Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination against Women: 25th Anniversary of Adoption by UN General Assembly

Distinguished panellists and colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to address this commemorative round table on behalf of many parts of the United Nations system. Today, I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization; International Labour Organization; Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; United Nations Population Fund; Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; United Nations Children’s Fund; United Nations Development Fund for Women; and the World Health Organization.

The United Nations family always strives to speak with one voice, and, today, we are actually doing it.

There is no better occasion for unity than the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Convention spells out the universal human rights of women, including the rights to political participation, equality before the law, equality in marriage and family life, in the world of work, in education and health, and cultural life. In a unique provision, States are also required to ensure that rural women are able to enjoy their rights, including the rights to benefit from development and enjoy equality in inheritance and land ownership, and States are called upon to consider temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between women and men to eliminate discrimination.

The Convention affirms the right to family planning and is the only international human rights treaty that cites the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women as critical forces in shaping gender roles and family relations.

During its 25 years, the Convention, particularly the work of its monitoring body, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, has had remarkable impact. States have changed laws, policies and programmes as a result of the Convention. These changes are perhaps most clearly evident in the area of violence against women, which the Committee has worked so hard to have tackled as a human rights issue. The Committee has also addressed the issues of gender equality in the world of work, HIV/AIDS, trafficking and smuggling, as well as the situation of refugee, asylum-seeking and other displaced women and girls.

The Convention also provided the basis for provisions in many important global agreements. Important here are the agreements, particularly on women’s reproductive and sexual health rights, reached 10 years ago in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development and in 1995 in Beijing at the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Lawyers and judges have relied on the Convention in their quest for justice for women. Parliaments, non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions and others have been inspired by the Convention as they have pursued their human rights work. And women and girls around the world have been empowered to claim their rights because the Convention has spelt out their terms.

During the 25 years since its adoption, the Convention has guided the work of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in many ways. United Nations entities around the world have supported the ratification of the Convention, its Optional Protocol, as well as the work of the Committee. They have also urged its domestication—or the reflection of its provisions in national laws.

The United Nations system has worked, and continues to work, to build awareness and capacity at the local level to bring the words of the Convention to life. Support is provided to women’s and girls’ rights organizations, youth groups, women’s health groups, legal associations and other organizations to increase awareness of the Convention’s provisions, its reporting system and the monitoring mechanisms established under its Optional Protocol, as well as of strategies to implement its provisions.

To further implementation of the Convention, training is provided to government officials and to the personnel of judicial systems, including police, paralegals, lawyers and judges.

United Nations agencies, funds and programmes also provide direct support to the Committee. Data and information are provided so that the Committee can review country reports on the basis of the most up-to-date knowledge of the situation on the ground. And support is provided at the country level to enable civil society to participate actively in the reporting process. In addition, technical assistance is provided to support the Committee in developing general recommendations, which offer States parties clear guidance on their obligations under the Convention.

Twenty-five years after its adoption, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has assumed even greater importance as the United Nations system strives to take a rights-based approach to development, humanitarian and peace-building activities, and to help nations achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Today, a central organizing principle of the United Nations is the recognition that no enduring solution to society’s most pressing problems can be found without the full participation and empowerment of the world’s women and girls, and the Convention provides a template to achieve those goals.

Human rights have been in the hearts of many people throughout history. The creation of the United Nations allowed for the dream of human rights to be translated into binding legal obligations. States have made great progress in ensuring that women and men, girls and boys truly enjoy their rights, but much more remains to be done. Today, on the Convention’s anniversary, we pledge to take even greater action to ensure that the next 25 years mark greater progress in the struggle to end all forms of discrimination against women.

Thank you.