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Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group considers that laws may at times constitute good practices in and of themselves, but that more often they function as a component in the development of good practices. Constitutional amendments, laws or legal reforms, court decisions and the full range of ways in which laws are crafted and codified in diverse societies form an important piece of the “good practices” puzzle, and can have an immediate impact on de facto equality. A law can be “promising” or “good” in its crafting and articulation, and a court decision can be good, but for it to be considered a good practice, a wider context must be considered than can be found simply through analysis of a legal text. The Group is of the view that a good law usually becomes a good practice in conjunction with ancillary factors, such as the process by which it comes into being and is disseminated, operationalized and implemented. This is not to understate the importance of the law itself, but rather to emphasize that considerations of good practices cannot be based wholly on the legal texts themselves, but must be analysed in context, including tangible outcomes in lived reality.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 107
- Paragraph text
- A key area of concern to the Working Group is the profound level of backlash against women’s human rights gains, which is on the rise both within States and in international spheres. In a climate of rising populism, xenophobia and fundamentalisms, long-established women’s human rights norms are being undermined, heightening the fragility of good practices in this context. In addition, a concurrent attack on women’s organizations, women’s human rights defenders and civil society movements — including feminist, environmental and human rights movements — creates an atmosphere in which these key actors are criminalized, de-funded and even killed, making the question of good practices moot. The Working Group emphasizes the importance of maintaining the autonomy of local and national movements and other civil society actors — including national human rights institutions, public interest lawyers and scholars — as an essential means of protecting and sustaining good practices. Backlashes within intergovernmental forums, as well as at the national level, must be challenged head-on by the international community.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 106
- Paragraph text
- The developmental process of a good practice over longer periods of time means that political shifts in national or international governance can adversely affect sustainability.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- Active participation of women rights holders and autonomous women’s organizations in the development, monitoring, assessment and implementation of judicial decisions and public policies is essential to ensuring responsivity and impact.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The partnership of autonomous women’s organizations and independent experts with expertise in women’s rights with public authorities is a key element of progressive policy implementation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Some States that apply religious or customary law to regulate personal status have reinforced the traditional prohibitions on adultery by criminalizing it. Adultery, which is defined as any sexual relation outside marriage, is severely punished and may even result in a sentence of death by stoning in some States that apply Islamic law. The sanctions are generally imposed on the women rather than the men. Interventions by foreign Governments, civil society and special procedures mandate holders have sometimes led to judgements that imposed stoning to be overturned. In some states in the United States of America, adultery between married persons is a crime, but these provisions have not been implemented in the last thirty years. The Working Group issued a statement calling for the decriminalization of adultery and wishes to recall that criminalization of sexual relations between consenting adults is a violation of their right to privacy and an infringement of article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- 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
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Several States have no secular family code and regulate personal status either by integrating religious laws on the family into constitutional or legislative provisions or by granting religious authorities or religious tribunals jurisdiction over personal status so that they may apply the family codes derived from the sacred texts. Currently, a large number of States that have Islam as their State religion, such as the Islamic and Arab republics, regulate the personal status of all citizens by applying Islamic law from the Koran and the Sunna. Although the notion of the equality of men and women before the law is often incorporated in their constitutions, some States maintain that this equality does not apply in the case of laws on the family and on marital or personal status. Some States that recognize the legal competence of a majority religion in the State also grant non-majority religions jurisdiction over their own communities of faithful, such as Lebanon (Muslim majority), India (Hindu majority) and Israel (Jewish majority).
