HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS ANNUAL DISCUSSION ON THE INTEGRATION OF A GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN ITS WORK

The Human Rights Council this afternoon held its annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective in the work of the Council, with a focus on its work and that of its mechanisms, and the evaluation of progress made and challenges experienced.

Jane Connors, Director of the Research and Right to Development Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in opening remarks that although the Human Rights Council had repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to include a gender perspective in its activities and mechanisms, its record on integrating gender into its country-specific work was uneven. All country-specific resolutions should include more consistent and specific attention to gender issues and women’s rights.

Christine Chinkin, Professor of international human rights law, London School of Economics, former member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and Panel Moderator, said that gender was not synonymous with women or sexual violence. Gender analysis should be part of the core work of the Council throughout all country-specific procedures, and where appropriate, through trainings by gender advisors.

The panellists were: Moez Doraid, Director of the Coordination Division of UN Women, Gloria Maira Vargas, Vice-Minister, National Chilean Service for Women, Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Bineta Diop, Founder and President of Femmes Afrique Solidarité and African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security.

Moez Doraid, Director of the Coordination Division of UN Women, said that it was imperative that a gender perspective was integrated into the work of the Human Rights Council in general, and to its country-specific work in particular. UN Women could support country visits by Special Procedures and provide information on the country and specifically the situation of women and girls.

Gloria Maira Vargas, Vice-Minister, National Chilean Service for Women, said that the work of the Special Procedures would be enhanced through the explicit inclusion of sexual violence in the formulation of resolutions. Special attention should be attached to the violations that women and girls suffered, including in situations of natural disasters and armed conflict. The Council should strengthen its work by integrating the resolutions of other United Nations bodies, including the Security Council.

Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, outlined challenges that mandate holders faced in advancing women’s rights and equality in States which offered very little cooperation in the matter. It was imperative to continue to advance human rights-based approaches which in turn would encourage culturally sensitive and gender responsive work.

Bineta Diop, Founder and President of Femmes Afrique Solidarité, African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, said that the organization had a mission to work with civil society dealing with women on the ground and contributed greatly to the cohesion of their communities during conflicts and on the protection of their own rights.

In the discussion that followed, speakers welcomed efforts made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on mainstreaming gender in its activities, and stressed the importance for the Human Rights Council to make similar efforts, including in its country-specific activities. Speakers also underlined the importance of involving women in peacekeeping processes, and called for a better collaboration of the Human Rights Council with other United Nations entities such as UN Women and for a stronger inclusion of the women, peace and security agenda in the work of the Council. Speakers finally insisted on the importance for country-specific mandate holders to collaborate with civil society organizations working on women’s rights during their country visits.

Speaking were the European Union, Costa Rica on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Norway on behalf of Nordic States, Ethiopia on behalf of the African Group, Montenegro, Estonia, Austria, Qatar, Bangladesh, Japan, Canada, United States, Algeria, Greece, Angola, Venezuela, Slovenia, Namibia, Italy, Maldives, Switzerland, Rwanda, Australia speaking also on behalf of New Zealand, Thailand, Turkey, Sudan, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Netherlands, Iraq, Portugal, Morocco and Organization for Islamic Cooperation Independent Human Rights Commission.

Also speaking were the following non-governmental organizations: International Service for Human Rights, Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, European Union of Public Relations, Action Canada for Population and Development and Sudwind.

The Human Rights Council will next meet on Tuesday, 16 September 2014 at 9 a.m. to conclude its general debate on the annual report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the thematic reports of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner and her Office. It will then hold an interactive dialogue with the commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.

Opening Statement

JANE CONNORS, Director of the Research and Right to Development Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in opening remarks, said that the Universal Periodic Review mechanism, the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council as well as commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions provided various opportunities to analyse gender-based discrimination and make recommendations in that regard. The effective enjoyment of human rights by all required the adoption and implementation of comprehensive policies and legislations. Gaps only became visible when they applied a gender analysis. The Human Rights Council had repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to include a gender perspective in its activities and mechanisms. Several commissions of inquiry and fact finding missions had for example highlighted how discrimination against women intersected with other human rights violations, and country and thematic mandate holders increasingly met with civil society representatives on the ground to address particular issues regarding women and sexual minorities.

The Council’s record on integrating gender into its country-specific work was however uneven. Sex-disaggregated data was lacking. References to women and girls were overwhelmingly focused on sexual and gender-based violence. Gender was not confined only in gender-based violence or women’s issues, but also referred to socially constructed identities, attributes and roles for all human beings. A proper gender analysis allowed to uncover the specific impact of human rights violations on women, men and others and to develop laws and policies to ensure that all individuals equally enjoyed all human rights. All country specific resolutions should include consistent and specific attention to gender issues and women’s rights. She encouraged all mandate holders to devote specific attention to the situation of women and to meet with women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists. Finally, the Council should encourage the consistent use of gender-sensitive language and refrain from referring to women as a vulnerable group.

Statements by the Panellists

CHRISTINE CHINKIN, Professor of international human rights law, London School of Economics, former member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and Panel Moderator, said that in the opening statement just heard, there had been emphasis that gender was not synonymous with women or sexual violence. A number of suggestions had been made. Gender analysis should not be an occasional add-on or the subject of an occasional report here or there, but part of the core work of the Council throughout all country-specific procedures. Where appropriate, there should be gender advisors, providing training. It had also been made clear that there was a good deal of effective knowledge and practice, which would be the focus of this panel.

Ms. Chinkin, turning to Mr. Doraid, asked, given the leading role played by UN Women in promoting gender accountability throughout the entire United Nations system, how UN Women could work with the country-based special procedures to integrate gender into their mandate and practice.

MOEZ DORAID, Director, Coordination Division, UN Women, said that to address human rights violations that affected women and girls, it was imperative that a gender perspective was integrated into the work of the Human Rights Council in general. It was crucial to ensure that gender issues were given adequate attention in country visits of mandate-holders. To that effect, UN Women had supported the country visits of among others, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, the Working Group on discrimination against women, and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. UN Women’s ability to support such country visits was crucial especially where there was no Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights presence. UN Women could also provide information on the country and specifically the situation of women and girls, including through sex disaggregated data. In terms of follow-up, the findings of the reports could well inform the work of the United Nations system in general and also the work of civil society.

The engagement of mandate holders with inter-governmental bodies on various related topics was crucial. The mandate of the Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice had encouraged cooperation with the Commission on the Status of Women and the Working Group had been invited to make a statement and sit on panels. It was through such dialogue that Member States could become more aware of the gendered impact of human rights violations. Gender could be further integrated into the Council’s work by investing in developing rapidly deployable expertise on investigating sex and gender-based violence crimes as international crimes in mechanisms that facilitated the deployment of such expertise. The response of the international community to the violence in Guinea in 2009 was a good practice to build on.

CHRISTINE CHINKIN, Professor of international human rights law, London School of Economics, former member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and Panel Moderator, introducing Ms. Maira Vargas, said Chile was one of the motors behind the integration of a gender perspective in the work of the Human Rights Council.

GLORIA MAIRA VARGAS, Vice-Minister, National Chilean Service for Women, said that the issue was extremely important for the Council. The work of the Special Procedures would be enhanced through the explicit inclusion of sexual violence in the formulation of resolutions. The work of the Human Rights Council and Special Procedures with regards to the work on country situations had focused on investigating, advising and monitoring those human rights violation situations occurring in countries going through situations of conflict or disasters. Historically, girls and women had been especially exposed to the violation of their rights. Special attention should be attached to the violations women and girls suffered. Natural disasters exacerbated existing discrimination. In situations of armed conflict women and girls were often subjects of acts of sexual violence, which had reached alarming levels of brutality. The Council should not only look at various disciplines of law applicable, but also strengthen its work by integrating the resolutions of other United Nations bodies. The importance of resolution 13/25 of the Security Council was underlined because of the substantive element, but also because of the commitment and participation that the various States that had implemented it had demonstrated.

CHRISTINE CHINKIN, Professor of international human rights law, London School of Economics, former member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and Panel Moderator, introduced Mr. Shaheed and asked him to share thoughts on concrete steps to be taken by Special Procedures to ensure the integration of the rights of women in their work.

AHMED SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, outlined challenges mandate holders faced in advancing women’s rights and equality in States which offered very little cooperation in the matter and said that many mandate holders resorted to the use of new technologies, such as Skype, to obtain information. In the case of Iran, the actors from diaspora had also taken the power of technology to raise the awareness about the situation in the country and spur the search for a solution. The use of certain religious interpretations and culture sometimes created impediments to the enjoyment of the rights of women, together with the gaps in implementation of international and national norms. It was imperative to continue to advance human rights based approaches which in turn would encourage culturally sensitive and gender responsive work. The Special Rapporteur recommended that the international community continued to strengthen the protection of human rights defenders against punitive measures, and to continue to promote the culture of cooperation and dialogue with country mandate holders who could advance equity in national laws and policies in a holistic and incremental approach towards advancing the economic and social opportunities for everyone.

