared commitment to prevent, respond to and eliminate harmful practices, wherever and in whichever form they occur, that the Committees decided to develop the present joint general recommendation/general comment.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causes of harmful practices are multidimensional and include stereotyped sex- and gender-based roles, the presumed superiority or inferiority of either of the sexes, attempts to exert control over the bodies and sexuality of women and girls, social inequalities and the prevalence of male-dominated power structures. Efforts to change the practices must address those underlying systemic and structural causes of traditional, re-emerging and emerging harmful practices, empower girls and women and boys and men to contribute to the transformation of traditional cultural attitudes that condone harmful practices, act as agents of such change and strengthen the capacity of communities to support such processes.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- States parties to the Conventions have a duty to comply with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of women and children. They also have a due-diligence obligation to prevent acts that impair the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of rights by women and children and ensure that private actors do not engage in discrimination against women and girls, including gender-based violence, in relation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, or any form of violence against children, in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Children’s rights in juvenile justice 2007, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- It is essential for the quality of the administration of juvenile justice that all the professionals involved, inter alia, in law enforcement and the judiciary receive appropriate training on the content and meaning of the provisions of CRC in general, particularly those directly relevant to their daily practice. This training should be organized in a systematic and ongoing manner and should not be limited to information on the relevant national and international legal provisions. It should include information on, inter alia, the social and other causes of juvenile delinquency, psychological and other aspects of the development of children, with special attention to girls and children belonging to minorities or indigenous peoples, the culture and the trends in the world of young people, the dynamics of group activities, and the available measures dealing with children in conflict with the penal law, in particular measures without resorting to judicial proceedings (see chapter IV, section B, above).
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2007
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 55f
- Paragraph text
- [The Committees recommend that the States parties to the Conventions adopt or amend legislation with a view to effectively addressing and eliminating harmful practices. In doing so, they should ensure:] That a minimum legal age of marriage for girls and boys, with or without parental consent, is established at 18 years. When a marriage at an earlier age is allowed in exceptional circumstances, the absolute minimum age must not be below 16 years, the grounds for obtaining permission must be legitimate and strictly defined by law and the marriage must be permitted only by a court of law upon the full, free and informed consent of the child or both children, who must appear in person before the court;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Both women and girls find themselves in polygamous unions, with evidence showing that girls are much more likely to be married or betrothed to much older men, increasing the risk of violence and violations of their rights. The coexistence of statutory laws with religious, personal status and traditional customary laws and practices often contributes to the persistence of the practice. In some States parties, however, polygamy is authorized by civil law. Constitutional and other provisions that protect the right to culture and religion have also at times been used to justify laws and practices that allow for polygamous unions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 22
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- Child marriage is often accompanied by early and frequent pregnancy and childbirth, resulting in higher than average maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls between 15 and 19 years of age, whether married or unmarried, around the world. Infant mortality among the children of very young mothers is higher (sometimes as much as two times higher) than among those of older mothers. In cases of child and/or forced marriage, in particular where the husband is significantly older than the wife, and where girls have limited education, the girls generally have limited decision-making power in relation to their own lives. Child marriage also contributes to higher rates of school dropout, especially among girls, forced exclusion from school and an increased risk of domestic violence, in addition to limiting the enjoyment of the right to freedom of movement.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 29
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- Crimes committed in the name of so-called honour are acts of violence that are disproportionately, although not exclusively, committed against girls and women because family members consider that some suspected, perceived or actual behaviour will bring dishonour to the family or community. Such forms of behaviour include entering into sexual relations before marriage, refusing to agree to an arranged marriage, entering into a marriage without parental consent, committing adultery, seeking divorce, dressing in a way that is viewed as unacceptable to the community, working outside the home or generally failing to conform to stereotyped gender roles. Crimes in the name of so-called honour may also be committed against girls and women because they have been victims of sexual violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 17
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- There is also the myth that intercourse with female persons with albinism can cure infertility, sexually transmitted infections and, in particular, HIV/AIDS. This has led to the rape and forced prostitution of women and girls with albinism, some of whom end up contracting various infections. Cases have been reported of young girls with albinism being prostituted by their family to customers who thereby expect to be cured of HIV/AIDS. It is believed that cases of this sort are underreported owing to various factors, including a pre-existing context of myth-led discrimination against persons with albinism, the stigma of reporting rape and the likelihood of further abuse. Such lack of reporting is bound to aggravate the already oppressed and disenfranchised situation of women and girls with albinism.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 21
