The convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and its optional protocol
2003
United Nations (UN)
The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights constitutes the first international instrument to detail the rights and freedoms of individuals, and contains 30 articles covering the integrity of the individual, political and civil rights (such as freedom of thought, expression, religion, association and access to the political process) and economic rights (such as the right to employment, education, social security, and full participation in society).
Echoing the Charter of the United Nations which encourages respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people “without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion” the Declaration proclaims that everyone is entitled to the rights and freedoms it sets forth without distinction of any kind, including that of sex.
Since its adoption, the United Nations has worked to translate the principles of the Universal Declaration into international treaties that protect specific rights. Today, over 60 treaties address concerns such as slavery, genocide, humanitarian law, the administration of justice, the status of refugees and minorities, and human rights. Each of these treaties is grounded in the concepts of equality and non-discrimination contained in the Universal
Declaration, and many explicitly provide that the rights that they establish shall be available to men and women on a basis of equality. For example, both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted in 1966, provide that States parties to each instrument undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all the rights set out in those treaties. In its article 26, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also provides a free-standing guarantee of equality before the law, whereby States
parties undertake to ensure that their law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any grounds, including sex. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, similarly makes it explicit that the rights it contains apply equally to male and female children.
Keywords: discrimination, women
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