CHRISTINE CHINKIN, Professor of international human rights law, London School of Economics, former member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict and Panel Moderator, asked Ms. Diop about her experience in working with mandate holders and how it could contribute to improved work on the ground.

BINETA DIOP, Founder and President of Femmes Afrique Solidarité, African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, said that the organization had a mission to work with women civil society actors on the ground and contributed greatly to the cohesion of their communities during conflicts and to the protection of their own rights. Africa had been in a turmoil of armed conflict such as that in the Central African Republic or South Sudan, but progress had also been made in a number of countries, including Liberia and Rwanda. One example of working with the Human Rights Council came from the Central African Republic, where a group of women activists working on this crisis in the Council could come and visit and see realities on the ground. Apart from raising awareness, the organization was interacting with the Government and permanent representatives in Geneva which helped the promotion of two Council resolutions on the Central African Republic and the appointment of the country mandate holder. Another area of focus was facilitation on the ground by working with the United Nations institutions, and the work on accountability. Civil society should continue to be part and parcel of the Council, and should be given enough space to interact with mandate holders. Civil society organizations could also bring in the voices and perspectives of victims.

Discussion

European Union said that it attached great importance to the integration of gender aspects in the country specific work of the Council, and commended the efforts of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on this issue. Despite efforts, gross violations of women’s rights remained, and it was therefore important to consider the specific way that women experienced abuses in order to address these issues. The European Union would welcome suggestions on tools regarding the integration of gender aspects in the Council’s country-specific work. Costa Rica, speaking on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, said that it was crucial to integrate a gender perspective in the work of the Council, including in the mandate of the mechanisms created by the Council. It was important that the Council advocated for the inclusion of women in all aspects of social life, and against discrimination, including against women belonging to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. A greater collaboration between country and thematic procedures would also be positive.

Norway, speaking on behalf of Nordic States, regretted that the lack of political will had constituted obstacles to the integration of gender aspects in the work of the Council. The Nordic States had made efforts to include a gender perspective in their international cooperation activities, including through awareness raising efforts. How could the relations between the Council and UN Women be strengthened? Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the African Group, said that the Beijing Platform had to be better implemented, and underscored the important role that women could play for the promotion of peace and stability. The African Union was committed to ensure the full equality of women and had adopted a peer review mechanism for that purpose. Montenegro expressed its support for empowering women and recognised the important role of women in peacekeeping efforts. Montenegro also underlined the necessity to enhance efforts to combat sexual violence and to include a gender perspective in the post-2015 development agenda.

Estonia reiterated its appreciation for the efforts of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to integrate a gender perspective in its work and field presence. Slovenia shared its own experience on the inclusion of a gender perspective into its domestic activities, and called for the establishment of a cooperation network on this issue. Austria said that the integration of a gender perspective had to be a priority for the Council. Despite positive developments, more had to be done, in particular in the Council’s country specific work. Austria called for a better integration of the Women, Peace and Security agenda within the work of the Council.

Qatar believed in the role of women in the protection and promotion of human rights. Women should have access to the highest positions. Women played an important role in the Council’s field work, and measures should be taken to bolster their capacity in that regard. Bangladesh stated that gender equality was the ultimate goal, for which gender mainstreaming was one of the means. Mainstreaming gender in policies had to take into account different political, economic, social and cultural situations. Japan said that promoting women’s rights was at the heart of Japan’s national growth strategy. There were five female Ministers in the current cabinet in Japan. Japan had increased its contribution to UN Women fivefold over the previous years. Canada said that it was not enough for women to be in the room, but they had to be at the head table. Gender was an important criterion in the selection of Special Procedures and other mandate holders. Engagement with women stakeholders during country visits was essential.

United States stated that women and girls in conflict areas were frequently sexually abused and exploited, which had lasting consequences. Survivors needed physical protection, psychological treatment, a legal remedy and social inclusion. International Service for Human Rights, on behalf of severals NGOs¹, asserted that in the global North and South alike, women human rights defenders were targeted for murder, torture, rape and harassment because of who they were. The Council should, inter alia, proactively seek information from and meet women human rights defenders. Commission to Study the Organization of Peace said that in Pakistan, the education sector was still waiting for the arrival of a saviour, as the country continued to have the second largest number of out-of-school children in the world. Poor rural girls were at the bottom of the opportunity pyramid. European Union of Public Relations stated that women and children had been particularly affected by conflicts and political turbulence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, women found it hard to live in the presence of the Taliban culture, while both countries had laid down restrictions on female populations.