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- In some contexts, children are betrothed or married very young and, in many cases, young girls are forced to marry a man who may be decades older. In 2012, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that almost 400 million women between 20 and 49 years of age around the world had been married or had entered into a union before reaching 18 years of age. The Committees have therefore been paying particular attention to cases in which girls have been married against their full, free and informed consent, such as when they have been married too young to be physically and psychologically ready for adult life or to make conscious and informed decisions and thus not ready to consent to marriage. Other examples include cases in which guardians have the legal authority to consent to marriage of girls in accordance with customary or statutory law and in which girls are thus married contrary to the right to freely enter into marriage.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 19
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- Female genital mutilation, female circumcision or female genital cutting is the practice of partially or wholly removing the external female genitalia or otherwise injuring the female genital organs for non-medical or non-health reasons. In the context of the present joint general recommendation/general comment, it is referred to as female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is performed in every region and, within some cultures, is a requirement for marriage and believed to be an effective method of controlling the sexuality of women and girls. It may have various immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including severe pain, shock, infections and complications during childbirth (affecting both the mother and the child), long-term gynaecological problems such as fistula, psychological effects and death. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund estimate that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to a type of female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 18
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- The efforts to combat harmful practices notwithstanding, the overall number of women and girls affected remains extremely high and may be increasing, including, for example, in conflict situations and as a result of technological developments such as the widespread use of social media. Through the examination of State parties' reports, the Committees have noted that there is often continued adherence to harmful practices by members of practising communities who have moved to destination countries through migration or to seek asylum. Social norms and cultural beliefs supporting such harmful practices persist and are at times emphasized by a community in an attempt to preserve its cultural identity in a new environment, in particular in destination countries where gender roles provide women and girls with greater personal freedom.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 20
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- Child marriage, also referred to as early marriage, is any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both formal and informal, involve girls, although at times their spouses are also under 18 years of age. A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. As a matter of respecting the child's evolving capacities and autonomy in making decisions that affect her or his life, a marriage of a mature, capable child below 18 years of age may be allowed in exceptional circumstances, provided that the child is at least 16 years of age and that such decisions are made by a judge based on legitimate exceptional grounds defined by law and on the evidence of maturity, without deference to culture and tradition.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 63
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- The completion of primary and secondary education provides girls with short-term and long-term benefits by contributing to the prevention of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy and lower rates of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, preparing women and girls to better claim their right to freedom from violence and increasing their opportunities for effective participation in all spheres of life. The Committees have consistently encouraged States parties to take measures to boost enrolment and retention in secondary education, including by ensuring that pupils complete primary school, abolishing school fees for both primary and secondary education, promoting equitable access to secondary education, including technical-vocational educational opportunities and giving consideration to making secondary education compulsory. The right of adolescent girls to continue their studies, during and after pregnancy, can be guaranteed through non-discriminatory return policies.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 66
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- Another means of encouraging the empowerment of women and girls is by building their social assets. This can be facilitated through the creation of safe spaces where girls and women can connect with peers, mentors, teachers and community leaders and express themselves, speak out, articulate their aspirations and concerns and participate in decisions affecting their lives. This can help them to develop self-esteem and self-efficacy, communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills and awareness of their rights and can be particularly important for migrant girls. Given that men have traditionally held positions of power and influence at all levels, their engagement is crucial to ensuring that children and women have the support and committed engagement of their families, communities, civil society and policymakers.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 62
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- There is a clear correlation between the low educational attainment of girls and women and the prevalence of harmful practices. States parties to the Conventions have obligations to ensure the universal right to high-quality education and to create an enabling environment that allows girls and women to become agents of change (Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 28-29; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 10). This entails providing universal, free and compulsory primary school enrolment and ensuring regular attendance, discouraging dropping out, eliminating existing gender disparities and supporting access for the most marginalized girls, including those living in remote and rural communities. In implementing the obligations, consideration should be given to making schools and their surroundings safe, friendly to girls and conducive to their optimal performance.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 56
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- One of the first steps in combating harmful practices is through prevention. Both Committees have underlined that prevention can be best achieved through a rights-based approach to changing social and cultural norms, empowering women and girls, building the capacity of all relevant professionals who are in regular contact with victims, potential victims and perpetrators of harmful practices at all levels and raising awareness of the causes and consequences of harmful practices, including through dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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