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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Accelerating efforts to eliminate violence against women: engaging men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against all women and girls 2017, para. 9g | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [Calls upon States to take immediate and effective action to prevent violence against women and girls by:] Developing and implementing educational programmes and teaching materials, including comprehensive sexuality education, based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities, with appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, with the active involvement of all relevant stakeholders, in order to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages, to eliminate prejudices and to promote and build decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills for the development of respectful relationships based on gender equality and human rights, as well as teacher education and training programmes for both formal and non-formal education; | United Nations Human Rights Council | Resolution |
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| 2017 | ||
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2017, para. 36 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Urges all States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to make the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Convention concerning inter-State and individual communications, to consider the possibility of withdrawing their reservations to article 20, to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of the amendments to articles 17 and 18, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of the Committee against Torture as soon as possible, and to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention, including, in view of the high number of reports not submitted in time, their obligation to submit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, and invites States parties to incorporate a gender perspective and information concerning persons who are marginalized and most vulnerable, including children and juveniles and persons with disabilities, when submitting reports to the Committee; | United Nations General Assembly | Resolution |
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| 2017 | ||
Unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents and human rights 2017, para. 3 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Calls upon States to ensure appropriate, integrated and gender-sensitive child protection care and services for all unaccompanied and separated migrant children and adolescents starting from the time of their arrival, in accordance with relevant international legal frameworks, taking into account the principle of the best interests of the child and the special needs of unaccompanied migrant children and those separated from their families, to protect them against all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence and to work to provide for their health, education and psychosocial development in a manner that is age- and gender-sensitive and that ensures a continuum of protection throughout the migration cycle and across transnational borders; | United Nations Human Rights Council | Resolution |
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| 2017 | ||
Embrace diversity and energize humanity 2017, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In his first report, the Independent Expert underlined the relationship between sexual orientation and gender identity and other issues, including racism, poverty, migration, disability and other factors. A particular concern to be highlighted here is the plight of children and youth from the perspective of gender diversity. Thus, on the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, 17 May 2017, the Independent Expert and a range of United Nations human rights treaty bodies and special procedures, as well as regional mechanisms, issued a joint statement calling for protection of transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents. The following excerpt epitomizes the universal message:
We call on States to adopt and implement effective measures prohibiting violence, anti-discrimination laws covering gender identity and expression — real or perceived — as well as sexual orientation as prohibited grounds for discrimination, to develop inclusive curriculums and learning materials, training for and support to teachers and other school staff, education and support programmes for parents, safe and non-discriminatory access to bathrooms, and awareness-raising programmes nurturing respect and understanding for gender diversity.
On another front, the mere existence of laws or by-laws criminalizing gender expression including through offences of “cross dressing” or “imitating the opposite sex” and other such discriminatory regulations impact on the liberty and security of these young people, tend to foster a climate where hate speech, violence and discrimination are condoned and perpetrated with impunity.
Criminalization and pervasive discrimination in such context lead to the denial of health care, including safe gender affirming procedures, and to the lack of access to information and related services. Pathologizing trans and gender diverse people — branding them as ill based on their gender identity and expression — has historically been, and continues to be, one of the root causes behind the human rights violations against them.