MOEZ DORAID, Director, Coordination Division, United Nations Women, concerning the means to highlight the hidden violations, said that there was a need to ensure that the focus on the sex and gender-based violence did not distract from violations of economic, social and cultural rights which also affected women. It was important to ensure that each commission of inquiry drew on the relevant expertise and the roster of experts, as some speakers suggested, could be a way to go. Turning to the question of Norway concerning the assistance the States could provide in monitoring and accountability for gender-based violence, Mr. Doraid drew the attention of the Council to the new key instrument that was emerging in the United Nations system called gender markers and encouraged States to use it to produce comparable data.

GLORIA MAIRA VARGAS, Vice-Minister, National Chilean Service for Women, answering the questions said that the link to participation of women as actors in prevention and resolution of conflicts was crucial; it should not only be limited to participation of victims, but all those women involved and affected. Secondly, there was a need for the Council to integrate in the Special Procedures and resolutions specific reference to violence against women and to ensure full participation of women in the electoral process.

AHMED SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that a number of delegations made a fair assessment of what needed to be improved, including better coordination between country and thematic mandate holders, and the interaction with other United Nations mechanisms dealing with the subject. In terms of what still needed to be known, the Special Rapporteur said that there was still a large quantity of data available on life, health and other issues, which was not being sufficiently used in efforts to fulfil women’s rights. It was important to have in place gender equality laws, as well as the programmes that would empower and enable women to achieve that equality.

BINETA DIOP, Founder and President of Femmes Afrique Solidarité, African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, said that there was a willingness from the Council to appoint more women experts which would help implement the Beijing Platform of Action. There was also a visible willingness at the national level to implement those ideas, which was crucial in seeing the change on the ground. Sometimes, the United Nations agencies worked in isolation, and a number of delegations stressed the need for synergies, especially in implementing various decisions and resolutions. One way in developing those synergies was to work together on country visits, and preparation of monitoring and other reports.

Algeria said that discrimination against women was a practice that was still widespread in many societies, regardless of their level of development, and there was a need for targeted measures to deal with this issue. This was a question that should receive priority in the post-2015 development agenda. Greece stressed the significance of ensuring that a gender perspective was taken into account in all of the Human Rights Council’s country-specific work. The promotion of substantive gender quality was a necessity, especially in times of economic and social crises. Angola said that despite the efforts by the United Nations system to integrate a gender perspective in its work, the realization of this objective was not complete. Member States were encouraged to strengthen their cooperation and coordination work with the United Nations to ensure that the fundamental rights of women were integrated in their work. Venezuela said that the issue of gender equality was a fundamental principle. It was crucial that the social movements be involved. Venezuela had created a legal framework, which had generated an extensive, and inclusive institutional network that had resulted in awareness-raising on gender perspective. Slovenia said that gender equality and empowerment of women was among its top priorities in the field of human rights. This had tremendous impact in all spheres of women’s life. The initiative to increase integration of the gender perspective in the work of the Council was welcomed.

Namibia said that despite many commendable efforts, women remained largely disadvantaged as far as the full enjoyment of economic, civil and political rights was concerned. In many countries, legislation had changed but customs had not, and because of this too many women remained at the receiving end of discrimination. Italy said much progress had undoubtedly been achieved but many challenges lay ahead, and asked the panellists which, in their opinion, was the best way to ensure that the integration of a gender dimension in country-focused work actually became a tool to encourage and increase women’s active involvement, participation and empowerment. Maldives had continued to prioritise the importance of women’s rights and gender equality. It welcomed the attention given to the permanent role of women in the selection and appointment of women in the Council’s mechanisms and encouraged existing mechanisms to ensure the representation and voice of women.

Switzerland believed that the integration of the gender perspective in the work of all United Nations agencies was essential. The efforts of the High Commissioner and including gender equality on the list of priorities were thus strongly supported and encouraged. Rwanda said that immediately after the 1994 genocide, the Government had started to mainstream gender across the board. Rwanda had adopted policies to ensure absolute gender equality and erase all types of discrimination. Rwanda had a large majority of women in the Parliament. Australia, speaking also on behalf of New Zealand, stated that women’s human rights were critical to achieving universal human rights and fundamental freedoms. Gender perspectives had to be fully integrated through the entirety of the Council’s country-focused work. Thailand was concerned that in various countries and regions, women were still the more usual victims of violence and different forms of discrimination. Incorporating gender perspectives in the Council’s country-specific work was crucial for understanding the plight of local women.

