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Jump to: A | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | V


A

Accession

  • Accession or to accede to a treaty is when a State agrees to be legally bound by an agreement that has already been negotiated and signed by other states — in essence, it is a one-step signature and ratification.
    • eg. After becoming the world’s newest State, South Sudan in 2015 acceded to CEDAW and its Optional Protocol.

 

Admissibility vs. Inadmissibility

  • Admissibility can be used to describe evidence or cases that may be considered by a jury, judge or court. Inadmissibility is when the evidence or case in question has failed to meet a criteria or by other means will not be considered by the jury, judge or court.
    • eg. Applications to the European Court of Human Rights must meet all of the conditions stated in order to considered admissible; if the application does not meet one of the conditions, it will be considered inadmissible and therefore will not be considered by the court.

C

Charter

  • A charter is a formal document created by a government or group of States to give rights to certain persons or describe the basic laws of a group.
    • eg. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union includes in Article 21 the recognition of the right to be free from discrimination, including on the grounds of gender. The UN Charter (1945) is the foundational treaty of the United Nations, it establishes the various organs of the United Nations such as the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the International Court of Justice. It also establishes the powers of the UN, including its role in addressing threats to international peace and security.

 

Charter Body vs. Treaty Body

  • Charter-based bodies are bodies created by a specific Charter, from which they receive their general purpose, objectives and powers. <see also “Charter”>
    • eg. Charter-based bodies created by the United Nations Charter include the General Assembly, Security Council and ECOSOC.
  • Treaty-based bodies are committees made up of independent experts who monitor the implementation of their respective international human rights treaties.
    • Sometimes called a “committee” or a “treaty-monitoring body.”
    • They address only those States that have ratified the relevant treaty.
    • For United Nations Treaty Bodies, assistance is provided by UN staff members and report on their work are delivered to the leadership of the UN (for example, the UN Secretary-General) or political bodies of the UN, for example, the General Assembly. These institutions within the UN may then take further action on the issues raised by the treaty bodies. There are currently 10 human rights treaty bodies, whose members are nominated and elected by States for fixed renewable terms of four years.

 

Civil Society Organisation

  • Civil society is the so-called “third sector” of society, with government and business.
  • Civil society organisations (CSOs) generally are non-governmental, not-for-profit and voluntary groups of people working toward collective goals. It is generally considered an umbrella term that can include actors like NGOs and faith-based organisations.

 

Concluding observations

  • After a treaty body (or Committee) has considered a State’s report on how it is fulfilling its obligations to a treaty, the Committee will issue concluding observations — these may highlight the State’s positive implementation and/or point out areas of concern where the State needs to take further action.
  • These concluding observations ought to be concrete, focused and implementable, and increasingly are monitored to ensure effective follow-up from the States.

 

Convention

  • A convention, also known as a treaty or covenant, is a formal and binding agreement between States that outlines obligations which they have chosen to accept.
  • When the UN General Assembly adopts a convention, the obligations in the convention become international law for the States that become parties to it.
  • Convention is used synonymously with Treaty and Covenant; there is no legal difference in how they are treated a international legal instruments. <see “Treaty” and “Covenant” entries>
    • eg. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, also known as CEDAW or the international bill of rights for women, was adopted in 1979 as the first legally binding international agreement that prohibits discrimination against women and obligates governments (that have chosen to ratify it) to take steps to end such discrimination.

 

Country Inquiry

  • After a treaty body (or Committee) receives reliable information about a State’s serious, grave or systematic violations of a treaty, the Committee may open a country inquiry to search for information and make recommendations.
  • Usually, states must consent to the possibility of treaty bodies undertaking enquiries into human rights problems within its jurisdiction. This is done either by making a declaration that they accept such inquiries when they ratify the main treaty, or by ratifying an optional protocol to the main treaty. However, if the State has not opted in to the inquiry procedure, the Committee cannot look into the allegation of a violation of rights. The inquiry may involve, if the state party permits it, a fact-finding visit to the country concerned. As part of the inquiry process, the treaty body may ask the state to take emergency interim measures to protect the human rights of individuals.