- 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
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97d
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Support and ensure women's equal participation in and benefit from all areas of political decision-making during times of political transition. States should: (i) Apply special measures to ensure the equal and full participation of women in all transitional authorities and mechanisms; (ii) Ensure, including through constitutional provisions, a coherent system-wide framework for equality between men and women in all fields of life; (iii) Engage women in meaningful and sustainable ways in the development and implementation of policies to achieve lasting peace and security, including by promoting a culture of peace through formal and informal education in a multicultural setting; (iv) Ensure women's effective participation in all initiatives to secure accountability for past abuses, including transitional justice processes, and ensure that the guarantee for non-recurrence incorporates overcoming the root causes of gender-based violations in everyday life and institutions;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- General recommendation No. 23 (1997) of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women refers to political and public life as encompassing the exercise of legislative, judicial, executive and administrative powers; covering all aspects of public administration and the formulation and implementation of policy at the international, national, regional and local levels; and including civil society, such as public boards and local councils and the activities of organizations such as political parties, trade unions, professional or industry associations, women's organizations, community-based organizations and other organizations concerned with public and political life (para. 5). The Beijing Platform for Action, in its paragraph 182, referred to the scant progress made towards achieving by 1995 the 30 per cent target for women in decision-making positions. Global progress in achieving the goals for women's political representation set by the international community continues to be excruciatingly slow and is far from being met 18 years after the target date.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- The five members of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice assumed their functions on 1 May 2011. The Working Group has held three sessions since then and conducted one country visit, namely, to Morocco. At the time of drafting the present report, the Working Group was engaged in dialogue with the Government of the Republic of Moldova on conducting a visit to that country from 21 to 30 May 2012. It will report on its visit to the Republic of Moldova during the twenty-third session of the Human Rights Council. It has pursued active engagement with a range of stakeholders, including States, United Nations organizations and intergovernmental bodies, human rights mechanisms, civil society organizations and academic experts, and has participated in a number of activities of relevance to its mandate, including by contributing inputs on equality and non-discrimination, and protection and promotion of women's human rights, to various initiatives undertaken by others, including other special procedure mandate holders.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Legal frameworks and partnership protocols that formalize the collaboration and participation of citizen or civil society organizations or autonomous women’s rights organizations in developing, monitoring and implementing the law, can help to address power imbalances on the basis of historical discrimination and can lead to meaningful change.
- 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
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- The protocol is reviewed and adjusted annually by both parties to take into account challenges and shifting needs, ensuring ongoing responsivity to community concerns. Successes of the project have been shared with other women’s organizations, and a similar protocol has been subsequently adopted with the federal police force in the largest city in the region. Discussions are under way in other indigenous communities to press for similar protocols.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The presence of a solid constitutional court and an effective judicial remedy that enables citizens to demand their constitutional rights without undue cost or burden creates an enabling legal environment for addressing women’s human rights violations.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Robust and detailed constitutional gender equality protections based on international human rights standards are essential for a strong and enforceable domestic legal framework, and the active intervention of human rights organizations at the request of civil society can contribute to achieving the gender equality goal.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- The active participation of citizens and women’s organizations in the process of democratization and constitution drafting are key to the adoption of a progressive, rights-based constitutional framework that creates an enabling legal environment for women’s human rights implementation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group considers that the study of the ways and means by which those movements engage with processes of change involving the law merits in-depth consideration. Such investigation will reveal specific ways that States can create an ameliorating environment for and work collaboratively with autonomous women’s movements towards eliminating discrimination against women in law and in practice.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- Impact is attained through follow-up measures and sustained action, by both State and non-State actors. Progressive court decisions must be widely disseminated and popularized among duty holders and rights holders alike to have broader structural impact.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- In 2011, a social worker who founded a local shelter for girl survivors of sexual violence and an international human rights lawyer initiated a coalition with local, regional and international civil society organizations, feminist lawyers and the national human rights commission to file a case seeking to hold the police accountable for failure to address rampant sexual violence against girls. The 160 Girls case was brought to the High Court in 2012. With the support of the shelter, 11 applicants were chosen from more than 160 victims of child rape who had been denied access to justice. The remaining victims were represented by the twelfth applicant, which was the rape shelter itself. It was the first case brought to the High Court under the equality provisions laid out in the 2010 Constitution. The decision was instrumental in establishing the failure of the police to meet national and international standards to conduct prompt, effective, proper and professional investigations into complaints, thereby preventing access to justice. With the use of relevant international human rights instruments and progressive interpretation of constitutional rights and State obligation, the jurisprudence was precedent-setting. The seminal contribution of the decision lay in establishing the rights of the child and the delineation of the scope of State obligation in protecting children from violence, and the duty to investigate and apply existing rape laws.