Action Canada for Population and Development believed that the Council’s work should expand and deepen on issues such as safe and legal abortion, contraception, sex workers’ rights and gender diversity. It was critical that country-specific procedures and commissions of inquiry utilized an intersectional and feminist lens. Sudwind said that in countries such as Iran, changes could result in the policy moving in the negative direction, where there were only nine women out of 290 parliamentarians. The legal age for marriage for girls currently stood at 13, and a man applying for a job was always given preference over a woman applying for the same position. Turkey was firmly committed to ensuring substantial equality between women and men, and worked on raising awareness on related issues around the world. Technical cooperation and capacity building were of significance in that regard. Women’s rights should be integrated in the work of commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions. Sudan had ratified most regional and international treaties on women’s rights. In post-conflict areas, the most important challenges facing women included displacement, migration, and the prevalence of harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and children.

Bulgaria said that equality before the law was a constitutional principle in the country. Bulgarian legislation warranted full equality between women and men and treated them equally in all spheres of legally regulated social relations in accordance with United Nations conventions. Portugal said that increasing the number of women in armed and security forces, as well as promoting the training and recruitment of women judges, prosecutors and humanitarian agents had clearly been identified as practical and quantifiable steps towards greater women empowerment and active protection of their human rights. Organization of Islamic Cooperation Independent Human Rights Commission said that since its inception, it had worked hard in highlighting the plight of women and the need to accord them their due rights in all settings. The importance of the Council’s country mandates paying special attention in highlighting the plight of women was stressed.

Netherlands was a firm believer of equal rights for women and men. This conviction translated into gender integration in all areas of its domestic and foreign policy, including its human rights policy. Gender integration was also an integral part of its development work as well as its security policy. Morocco welcomed the importance which the mechanisms of the Council had granted to the gender dimension. Morocco’s 2012-2016 reform programme included measures that encouraged the participation of women in the public life of the country and the promotion of a framework to promote healthcare to improve the condition of women and children. Lithuania said that the achievement of gender equality and the realization of the human rights of women required special tools, instruments and mechanisms. It was of utmost importance that not a single area was overlooked at the institutional implications of gender integration in the structure and functioning of the Council. Iraq said that the Government had begun to work to achieve gender equality and to mainstream human rights in its governance system and to fight against violence, be it domestic or occurring in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that regularly gripped the country. Iraq had gender units in the various Government departments.

MOEZ DORAID, Director of the Coordination Division of UN Women, underscored the importance of ensuring that mandate holders engaged with women’s rights activists during their country visits. He also underscored the importance of gathering sex disaggregated data. It was also important to investigate gender-based violence throughout the process from the creation of a commission of inquiry to the implementation of its recommendations and integration of a gender-perspective.

GLORIA MAIRA VARGAS, Vice-Minister, National Chilean Service for Women, agreed that procedures of the Human Rights Council had to address the reality and root causes of discrimination against women. There should be a synergy between various United Nations human rights instruments, and in particular with United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Efforts had to be focused on the prevention of conflicts and women’s rights violations and on the participation of women in peacekeeping processes, including through the implementation of national plans of action.

AHMED SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that without being able to access Iran, it was hard for him to get information on the situation of women there. He was particularly concerned about human rights defenders and reprisals against them.

BINETA DIOP, Founder and President of Femmes Afrique Solidarité, African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, said that the implementation of international and regional instruments was key. In countries that had experienced war and appointed a mediator, there had to be accountability on his mandate to ensure that women were included in peace processes. It was important to include women in transitional justice efforts, including through the training of women judges.

BINETA DIOP, Founder and President of Femmes Afrique Solidarité, African Union Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, said that at the regional level in Africa, many instruments were in place, but the actual implementation was still an issue. Year 2015 would be the Year of Women in Africa. There was no accountability by mediators when it came to the inclusion of women in peace processes. Regarding peacekeeping missions, the United Nations had a zero tolerance towards sexual abuse, but how could it be assured that every peacekeeper could be held accountable?

CHRISTINE CHINKIN, Professor of international human rights law at the London School of Economics and Panel Moderator, in concluding remarks, said that much had been heard about challenges, but also about good practices at national, regional and international levels. Some of the challenges included how tradition, culture and religion were being used, or could be used, to improve the dignity of all people. There might still be a lack of understanding of what gender integration really meant, and in other areas there was also a lack of political will. The invisibility of particular violations of women’s human rights still remained hidden, which was why it was vital for the Human Rights Council to keep identifying and pointing out what constituted violations of rights. Prevention of armed conflict itself was the best way to prevent sexual violence in armed conflict. Practical solutions, based in law, should be country-based and specific, and social, economic and cultural rights ought to be promoted in a preventive manner as well. The integration of efforts by various stakeholders and intersectionality across all mandates were of crucial importance.

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¹Joint statement: International Service for Human Rights; World Organization Against Torture; Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development; Amnesty International; and Center for Reproductive Rights.

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For use of the information media; not an official record


HRC14/119E