 

Country-specific Rapporteur

  • The UN Secretary-General can appoint rapporteurs on certain thematic issues or on the human rights situation of any specific country.
  • Country Rapporteurs investigate and monitor human rights problems within specific countries (usually in conflict, transitional justice or post-conflict situations) and make recommendations.

 

Covenant

  • A covenant, like a treaty or convention, is a formal and binding agreement between States that outlines obligations which they have chosen to accept.
  • The two main human rights covenants are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
  • Covenant is used synonymously with Treaty and Convention; there is no legal difference in how they are treated a international legal instruments. <see “Treaty” and “Convention” entries>
    • eg. The ICCPR declares a broad range of civil and political rights, and the ICESCR a broad range of economic, social and cultural rights, that all people have. Both were adopted in 1966 and entered into force in 1976.

Charter


D

Declaration

  • A declaration is a non-binding international agreement on matters related to a specific thematic issue.
    • Although they are legally non-binding, declarations are often recognized as relevant to the normative framework for the issue concerned, including associated principles and standards.
    • For example: the duty on states under customary and treaty law to ensure that no-one is subjected to torture and ill-treatment is supplemented by UN General Assembly declarations, such as the Bangkok Rules (relating to the detention and imprisonment of women and girls) and the Mandela Rules (which relate to detention and imprisonment of all). These rules require, for example, that appropriate sanitary arrangements are made so that women and girls in prison or detention can manage menstruation in a hygienic and dignified manner. As yet, there is no treaty or case law relating specifically to this issue. However, the treatment of menstrual hygiene in the Bangkok Rules indicates that states should provide the appropriate access to water and menstrual products. The inclusion of this standard in this General Assembly declaration indicates that failure to do so might well be considered as degrading treatment.

 

Direct vs. Indirect Discrimination

  • Direct discrimination explicitly and intentionally disadvantages women (or another group of persons).
  • Indirect discrimination comes from gender-neutral laws and policies that seem to give equal access to opportunities for both women and men, but in fact women are disadvantaged because of discrimination inherent in their current situation, caused by the patriarchal system.

 

De facto

  • Latin for “in fact,” used as “actually” to show where something exists in reality but not as a matter of law.

 

De jure

  • Latin for “in law,” used as “lawful” to show something exists by operation of law: particularly to contrast with “de facto,” meaning in practice.

 

Domestic violence

  • Domestic violence includes acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that happens within a family or domestic unit.
  • It does not matter whether the perpetrator shares the same residence as the victim(s), whether they are related, or whether they are currently or formerly married, separated or divorced.
  • Children can be victims of domestic violence even as witnesses to violence against someone else in the household.
  • It relates to but differs slightly from Intimate Partner Violence. <see “Intimate Partner Violence” entry>
    • eg. Article 52 of the Istanbul Convention requires States to ensure authorities such as courts or law enforcement agencies can order perpetrators of domestic violence to leave the shared home, stop from the perpetrator from going near to, or from contacting the person at risk, or entering their residence.
  • Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. (2011, 11 May). Council of Europe Treaty Series No. 210. Available at: https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168046031c.

 

Due diligence

  • Due diligence requires states to take a level of care or activity in the exercise of their duties to ensure the enjoyment of human rights, and to act in good faith.
    • eg. State parties to CEDAW must act with due diligence, which means that States are accountable for all discrimination against women, in both private and public spheres, including preventing, prohibiting, identifying, providing redress, imposing sanctions for discrimination, as well as promoting women’s rights and accelerating de facto equality.

 


E

Entry into Force

  • All treaties have a provision specifying the date it when the legal obligations specified in the treaty commence, after the number of States specified in the treaty’s provisions have ratified or acceded to it. This is known as “entering into force.”
  • This is different from adoption of the treaty. Adoption of a treaty is a process in which the political body empowered to make decisions on human rights issues (either the UN General Assembly, or political bodies in regional human rights systems) considers a draft convention and gives its assent to the treaty.
  • This is also different from ratification or accession. Individual states can decide to sign and ratify, or accede to a treaty, after it has been adopted. States can sign and ratify, or accede to, a treaty both before and after it enters into force.
  • If a treaty does not specify a date, it is presumed to enter into force when all the negotiating States agree to be bound to it, or may provisionally enter into force when certain conditions have been met.
    • eg. The Convention on the Rights of the Child entered into force on 2 September 1990—the 30th day following the deposit of the 20th State’s instrument of ratification or accession.

 

Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies

  • A basic rule of international law is that a victim of a human rights violation must first exhaust domestic remedies before trying for an international remedy, thus giving the State the every possible opportunity to correct the harm and make redress.
  • This means a person must try to address the issue using whatever legal channels exist in their home country.
  • If the matter cannot be deal with at the national level, a person may then try to address the issue by bringing a case, or “communication” to an international or regional committee, court or tribunal. This can only happen if the state has agreed that a treaty body can deal with cases brought by individuals within its jurisdiction (via treaty, or by making an appropriate declaration).
  • If domestic remedies are likely to be unreasonably prolonged or not likely to bring effective relief to the human rights violations concerned, then it is possible to go straight to an international process. This is particularly relevant to violations of women’s human rights, as frequently discrimination against women is not dealt with appropriately in the laws and practices of states: sometimes there are no domestic remedies to exhaust.

 


F

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting

  • Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is any procedure to remove or cut a part or the whole of women or girls’ genitalia for non-medical reasons.
  • In Article 38, the Istanbul Convention defines FGM/C as “the act of excising, infibulating or performing any other mutilation to the whole or any part of a woman’s labia majora, labia minora or clitoris,” It defines the crime coercing, inciting or procuring a woman or girl to undergo that act.
  • The four types are:
    • Clitoridectomy: removing a part or all of the clitoris (a small, sensitive and erectile part of the female genitals) and, in very rare cases, only the prepuce (the fold of skin surrounding the clitoris);
    • Excision: removing part or all of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without cutting the labia majora (the labia are “the lips” that surround the vagina);
    • Infibulation: creating a covering seal to narrow the vaginal opening by cutting and repositioning the inner or outer labia, with or without removal of the clitoris;
    • Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, eg. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.
  • (2015, April 15). Glossary of Terms from Programming Essentials and Monitoring and Evaluation Sections. Available at: http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/347-glossary-of-terms-from-programming-essentials-and-monitoring-and-evaluation-sections.html.
  • See also Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. (2011, 11 May). Aka the Istanbul Convention.

 

Follow-up Procedures

  • Follow-up procedures aim to ensure that State parties act on the recommendations made by treaty bodies in concluding observations or by decisions on complaint cases.
  • CEDAW, CAT, HRC and CERD all have formal follow-up procedures, and all other committees require States to address follow-up in their periodic reports.
  • Parliaments, the judiciary, national human rights institutions, NGOs and civil society all have an important role to play in follow-up.

 


G

Gender vs. Biological Sex

  • Gender refers to the different characteristics, behaviours and activities that women and men learn and are expected to follow as members of society.
  • Gender is tied to ideas about roles and values, relations between women and men, and inequalities that occur due to differences between genders. It varies across cultures and over time.
  • Gender is often incorrectly considered to be synonymous with biological sex, which are the biological differences between women and men.
    • eg. The UN considers gender to be a part of a broader socio-cultural context that includes class, race, sexuality, poverty level, ethnic group, age and ableness. In this sense, ‘gender’ is an identity constructed in a certain context; whereas, biological sex refers to the sex you are assigned at birth.
  • (2015, April 15). Glossary of Terms from Programming Essentials and Monitoring and Evaluation Sections. Available at: http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/347-glossary-of-terms-from-programming-essentials-and-monitoring-and-evaluation-sections.html.
  • Gender discrimination also includes discrimination against transgender men and women, and those identifying as “queer” and “intersex.” See the UC Berkeley Gender Resource Centre: http://geneq.berkeley.edu/lgbt_resources_definiton_of_terms

