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 THE SECRETARY-GENERAL - MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY "Equal rights, equal opportunitie
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U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
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MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
"Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all"
8 March 2010
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental to the global mission of the United Nations to achieve equal rights and dignity for all. This is a matter of basic human rights, as enshrined in our founding Charter and the Universal Declaration. It is part of the Organization’s very identity.
But equality for women and girls is also an economic and social imperative. Until women and girls are liberated from poverty and injustice, all our goals -- peace, security, sustainable development -- stand in jeopardy.
Fifteen years ago at the Fourth World Conference on Women, Governments pledged to advance equality, development and peace for all women everywhere. The landmark Beijing Declaration has had a deep and wide-ranging impact. It has guided policy making and inspired new national laws. It has sent a clear message to women and girls around the world that equality and opportunity are their inalienable rights.
There are many examples of progress, thanks in large part to the resolute efforts of civil society organizations. Most girls now receive an education, particularly at primary level, and more women are now more likely to run businesses or participate in government. A growing number of countries have legislation that supports sexual and reproductive health and promotes gender equality.
Nonetheless, much work remains. Maternal mortality remains unacceptably high, too few women have access to family planning, and violence against women remains a cause for global shame. In particular, sexual violence during conflict is endemic. The Security Council last year adopted two strong resolutions on this issue and I have just appointed a special representative to mobilize the international community to address these crimes. My “UNite to End Violence against Women” campaign and the recently launched Network of Men Leaders are striving to expand our global advocacy efforts.
One key lesson of the past decade-and-a-half is the importance of addressing broader discrimination and injustice. Gender stereotyping and discrimination remain common in all cultures and communities. Early and forced marriage, so-called ‘honour killing’, sexual abuse and trafficking of young women and girls are disturbingly prevalent and, in some areas, on the rise. Whether looking through the lens of poverty, or in times of disaster, we see that women still bear the greatest burden.
Another lesson is that the United Nations must lead by example. Emphasizing that women are central to peace and security, we are working to deploy more women military and police officers in our peacekeeping operations. We have more women in senior United Nations posts than at any time in history, and we hope soon to have a dynamic composite entity within the UN system to provide more coherent programming and a stronger voice for gender equality and women’s empowerment. I urge the General Assembly to create this new entity without delay.
The Beijing Declaration remains as relevant today as when it was adopted. The third Millennium Development Goal – to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment – is central to all the rest. When women are denied the opportunity to better themselves and their societies, we all lose. On this International Women’s Day, let us look critically at the achievements of the past 15 years so we can build on what has worked, and correct what has not. Let us work with renewed determination for a future of equal rights, equal opportunities and progress for all.
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Re: THE SECRETARY-GENERAL - MESSAGE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY "Equal rights, equal oppo (Re: منبر دارفور الديمقراطي)
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Media Statement
Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay
International Women’s Day
8 March 2010
Domestic violence and killing in the name of “honour”
GENEVA – “It has been estimated that as many as one in three women
across the world has been beaten, raped or otherwise abused during the course of her lifetime. And the most common source of such violence comes from within the family. Amongst the most extreme forms of abuse is what is known as ‘honour killing.’
“Most of the 5,000 honour killings reported to take place every year around the world do not make the news, nor do the other myriad forms of violence inflicted on women and girls by husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and other male – and sometimes even female – family members.
“In the name of preserving family ‘honour,’ women and girls are shot, stoned, burned, buried alive, strangled, smothered and knifed to death with horrifying regularity.
“The reasons for these murders vary. They may be committed because the victim is considered to have breached family or community norms with respect to sexual conduct, or simply because a woman has expressed a desire to pick a husband of her own choice, or wishes to divorce or claim inheritance. Most perversely, rape victims are sometimes viewed as having ‘dishonored’ their families and are killed by them as a means of erasing the stigma, while the men who raped them often escape lightly.
“The problem is exacerbated by the fact that in a number of countries domestic legal systems, including through discriminatory laws, still fully or partially exempt individuals guilty of honor killings from punishment. Perpetrators may even be treated with admiration and given special status within their communities.
“Honour killings are, however, not something that can be simply brushed aside as some bizarre and retrograde atrocity that happens somewhere else. They are an extreme symptom of discrimination against women, which – including other forms of domestic violence – is a plague that affects every country.
“For many women and girls, the family life that is supposed to be
productive, protective and harmonious is little more than a myth.
Instead, for such females, family life means physical, sexual, emotional or economic violence at the hands of an intimate partner or other family members. Domestic violence typically involves punches, kicks and slaps, or assaults with objects or weapons. It also frequently involves persistent belittlement and humiliation, and often includes the isolation of women from traditional supporters such as other family members and friends. Sometimes it may involve forced participation in degrading sexual acts, rape and homicide. Some women, who resist an arranged marriage, are locked up by their families for long periods until their will is broken and they agree to marry the man who has been chosen for them.
“It is often argued that economic independence and empowerment of women in general are the best way to combat domestic violence – and rightly so. The main reason cited by women for not leaving abusive relationships remains the lack of financial autonomy and access to a safe home.
“However, too much reliance on these solutions disguises the depth and complexity of the problem: domestic violence has also been on the rise in countries where women have achieved a considerable degree of economic independence. Successful business-women, and female parliamentarians, lawyers, doctors, journalists and academics have all been known to lead double-lives – applauded in public and abused in private.
“The reality for most victims, including victims of honor killings, is that state institutions fail them and that most perpetrators of domestic violence can rely on a culture of impunity for the acts they commit – acts which would often be considered as crimes, and be punished as such, if they were committed against strangers.
“Traditionally, there has been some debate around the issue of state responsibility for acts committed in the private sphere. Some have argued, and continue to argue, that family violence is placed outside the conceptual framework of international human rights. However, under international laws and standards, there is a clear State responsibility to uphold women’s rights and ensure freedom from discrimination, which includes the responsibility to prevent, protect and provide redress – regardless of sex, and regardless of a person’s status in the family.”
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فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست