Title: RIGHTS: New Protocol Allows Women to Seek Justice Through United
Nations
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
MEXICO CITY, Dec 22 (IPS World Desk) - Women from 13 countries
will be among the first to benefit from an international guarantee that
ensures them the right to seek justice at the United Nations.
This right is found in the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
which went into force Friday.
Girls and women can now make use of this legal instrument to bring
their complaints of rights abuses before a UN committee, says Angela
King, the assistant secretary-general and special advisor to the UN
secretary general on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women.
创It is a very significant development towards achieving women磗
rights and to make them meaningful,创 says King of the 21-article protocol,
which was adopted by the UN General Assembly last year.
The London-based Amnesty International (AI) sees the protocol in
similar light, too. 创As of today, a woman whose human rights have been
violated under the Women磗 Convention (the CEDAW) will be able to take her
complaint to the UN to seek justice and reparations,创 it states in a
press
release.
But this international remedy will only cover abuses occuring from
Dec. 22, the day it went into force, and it will be available only to women
from the 13 countries which have ratified it. Those countries are Austria,
Bangladesh, Bolivia, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Mali, Namibia, New
Zealand, Senegal, Slovakia and Thailand.
However, King has been assured by some of the 62 states which have
already signed the protocol that they are working on the ratification
process.. 创They have expressed interest in backing the protocol,创 she
told IPS.
The need for this protocol arose during the Fourth World Conference on
Women in Beijing, China, in 1995, following a strong case made to create
an inquiry
procedure at the international level when the rights guaranteed under
(CEDAW)
had been violated.
It was seen furthermore as an important mechanism to ensure that
governments fulfilled their obligations towards the CEDAW, which was
adopted in 1979 and has been endorsed by 166 states.
CEDAW defines discrimination of women as 创any distinction, exclusion or
restriction made 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 olitical,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field创.
Yet, as the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) states, a number of
governments have refused to accept the idea that for women 创to truly
enjoy
their human rights, they must be treated with dignity in all aspects of
their
lives创.
In its annual report released this month on the condition of human
rights around the world, it declares, 创government actions reflected the
belief that women are not entitled to full enjoyment of their human
rights.创
And such realities, it notes, has been evident in Morocco, Sudan,
Japan, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Pakistan.
创Even those governments that claimed the mantle of leadership in
promoting women磗 rights - Canada, the United States and some European
countries - failed to challenge this onslaught,创 it adds.
Consequently, it argues, the prospect of the protocol as a tool to
check this trend becomes significant, since it will 创create a new
mechanism for enforcing women磗 human rights创.
According to the specifications in the protocol, however, women
who have been victims of discrimination, sexual exploitation and other
rights
abuses need to first pursue legal remedies at the local and national level.
It is only after such options have been exhausted can they take
their case before the UN committee assigned to investigate these complaints
the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDW).
And once the committee receives complaints from individual women
or groups of women, it has the power to initiate a confidential inquiry
into alleged abuse or violations. Thereafter, the committee can make
recommendations to ensure that justice is served and reparations are made.
创The mechanisms for this are already being worked out,创 says
Aida Gonzalez, the current chairperson of the CEDW, which has 23 members
on
it.
创We want to make sure that women who approach us with complaints about
violations by states will be guaranteed justice.创
Equally important, she adds, is for women to be aware of this new
development.
创The success of this legal option depends on all women being
informed of this latest remedy available to them.创
And to achieve justice through such means, women can seek help
from legal aid groups and non-governmental organisations, says Yakin
Erturk, director for the Division of Women at the United Nations.
创All they have to do is write to the committee, send their
complaints by fax or any other way, to begin the process of inquiry,创
adds
Erturk.
(END/IPS/HD/mmm/da/00)
Origin: Rome/RIGHTS/
----
[c] 2000, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
All rights reserved
***********
email: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://home3.inet.tele.dk/mcamara
**************
--- OffRoad 1.9x registered to Momodou Camara
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