 

Gender-based Violence

  • Gender-based violence (GBV) is an umbrella term for harmful actions perpetrated against a person or a group of persons because of their gender, or their social roles and the expectations their society or culture has for them.
  • It is a serious human rights and gender equality issue that excessively impacts women and girls — which is why it is sometimes used interchangeably with Violence Against Women <see “Violence against women” entry>. However, GBV can also include violence against lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer-identifying persons.
  • These harmful acts can be physical, mental or social abuse which threatens or uses force (including violence, coercion, manipulation, deception, cultural expectations, or economic deprivation).
  • Forms of GBV include sexual violence, so-called “corrective” rape, sexual harassment or gender discrimination at work, abuse or exploitation, forced prostitution; forced or early marriage; harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and honour killings; and withholding financial support from widows.
    • eg. CEDAW General Recommendation 19 states it as “violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that affects women disproportionately” — disproportionately taken to cover the multiple forms of violence, the large numbers of women, and the impact of said violence on their lives.
  • The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – A Commentary, edited by Freeman, Marsha A.; Chinkin, Christine; Rudolf, Beate (1 January 2012), Main Text, Violence Against Women.
  • See also: General Recommendation 19, CEDAW (1992)

 

Gender equality vs gender equity

  • Many international treaties and civil society organisations have acknowledged that unequal gender relations are a root cause of gender inequality and violence against women.
  • Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men, by taking steps to compensate for women’s historical disadvantages compared to men.
  • Gender equality means taking steps to correct the power imbalance between women and men to ensure women and men can share equally in the opportunities, responsibilities, resources and rewards.
  • Gender equity leads to gender equality, which leads to the full enjoyment of human rights for all.
  • (2005). Frequently asked questions about gender equality. Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-gender-equality.
  • However, the term “gender equity” should be considered with caution and in any given context, closely examined: the Commentary on the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women notes that: “Equity is an illusive social goal with allows governments to offer all types of justifications when they fall short, whereas equality is a human right and therefore a legal obligation which cannot be legally avoided” (p. 17).

 

Gender mainstreaming

  • Gender mainstreaming is a strategy to achieve gender equality.
  • It aims to eliminate discrimination against women and create a more just world.
  • It calls all states, intergovernmental organisations and domestic institutions to use a “gender lens” with all activities – while preparing, designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating all levels of policies and programmes, including recruitment and promotion.
  • It has been widely promoted as a goal of the UN and its agencies as a method of ensuring action to address gender inequalities, but despite many political commitments there is still much more work to do.
    • eg. While the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action endorses gender mainstreaming for all stakeholders at all levels, including in UN agencies and civil society, the fact that it is non-binding makes it difficult to hold States accountable.
  • European Institute for Gender Equality. (N.D.) What is Gender Mainstreaming. Available at: http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/what-is-gender-mainstreaming.

 

General Recommendation/General Comment

  • A general recommendation is a document summarizing how a treaty body interprets and updates its human rights treaty, usually through additional provisions, thematic issues or methods of work.
  • General comments are used to clarify States’ reporting duties and to suggest approaches to implementing the treaty provisions.
  • General recommendations and comments are technically legally non-binding, but they are authoritative statements of the content of legal duties assumed by states parties to a convention.
  • CEDAW has made 33 General Recommendations, clarifying and expanding various thematic issues, for example, violence against women (General Recommendation 19) temporary special measures, including quotas (General Recommendation 25) and women’s access to justice (General Recommendation 33).

 


H

Human Rights

  • Human rights are legal rights which are held by every individual, and are the necessary conditions for human flourishing. They are universal, interrelated, interdependent and indivisible : everyone in the world holds them in equality. They are the basis for a just and fair society, and are for everyone, irrespective of gender, race, nationality, ability, age, class, etc.
    • Violence against women is recognised in international law as a violation of human rights because it goes against internationally agreed rights to life, liberty and security of person; to equality and freedom from discrimination; and to be free from torture.

 


I

Individual Complaint

  • An individual complaint is a formal complaint by a person who claims their rights under one of the treaties have been violated by a State.
  • A complaint can be made to the relevant treaty body (or Committee) created by the treaty if the State involved has agreed to the right of individual complaint.

 

Intersectionality

  • Intersectionality refers to the way that persons can experience multiple and interlocking oppressions that affect the discriminations they encounter and thus the opportunities and benefits they can access.
  • People may be discriminated against because of their gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ableness, etc.
  • Rather than adding on to each other, the different combinations of oppressions produce different lived experiences.
    • eg. Within the context of the Rwandan conflict, intersectionality was a necessary factor to addressing the needs of survivors of sexual violence, because they were targeted not just as women but also because of their ethnicity and sometimes class.
  • Coleman, Llezlie Green. Gender Hate Propaganda and Sexual Violence in the Rwandan Genocide: An Argument for Intersectionality in International Law (2002). Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 33, No. 733, 2002.

 

Inter-State Complaint

  • Several of the human rights treaties allow States to make an inter-state complaint to relevant treaty bodies (or Committees) about alleged violations by another State.

 

Intimate Partner Violence

  • Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner (although it does not have to be a sexual relationship).
  • It can include stalking, aggression, humiliation, exploitation (such as withholding immigration papers), and control over reproductive rights.
  • IPV can be a component of domestic violence or be completely separate from the household. <see “Domestic violence” entry>
  • Although IPV can include women being violent toward men and in same-sex partnerships, the largest number of IPV is men perpetrating against their partners who are women.

 


J

Jurisdiction

  • The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a certain type of case.
  • Also used as the geographic area over which the court has territorial jurisdiction to decide cases.

 

Jurisprudence

  • The subject and study of law, the structure of the legal system and legal questions.

 


L

Legally Binding vs. Non-binding

  • A legally binding document, like a convention, carries with it formal legal obligations, meaning that the States who sign it agree to obey the obligations as law. Whether and how those obligations are enforced is a separate question.
  • A non-binding document, like a declaration, does not in itself have legal obligations for the participants who sign it, but indicate an emerging rule of international human rights law, that is, it may have enough moral or political weight that the “soft law” can be used as an aspirational goal or to later become a foundation for binding laws.
  • McQuigg, Ronagh. (2016, 12 March). Why the world needs a UN treaty to combat violence against women. LSE EuroPP Blog: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2016/03/12/why-the-world-needs-a-un-treaty-to-combat-violence-against-women.

 

List of Issues and/or questions

  • Before meeting with State delegations to consider their reports, a treaty body will produce a list of issues and/or questions for the state to answer.
  • This is a chance to update information (since reports may have been waiting for as much as two years to be heard by the Committee) and also to provide a framework for constructive dialogue with the delegation.

 


M

Masculinities

 

Member States/States Parties

  • Member states are countries that are members of the United Nations or a regional system. All UN member states are part of the UN General Assembly.
  • A state party is a State that has ratified or acceded to a treaty, thus making the treaty legally binding to that State. Not all member states are state party to all treaties.

 


N

National Human Rights Institution

  • National human rights institutions (NHRIs) work to promote and protect human rights.
  • NHRIs usually monitor the human rights situations in their respective countries, hear complaints and educate the public on human rights – they fulfil an important role in safeguarding human rights.
  • Their independence from State governments—which can sometimes be the biggest human rights violators—is crucial. The Paris Principles are international standards that evaluate the independence and effectiveness of NHRIs.

 

Non-Discrimination

  • In essence discrimination means treating a person or group of persons unfairly because of a personal characteristic, such as gender identity, sexual orientation, age, race, or religion.
  • The equality and non-discrimination principle requires States to ensure their policies, programmes and activities do not discriminate against women and girls and treat them fairly.
  • The principle of non-discrimination forms one of the CEDAW Committee’s 3 interrelated core principles. The Committee understands discrimination as a social construction that excludes, restricts or denies women’s enjoyment of their rights, directly or indirectly <see “Direct vs. Indirect Discrimination” entry>
  • The duty to ensure equality and non -discrimination applies to states, and states are also required to take all appropriate steps to ensure that  individuals, families, communities, businesses and religious institutions also respect this principle in law and practice.
  • It is not enough to just have non-discriminatory laws and policies; States must address the historical and cultural discrimination that prevent women, and other discriminated-against groups, from being able to enjoy their human rights in practice. <see “Structural Discrimination” entry; also “de facto” and “de jure” entries.>

 

Non-governmental Organisation

  • Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are groups of people who are not part of government or for-profit business. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with CSOs.
  • NGOs can range in size from very small local groups to international organisations.
  • NGOs may do advocacy, campaigning, research or service provision. Sometimes, they will be charities, or have charitable sections.
  • Their work can be influential on national, regional and international policies; eg. NGOs may contribute to UN policies via shadow reports or through direct consultation.

 


O

Optional Protocol

  • A protocol is a later addition to a treaty that is treated like a treaty itself.
  • It is optional because it isn’t automatically binding for the States that have already ratified the original treaty; States have to separately ratify the optional protocol to make it binding.
  • Optional protocols are usually related to the original treaty as a complementary or relevant topic, a new or emerging concern, or by adding an operational or enforcement mechanism.

 


P

Parallel Report

  • Recognising that States and governmental bodies do not always paint a complete picture of the human rights context in their countries, treaty bodies may invite direct input from NGOs and civil society via a parallel report which may be an oral and/or written account. <see also “Shadow Report>
  • A shadow report gives practitioners and advocates the opportunity to include their perspective in complement or as opposed to the official government reports to the Committee.
  • NGOs, civil society, and women’s and human rights organisations play an important part in creating shadow reports that more fully and comprehensively reflect women’s concerns on the ground, highlight gaps in official reports, and fight for women’s equality.

 

Patriarchy

  • Patriarchy is a social system that unjustly allows men to hold power and dominance over women.
    • eg. Former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Its Causes and Consequences, Yakin Ertürk, pointed to the many ways in which patriarchy systematically and interpersonally upholds gender hierarchies that reduce the quality of women’s lives in conflict and in peace times.
  • Ertürk, Yakin. (2008). 15 Years of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (1994-2009)—A Critical Review. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/15YearReviewofVAWMandate.pdf.

 


Q

Quasi-judicial vs. Judicial

  • Judicial refers to a judge, court or the court system.
  • Quasi-judicial refers to the actions of an agency, boards or other governmental body that conducts hearings, orders, judgments or other activities similar to those of courts.
    • eg. Victims of an alleged violation of CEDAW may submit a written complaint to the Committee under the Optional Protocol, which is a quasi-judicial procedure.

 


R

Ratifcation vs Signatory/Ratify vs Sign

  • Signing or to sign a document is the first step to becoming a party to a treaty — it means the State is considering the treaty domestically and promises to follow the spirit of the agreement and the obligations it contains.
  • Most treaties usually also need to be ratified in order to be fully legally binding on States.
  • Signing without ratifying a treaty means a State has been willing to start the treaty-making process but has not fully committed to it.
    • eg. the United Kingdom signed the Istanbul Convention in 2012, but has not yet ratified it, which means it does not have a legal obligation to follow all of the requirements outlined under the Convention. Currently, there is a growing campaign calling on the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention. http://icchange.co.uk/about/about-the-campaign/
  • Note: Under Article 18 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, signatory States that have not ratified a treaty cannot take any action which would undermine or defeat the objectives and purpose of said treaty.
  • Ratifying or to ratify a document is typically how a State officially becomes party to or legally bound to a document (see also ‘accession’).
  • With ratification, States have time to get approval from their national governing organs and to create domestic laws that reflect the international agreement.

Reservation

  • A reservation is a way for States to limit their commitment to a treaty, in effect allowing them to sign a treaty while indicating that they are choosing not to be bound by a particular provision. A reservation is: “a unilateral statement, however phrased or named, made by a State, when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or to modify the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty in their application to that State.”(Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, Article 2 (1)(d))[1]
  • In effect, a reservation allows the state to be a party to the treaty, while excluding the legal effect of that specific provision in the treaty to which it objects.
  • Reservations must be consistent with the overall treaty, they cannot limit any legal obligation. Reservations must be narrow and specific, and not defeat the object and purpose of the treaty: otherwise the reservation would make the purported ratification or accession to the treaty entirely meaningless. For example, some states parties to the CEDAW convention have entered reservations so that the laws relating to male succession of royal or aristocratic titles should not be subject to the CEDAW Convention’s equality provisions. This kind of reservation has been broadly accepted without comment. However, other reservations which are broader – for example, reservations to the entirety of Article 16, relating to equality in the family. The CEDAW Committee has emphasised that reservations to article 16, whether lodged for national, traditional, religious or cultural reasons, are incompatible with the Convention and therefore impermissible and should be reviewed and modified or withdrawn.
  • Reservations must be made as States are accepting a treaty, not afterward. States may object to other States’ reservations.

 


S

Sexual exploitation and abuse

 

Shadow Report

  • Recognising that States and governmental bodies do not always paint a complete picture of the human rights context in their countries, treaty bodies may invite direct input from NGOs and civil society via a parallel report which may be an oral and/or written account. <see also “Shadow Report”>
  • A shadow report gives practitioners and advocates the opportunity to include their perspective in complement or as opposed to the official government reports to the Committee.
  • NGOs, civil society, and women’s and human rights organisations play an important part in creating shadow reports that more fully and comprehensively reflect women’s concerns on the ground, highlight gaps in official reports, and fight for women’s equality.

 

Signatory vs. Ratification/ Sign vs. Ratify

  • Signing or to sign a document is the first step to becoming a party to a treaty — it means the State is considering the treaty domestically and promises to follow the spirit of the agreement and the obligations it contains.
  • Most treaties usually also need to be ratified in order to be fully legally binding on States.
  • Signing without ratifying a treaty means a State has been willing to start the treaty-making process but has not fully committed to it.
    • eg. the United Kingdom signed the Istanbul Convention in 2012, but has not yet ratified it, which means it does not have a legal obligation to follow all of the requirements outlined under the Convention. Currently, there is a growing campaign calling on the UK government to ratify the Istanbul Convention. http://icchange.co.uk/about/about-the-campaign/
  • Note: Under Article 18 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, signatory States that have not ratified a treaty cannot take any action which would undermine or defeat the objectives and purpose of said treaty.
  • Ratifying or to ratify a document is typically how a State officially becomes party to or legally bound to a document (see also ‘accession’).
  • With ratification, States have time to get approval from their national governing organs and to create domestic laws that reflect the international agreement.

 

Significant Disadvantage

  • Significant disadvantage is the idea that a violation of a right needs to have reached a minimum level of severity—and the applicant needs to have suffered a significant disadvantage—before it can be considered by an international court.
  • This assessment of a minimum level is a moving target because it is relative to each case, depending on the applicant’s subjective perception and the objective case to be made.
    • eg. Reforms to the European Court of Human Rights added an admissibility requirement for applicants to show that they have suffered “significant disadvantage”; without showing that condition, the case will be considered inadmissible.

 

State Obligation

  • When States sign, ratify or accede to an international treaty, they accept certain obligations to fulfil the provisions within the treaty. <see ‘Reservations’ for exceptions>    
  • The principle of state obligation forms one of the CEDAW Committee’s 3 interrelated core principles. By signing and/or ratifying CEDAW, States must fulfil their state obligations by means and results. This means they have to enact laws and policies that enhance women’s rights (means), as well as taking proactive steps, known within the CEDAW legal context as “temporary special measures,” to level the playing field for women and men (results). Temporary special measures, which are sometimes called “affirmative action” and include techniques such as application of quotas in judicial appointments, election of parliamentarians, etc. as well as special training and support for women and girls, are understood as being an important part of ensuring equality in practice. They are not considered to be discriminatory against groups which currently enjoy a disproportionate privileges because of their identity, in comparison with discriminated groups.
  • States also have to report to the Committee every four years on how they are fulfilling their obligations to end discrimination against women and girls in their countries. This process involves sending a public report to the Committee, and then meeting with Committee members in a spirit of constructive dialogue.

