Women ’ s rights and non-discrimination in UN system

1. Women’s rights and non-discrimination in UN system

2. Human Rights • international legal rights; • moral rights of the highest order; • they challenge existing institutions, practices and norms, and legal practice; • inter-disciplinary; • in constant development (RtDevelopment, RtPeace); • aspirations; • universality; • 3 Is;

3. Are Human Rights Utopian? • Human Rights Refer to Aspirations Human Rights are less about the way people are than about what they might become (Donnelly 2003). Donnelly, Jack (2003). Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. New York: Cornell University Press. • […] THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive […] by progressive measures […] The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History by Samuel Moyn. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.

4. Universality I. Universality of human rights does not represent a contemporary, globally accepted, applied and enjoyed feature of human rights, but rather it needs to be understood as a common standard of achievement. Alternatively, in Eide’s (1988) words, human rights were to be made universal through the efforts of us all. Eide, Asbjørn (1988) “Making Human Rights Universal: Unfinished Business”, Mennesker og Rettigheter 6(4): 51-56.

5. Universality II. Donnelly, Jack (1984) “Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights”, Human Rights Quarterly 6(4): 400-419. Donnelly, Jack (2003). Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice. New York: Cornell University Press. Donnelly, Jack (2007) “The Relative Universality of Human Rights”, Human Rights Quarterly 29(2): 281-306. Donnelly, Jack (2008) “Human Rights: Both Universal and Relative (A Reply to Michael Goodhart)”, Human Rights Quarterly 30(1): 194-204. Donoho, Douglas Lee (1991) “Relativism versus Universalism in Human Rights: The Search for Meaningful Standards”, Stanford Journal of International Law 27: 345-391. Goodhart, Michael E. (2003) “Origins and Universality in the Human Rights Debates: Cultural Essentialism and the Challenge of Globalization”, Human Rights Quarterly 25(4): 935-964.  Goodhart, Michael (2008) “Neither Relative nor Universal: A Response to Donnelly”, Human Rights Quarterly 30(1): 183-193.

6. 3 Is • Interdependent is based on the premise that the enjoyment of one right requires enjoyment of other human rights, that enjoyment of one right encourages enjoyment of the other, and that the violation of one right usually constitutes a violation of others. • Interrelated aims to demonstrate the equality of importance and legitimacy of economic, social and cultural rights in relation to civil and political rights while focusing on bringing the institutions and procedures for economic, social and cultural rights more in line with those accorded to civil and political rights (Whelan 2008:5,10). • Indivisible stands for the inappropriateness and consequential rejection of the division of human rights into groups that tend to be interpreted as categories. Whelan, Daniel J. (2008). “Untangling the Indivisibility, Interdependency, and Interrelatedness of Human Rights,” Economic Rights Working Paper Series. Mansfield, CT.: University of Connecticut Press.

7. Generations of Human Rights “this division reflects the distinctive features and historical genesis of human rights” Consider. IBHR: UDHR (1948), ICCPR – adopted 1966, in force 1976 ICESCR – adopted 1966, in force 1976

8. Myth Social and Economic Rights • UDHR declares both CPR and ESCR. • The hypothesis that economic and social rights were included in the UDHR as a result of pressure and manipulation by East European socialist countries is not verified by the records of the Commission on Human Rights from the drafting process (Andreassen 1992:465). • Whelan and Donnely (2007:948) conclude that the perception that the adoption of economic, social and cultural rights were a result of some compromise or that the Western States opposed incorporation of this branch of human rights law is a myth, which is historically inaccurate and politically counterproductive. Andreassen, B. A. (1999). Article 22. in G. Alfredsson, & A. Eide, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:A Common Standard of Achievement (325-378). The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Whelan, Daniel J. & Jack Donnelly (2007) “The West, Economic and Social Rights, and the Global Human Rights Regime: Setting the Record Straight”, Human Rights Quarterly 29(4): 908-949.