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Policies must be implemented in tandem with quotas to mitigate the effects of historical discrimination and to support women’s success and impact in politics, including capacity-building performed in tandem with autonomous women’s organizations as well as regional or international partners.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The introduction of quotas provided a strong and unassailable legal prerogative for women’s inclusion in local-level political bodies. However, the legal framework on its own was insufficient to ensure the meaningful political participation of women until the introduction of complementary measures, integrally involving civil society organizations, that addressed the patriarchal context and women’s historical disenfranchisement and ongoing discrimination.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The right to participate in all areas of political and public life is an essential prerequisite for the fulfilment of many other rights. Despite progress in many States, women’s representation in elected office — especially at the senior level, the judiciary, civil service or in entities such as unions, national human rights institutions or international agencies, including the United Nations — falls short of the good practice standard of equal representation.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The living-law approach looks at laws beyond the text of a legislation or judicial decision, including the dynamic processes by which that law comes into being, is implemented meaningfully and contributes to real and sustainable outcomes for women’s de facto enjoyment of human rights. Thus, a living-law approach involves understanding laws in the context of dynamic and sustained processes situated in local social, political, historical and legal realities and in relation to the acts of a diversity of duty and rights holders alike. As such, the living-law approach is inherently grounded in particular contexts and moments in time. This methodology thus requires examining a multitude of ways and means States have used to achieve successful outcomes in terms of fulfilling their obligations regarding women’s human rights, along with a robust consideration of processes and actors in play, including those that overcome and perpetuate barriers to substantive achievement. This exploration process has not focused on identifying or ranking “best practices”, but rather has examined the ways and means through which States can promote substantive equality, recognizing that progress is not always linear and that de facto change requires multiple strategies; effective responses to lessons learned from mistakes made; context-specific interventions; and sustained time and resources.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The law is an essential mechanism for women’s enjoyment of human rights. Law is both informed by and the creator of norms in society. Laws determine the values and operating principles by which actions and behaviours are deemed acceptable, or criminalized and stigmatized, and can have an enabling or chilling effect on women’s human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The purpose of the compendium, an exercise that extends beyond merely compiling a series of good laws or legal amendments, is to explore good practices that promote the elimination of discrimination against women, supporting both de jure and de facto realization of rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The present report builds on the Working Group’s first six years of work, of which investigating good practices was a core undertaking. It is the fruit of a long-term process of inquiry and consultation undertaken with States, United Nations agencies and civil society. It is informed by the Group’s 4 thematic reports and 12 country visits, as well as data gathered through research and consultations held specifically for the present report.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group, in establishing its conceptual framework and working methods (A/HRC/20/28), decided to use the term of “good” or “promising” practices rather than “best” practices, taking into account the complex contextual framework of the wide spectrum of good to bad practices.
- 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
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Criminal laws and other punitive regulations have imposed custodial sentences on women involved in prostitution/sex work in a manner that has been shown to harm rather than protect them. The Working Group considers that the criminalization of women in prostitution/sex work places them in a situation of injustice, vulnerability and stigma and is contrary to international human rights law. It notes that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for prohibition of the exploitation of prostitution and not for punishment of the women in prostitution/sex work themselves; the well-established position of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that women should not be criminalized for prostitution; and the stipulation in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol) that efforts should be made to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of women, including trafficking for sexual exploitation.
- 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
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- When the State becomes aware of such informal systems, it must put in place oversight mechanisms and procedures for appeals to the State justice system to quash decisions that discriminate against women. The State must make an effort to provide alternatives to these informal legal systems, for example, by rendering the formal State system more accessible.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Reforms to introduce a measure of equality for women in family law have come about in two different ways in countries where family law was based solely on religious law. The first involves reform based on religious interpretation (hermeneutics). The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has argued, in several of its concluding observations, that evolving customs and the variety of possible interpretations of religious law offer potential for progress towards equality, while at the same time encouraging States parties to move in that direction. Reforms of religious family codes, based on interpretations of sacred texts that favour equality, have taken place in some Muslim-majority countries, which have carried out legislative reforms founded on progressive interpretations of sharia. For example, Tunisia was one of the first countries with Islam as the State religion to enact a progressive Personal Status Code guaranteeing gender equality; in 2004, Morocco embarked on a far-reaching reform of its family law, paving the way for significant progress towards gender equality; Tunisia, Turkey and Benin have adopted legislation against polygamy; in Indonesia, Islamic tribunals institutionalized the appointment of women judges in religious tribunals in 1989, thus encouraging more gender-sensitive rulings.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Accountability for States' fulfilment of women's economic and social rights is carried out in some countries through gender budgeting and gender-mainstreaming state budgetary allocations. The effectiveness of review and monitoring requires governmental transparency and meaningful access to decision-making processes on national and local budgets.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph