BETTER USE OF THE LAW CAN END VIOLENCE, DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN – MIGIRO

BETTER USE OF THE LAW CAN END VIOLENCE, DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN – MIGIRO
New York, Mar 4 2009 5:00PM
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro urged effective use of national legal systems to eliminate discrimination, promote gender equality and stop violence against women, at the 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) today.

"A legal framework that ensures the promotion and protection of women's rights is crucial," Ms. Migiro told a joint panel of the CSW and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Over the past two decades, she said, many States have adopted or improved legislation to prevent and respond to violence against women, to guarantee equality between women and men and to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, she said.

In addition, discriminatory provisions in civil, family and personal status laws are being repealed, she said.

However, the official said, there are important gaps, with States throughout the world still failing to live up to their international obligations and commitments. "Too many perpetrators are not held accountable. Impunity persists," she said.

The Secretary-General's Study from 2006 found that many States have yet to adopt legislation that criminalizes all forms of violence against women or on human trafficking.

In too many places, Ms. Migiro said, marital rape is still not a prosecutable offence, noting that perpetrators of rape who marry their victims can have their sentence reduced or mitigated in those jurisdictions.

In some places, she added, they may also invoke a defence of "honour" to justify acts of violence against women, and definitions of rape still tend to be based on the use of force rather than the absence of consent.

Those situations must be changed, Ms. Migiro said, adding that countries must also enforce their laws and allocate resources to combat the problem, making sure that personnel and officials working in the field have the skills, capacity and sensitivity to apply the spirit and letter of the law.

"Above all," she stressed, "we can never allow violence against women to be dismissed as a private matter. Just the opposite; we must harness the power of the State to punish and prevent all forms of violence against women."

The CSW's two-week session, following up on the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, runs until 13 March.
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UN RIGHTS CHIEF URGES MEMBER STATES TO OVERCOME DIFFERENCES IN FIGHT AGAINST RACISM

UN RIGHTS CHIEF URGES MEMBER STATES TO OVERCOME DIFFERENCES IN FIGHT AGAINST RACISM
New York, Feb 23 2009 8:00PM

The top United Nations official for human rights today stressed the need for Member States put aside their differences and work together to defeat racism ahead of the so-called Durban Review Conference later this year, which will examine the progress made worldwide since the 2001 global anti-racism summit held in the South African city.

Navi Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights, sent a report to Member States planning the review conference that will be held in April in Geneva to assess and accelerate progress towards the implementation of measures adopted at the landmark 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

She appealed to governments "not to allow any single issue dominate discussions of such vital importance to human dignity to the exclusion and detriment of others."

Some of the language proposed for a draft outcome document that will be used as the basis for negotiations at the conference has been controversial because of its criticism of Israel's policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israel indicated last November that it does not plan to take part in the April review conference.

"I appeal to all to uphold the consensually agreed objectives of the Durban Review Conference, and to bear in mind their importance to the millions of victims around the world," said Ms. Pillay, adding, "I urge Member States to transcend their differences and to join efforts to confront racism and xenophobia."

The High Commissioner also proposed holding a series of workshops to help governments find common ground on the issue of defamation of religions.

Several Islamic nations have suggested revising language in the document to limit wording that they describe as offensive to religion, but some Western states have expressed difficulty in accepting the changes because of the potential negative impact on freedom of expression.

"I believe that from a human rights perspective and in light of the Durban Review Conference, it should be addressed as an issue of incitement to religious hatred within the existing framework of international human rights law," said Ms. Pillay.
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