9. UDHR

10. United NationsHuman Rights Bodies The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides support for HR bodies 1) Charter-based bodies Human Rights Council (intgv. body, 47 member states) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council Human Rights Council Complaint Procedure 2) Treaty-based bodies bodies created under the international human rights treaties and made up of independent experts mandated to monitor State parties' compliance with their treaty obligations

11. Treaty-based Bodies There are currently ten human rights treaty bodies, which are committees of independent experts. Nine of these treaty bodies monitor implementation of the core international human rights treaties. • Human Rights Committee (CCPR) • Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) • Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) • Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) • Committee against Torture (CAT) • Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) * • Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) • Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) • Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) • Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) *monitors places of detention in States parties to the OP to CAT

12. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women • Adoption: 18 December 1979, New York • State Parties (189), Signatories (2), No Action (6) • [Holy See, Iran, Niue, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga] • Articles: 30 Article 1 defines "discrimination against women": Any distinction, exclusion or restrictionmade on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, 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.

13. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Article 4 1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

14. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Article 5 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures: (a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women; (b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.

15. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women • Article 6 : traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women; • Article 7: political and public life; • Article 8: women's equal opportunity to represent their Government at the international level and to participate in the work of international organizations; • Article 9: equal rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality; • Article 10: equality in education; • Article 11: the rights to work and the right to social security (including equal pay for equal work, paid leave and maternity leave); • Article 12: health care; • Article 13: economic and social life; • Article 14: the rights of rural women; • Article 15: women equality with men before the law; • Article 16: prohibition of discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.

16. CEDAW • The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. • CEDAW Committee consists of 23 independent experts on women’s rights from around the world serving in their personal capacity.

17. CEDAW The Committee is mandated by the Optional Protocol to the Convention to: • receive communications from individuals or groups of individuals submitting claims of violations of rights protected under the Convention to the Committee; • initiate inquiries into situations of grave or systematic violations of women’s rights. These procedures are optional and are only available where the State concerned has accepted them. OP: State Parties (108), Signatories (14), No Action (75)

18. CEDAW The Committee also formulates general recommendations and suggestions. General recommendations are directed to States and concern articles or themes in the Conventions. Nr.: 34

19. CEDAW • State Parties to the treaty are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights of the Convention are implemented. • List of Issues; • Reply to the List of Issues; • Shadow Reports; • Sessions of the Committee – consideration of State party’s Report; • Concluding Observations (reflect concerns and recommendations to the State party).

20. Gender Equality at the National Level • The National Strategy and Action Plan for Gender Equality in the Slovak Republic 2014-2019 • GPG The gender pay gap in Slovakia has for a long time persisted above the EU-27average but in the last years it continues to show a decreasing trend, amounting to 26,66 percent per hour in 2005 and 17,8 percent per hour in 2015. In the private sector, the pay gap is in the range 19-21% whereas in the public sector it is 8-126. However, there are significant differences in the gender structure of the two sectors, with women making up 68% of workers in the non-business sector and 42% in the business sector.

21. Institutional Support - VaW • National Action Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women for the years 2014 – 2019 • Committee for Gender Equality of the Government Council for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality • Expert Group of the Government Council for Crime Prevention for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women and in Families • Department of Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities, MLSAF SR • Coordinating Methodical Centre (CMC) for Gender-Based and Domestic Violence

22. National Action Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women for the years 2014 – 2019 • 63 very concrete tasks: . the responsible bodies for each task, . sources of financing, . indicators for evaluation, . due dates for each task. • One of the tasks: . Establish the Coordinating Methodical Centre for Gender-Based and Domestic Violence and ensure its sustainability (CMC)

23. Istanbul Convention The establishment of the CMC represents a compliance of the State Party with Article 10 of the Council of Europe's Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence which reads as follows: “Parties shall designate or establish one or more official bodies responsible for the co-ordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence covered by this Convention.”

24. Jackson Katz: Violence against women—it's a men's issue • Jackson Katz is an educator, author, filmmaker and cultural theorist who is a pioneer in the fields of gender violence prevention education and media literacy. He is co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), which enlists men in the struggle to prevent men’s violence against women. • https://www.ted.com/talks/jackson_katz_violence_against_women_it_s_a_men_s_issue#t-87681