We reiterate our call for States to decriminalize and depathologize trans and gender diverse identities and expressions, including for young transgender people, prohibit “conversion therapies” and refrain from adopting new criminalizing laws and pathologizing medical classifications, including in the context of the upcoming review of the International Classification of Diseases. We also call on States to provide equal access to health care and access to gender affirming treatment to those who seek it. | Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2017 | ||
Child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings 2017, para. 6 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Calls upon States to promote and protect the right of women and girls to equal access to education through enhanced emphasis on free and quality primary and secondary education, including catch-up and literacy education for those who have not received formal education or have left school early, including because of marriage and/or childbearing, which empowers young women and girls to make informed decisions about their lives, employment, economic opportunities and health, including through scientifically accurate, age-appropriate comprehensive education, relevant to cultural contexts, that provides adolescent girls and boys and young women and men, in and out of school, consistent with their evolving capacities, with information on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and the empowerment of women, human rights, physical, psychological and pubertal development and power in relationships between women and men, to enable them to build self-esteem and informed decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills and to develop respectful relationships, in full partnership with young persons, parents, legal guardians, caregivers, educators and health-care providers, in order to contribute to ending child, early and forced marriage; | United Nations Human Rights Council | Resolution |
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| 2017 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 45 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States should guarantee that adolescents' right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in all its forms is fully respected, consistent with the restrictions delineated in article 15 (2) of the Convention, including through the provision of safe spaces for both girls and boys. Legal recognition should be afforded to adolescents to establish their own associations, clubs, organizations, parliaments and forums, both in and out of school, form online networks, join political parties and join or form their own trade unions. Measures should also be introduced to protect adolescent human rights defenders, particularly girls, who often face gender-specific threats and violence. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 97 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A growing number of States worldwide have confirmed their commitment to comprehensive sexuality education as an essential priority for achieving national development, health and education goals. In its resolution 70/137, the General Assembly called upon all States to develop and implement educational programmes and teaching materials, as well as teacher education and training programmes for both formal and non-formal education, including comprehensive evidence-based education on human sexuality, based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth; to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages; to eliminate prejudices; and to promote and build decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills for the development of respectful relationships based on gender equality and human rights. | Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 34 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Many girls are exposed to a wide variety of practices which are harmful to their health and well-being, such as female genital mutilation, discrimination in food allocation resulting in malnutrition and discrimination in access to professional health care. Furthermore, early marriage and adolescent pregnancy have a long-lasting impact on girls' physical integrity and mental health. Pregnancy and childbirth are together the second leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-old girls globally, putting them at the highest risk of dying or suffering serious lifelong injuries as a result of pregnancy. For example, up to 65 per cent of women with obstetric fistula, which is a severely disabling condition and often results in social exclusion, develop this condition as adolescents. | Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 95 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A holistic approach to addressing violence is consistent with the aim of collectively implementing the Sustainable Development Goal targets on violence across the agenda. It is also consonant with the indivisible and interrelated nature of human rights. From a human rights and public health perspective, violence must be addressed comprehensively, including obligations to eliminate violence within health-care settings, to address how structural factors, such as laws and policies, institutionalize violence and to eliminate violence against women and children. The right to health also includes an entitlement to safe access to health care and to a safe environment. Importantly, children and adolescents have a right to be free from violence and to healthy development. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 84 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Many adolescents, in particular girls and those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, are deterred from approaching health professionals in anticipation of a judgemental attitude that results from social norms or laws that stigmatize or criminalize their sexual behaviour. Rights to sexual and reproductive health for many adolescents are further compromised by violence, including sexual and institutional violence, coercion into unwanted sex or marriage, and patriarchal and heteronormative practices and values. This reinforces harmful gender stereotypes and unequal power relations that make it difficult for many adolescent girls to refuse sex or insist on safe and responsible sex practices. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 87 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | AIDS is the second most common cause of death among adolescents globally. Worldwide, adolescents in key population groups, including gay and bisexual boys, transgender adolescents, adolescents who exchange sex for money, goods or favours and adolescents who inject drugs, are also at a higher risk of HIV infection. Adolescent girls in high-HIV burden countries are particularly vulnerable, making up 75 per cent of new infections in Africa in 2013, with gender inequality, harmful traditional practices and punitive age of consent laws identified as drivers of the epidemic. These sectors and groups face a disproportionately high risk of experiencing stigma, discrimination, violence, rejection by families, criminalization and other human rights violations when seeking sexual and reproductive health services, including denial of access to health-care services, such as HIV testing, counselling and treatment. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 28 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States need to invest in proactive measures to promote the empowerment of girls, challenge patriarchal and other harmful gender norms and stereotyping and legal reforms in order to address direct and indirect discrimination against girls, in cooperation with all stakeholders, including civil society, women and men, traditional and religious leaders and adolescents themselves. Explicit measures are needed in all laws, policies and programmes to guarantee the rights of girls on an equal basis with boys. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 77 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee stresses that article 22 of the Convention recognizes that refugee and asylum-seeking children require special measures if they are to enjoy their rights and benefit from the additional safeguards given to them through the international refugee protection regime. Those adolescents should not be subjected to expedited removal procedures but rather be considered for entry into the territory and should not be returned or refused entry before a determination of their best interests has been made and a need for international protection has been established. In line with the obligation under article 2 to respect and ensure the rights of every child within their jurisdiction, irrespective of status, States should introduce age- and gender-sensitive legislation governing both unaccompanied and separated refugee and asylum-seeking adolescents, as well as migrants, underpinned by the best interests principle, prioritizing the assessment of protection needs over the determination of immigration status, prohibiting immigration-related detention and referring to the recommendations in general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin, addressing the particular vulnerability of those adolescents. States should also introduce measures to address the factors driving adolescents to migrate and the vulnerabilities and rights violations faced by adolescents left behind when parents migrate, including dropping out of school, child labour, vulnerability to violence and criminal activities and burdensome domestic responsibilities. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 105d (i) | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [The Working Group recommends that States:] Adopt a holistic approach towards women's health and safety by looking at their full life cycle from childhood to old age as interconnected phases with distinct considerations and needs, and in this regard: Take effective measures to prevent child marriage and adolescent pregnancies and provide girls with comprehensive education based on scientific evidence on matters of health, including sexuality; | Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 14 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Although opportunities for adolescents in many parts of the world have improved in recent years, the second decade of life is associated with exposure to increasing risks to the right to health, including violence, abuse, sexual or economic exploitation, trafficking, harmful traditional practices, migration, radicalization, recruitment into gangs or militias, self-harm, substance use and dependence and obesity. Gender inequalities become more significant as, for example, girls become exposed to child marriage, sexual violence and lower levels of enrolment in secondary education. The world in which adolescents live poses profound challenges, including poverty and inequality, climate change and environmental degradation, urbanization and migration, radical changes in employment potential, aging societies, rising health-care costs and escalating humanitarian and security crises. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 15 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States policies towards adolescents are too often characterized by targeted or punitive interventions aimed at addressing problems such as juvenile delinquency and violence, as well as perceived challenges, including substance use and sexual activity; too little attention is typically paid to building positive environments in which adolescents can thrive. Punitive and excessively biomedical interventions ignore the powerful social and economic determinants influencing adolescent behaviour, opportunities and well-being. Stigmatizing, demonizing and discriminating against adolescents by, for example, criminalizing or pathologizing their behaviours and diversities, negatively affects their socially perceived roles, self-esteem, well-being and sense of empowerment. These approaches fail adolescents, their holistic development and their right to health. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS 2016, para. 9 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Urges governments to eliminate gender inequalities and gender-based abuse and violence, increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection, principally through the provision of health care and services, including, inter alia, sexual and reproductive health care, as well as full access to comprehensive information and education, ensure that women can exercise their right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on, matters related to their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, in order to increase their ability to protect themselves from HIV infection, and take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for the empowerment of women and strengthen their economic independence and, in that context, reiterates the importance of the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality; | Commission on the Status of Women | Resolution |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Reaching adolescence can mean exposure to a range of risks, reinforced or exacerbated by the digital environment, including substance use and addiction, violence and abuse, sexual or economic exploitation, trafficking, migration, radicalization or recruitment into gangs or militias. As they approach adulthood, adolescents need suitable education and support to tackle local and global challenges, including poverty and inequality, discrimination, climate change and environmental degradation, urbanization and migration, ageing societies, pressure to perform in school and escalating humanitarian and security crises. Growing up in more heterogeneous and multi-ethnic societies, as a consequence of increased global migration, also requires greater capacities for understanding, tolerance and coexistence. Investment is needed in measures to strengthen the capacities of adolescents to overcome or mitigate those challenges, address the societal drivers serving to exclude and marginalize them and equip them to face challenging and changing social, economic and digital environments. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 33 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Adolescents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex commonly face persecution, including abuse and violence, stigmatization, discrimination, bullying, exclusion from education and training, as well as a lack of family and social support, or access to sexual and reproductive health services and information. In extreme cases, they face sexual assault, rape and even death. These experiences have been linked to low self-esteem, higher rates of depression, suicide and homelessness. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 34 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee emphasizes the rights of all adolescents to freedom of expression and respect for their physical and psychological integrity, gender identity and emerging autonomy. It condemns the imposition of so-called "treatments" to try to change sexual orientation and forced surgeries or treatments on intersex adolescents. It urges States to eliminate such practices, repeal all laws criminalizing or otherwise discriminating against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status and adopt laws prohibiting discrimination on those grounds. States should also take effective action to protect all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents from all forms of violence, discrimination or bullying by raising public awareness and implementing safety and support measures. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 78 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Many adolescents are at risk of being trafficked for economic reasons or for sexual exploitation. States are urged to establish a comprehensive and systematic mechanism for collecting data on the sale of, trafficking in and abduction of children, ensuring that the data is disaggregated and paying particular attention to children living in the most vulnerable situations. States should also invest in rehabilitation and reintegration services and psychosocial support for child victims. Attention should be paid to the gender-based dimensions of vulnerability and exploitation. Awareness-raising activities, including through social media, need to be conducted in order to make parents and children aware of the dangers of both domestic and international trafficking. States are urged to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and to harmonize legislation accordingly. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 15 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | 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 . | Special Rapporteur on the right to food | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 35 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Adolescent girls are particularly exposed to gender-based violence in the family and on their way to or at school, with extremely harmful impacts on their physical and mental health. In its resolution 70/137 the General Assembly called upon all States to improve the safety of girls on the way to and from school, taking steps to ensure that all schools are accessible, safe, secure and free from violence and providing separate and adequate sanitation facilities that provide privacy and dignity. | Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 95 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Restrictions in many countries on girls' and women's access to unbiased, quality education, including evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education, and information about where and how to obtain essential health services prevent women from making free and informed decisions about their health and safety and hence obstruct proper, informed access to health care. This is particularly true for adolescents and marginalized women facing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination. Such restrictions are manifestations of censorship that limit women's and girls' choices. | Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The transition towards adulthood is characterized by the changing nature of relationships. Across cultures, adolescents begin to attach far greater significance to and are increasingly influenced by their peer group and less by family and caregivers. Adolescents also begin to explore their sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. There is considerable diversity in combinations of gender identities, expression and sexual orientation, irrespective of whether such diversity is culturally accepted. It is increasingly clear that sexual orientation and gender identity derive from a complex interplay of biological, genetic and social factors and that individuals have little or no choice in its determination. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 39 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Adolescent girls, adolescents with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents, adolescents living in institutions and adolescents from communities with a proliferation of unregulated weapons or experiencing armed conflict are among those particularly vulnerable to violence. The risks for girls include, for example, exposure to sexual violence and exploitation, forced and early marriage, honour killings and abusive practices often carried out in health-care settings, such as forced sterilization and forced abortion for girls with disabilities, and forced virginity testing. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 2 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | There is a growing focus on adolescence within the international health and development community, as reflected, most notably, in the Global Strategy on Women's, Children's and Adolescents Health 2016-2030. These are important and welcome commitments that now need to be translated into action on the ground. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 65 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The instrumentalization of women's bodies as objects to serve sexual and other purposes leads to practices such as invasive cosmetic procedures. Unhealthy dieting, particularly among adolescent girls, can have disastrous health consequences, including eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. | Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 41 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are at risk of "punitive" rape on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Adolescents suffer disproportionately from the effects of gun violence and significant numbers of adolescents face serious harm or death as a consequence of armed conflict. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 89 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Given the scale of these concerns, target 3.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, on ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, is welcome. To achieve this target, States will have to adopt a comprehensive gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory sexual and reproductive health policy for all adolescents and to integrate it into national strategies and programmes. | Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 |