 

Structural Discrimination

  • Structural discrimination occurs when the norms, policies and behaviours of certain social structures — including the family, government bodies, the labour market, educational system, etc – consistently disadvantage a particular group of persons.
    • eg. Because banks make lending decision based on income, job experience, debt and asset ownership, it excludes many women from having equal access to credit, as they are typically lower paid than men — this may be a form of structural discrimination.

 

Special Procedures

  • Special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council are actually people — independent human rights experts or groups of experts – who report and advise on human rights in a country or by a theme across multiple countries.
  • They can be called Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives, Working Groups or Independent Experts.
  • As of 27 March 2015, there are 41 thematic and 14 country mandates.
  • These mandate-holders serve for up to 6 years, are not UN staff (though they do report to the UN) and do not represent their countries of citizenship; they operate independently.
  • Their duties are central to the UN human rights machinery, from assessing human rights violations via country visits; raising awareness; engaging in advocacy with individuals, civil society and governments; and contributing to the ongoing development of human rights standards.

 

Special Rapporteur

  • Special Rapporteurs are independent experts who report and advise on human rights situations along particular themes, or in specific countries.
  • They are appointed by charter-based bodies such as the UN Human Rights Council or the African Union.
  • There is a UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The current mandate-holder is Dr Dubravka Simonovic.
  • Some regional bodies also have Special Rapporteurs. There is an African Union Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa and an Organization of American States Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women.
  • Want more information on the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences? Visit our page dedicated to her work.

 

Substantive Equality

  • Unlike formal equality (i.e. equality written into the text of the law without consideration for individual differences; “things that are alike should be treated alike”), substantive equality is built on: recognising differences while affirming equality between women and men, obligating States to correct the environment that disadvantages women, levelling the playing field, and requiring laws and policies to take gender into account.
  • The principle of substantive equality forms one of the CEDAW Committee’s 3 interrelated core principles. CEDAW requires States to take steps to achieve a substantive equality that ensures women receive equal access, opportunities and benefits to men.
  • A corrective and transformative approach is widely believed to lead to substantive equality; it is now recognised that gains on a superficial or short-term level are not enough to guarantee gender equality.

 


T

Temporary Special Measures

  • Temporary special measures are catalyst actions States can take to speedily achieve the requirements of a certain treaty, for example (in the case of the CEDAW Convention) to achieve women’s equality to men. The idea is that these policies will be stopped or rolled back when such action (eg. equality) has been achieved. Temporary special measures are required by Article 4 of the CEDAW Convention.
  • These measures can include affirmative action or preferential treatment policies, political quota systems, outreach and support programmes, reallocation of resources, and targeted recruitment, hiring and promotion.
  • Two of CEDAW’s General Recommendations address temporary special measures: No. 5 (1988) and No. 25 (2004).

 

Trafficking

  • “Trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. » (Article 3(a) of the « Palermo Protocol » the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000)
  • Trafficked persons are frequently tricked, coerced or otherwise forced into working in exploitative conditions outside of their control and from which they cannot easily leave.
    • eg. Because trafficking disproportionately affects women as victims, CEDAW considers trafficking to be a form of gender-based discrimination and violence, as well as a violation of human rights and tied to organised crime. Article 6 of the convention calls on State parties to “[t]ake all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women. »
  • See also General Recommendation 30, CEDAW (2013)

 

Treaty

  • A treaty is a formal and binding agreement between States that outlines obligations which they have chosen to accept.
  • Treaty is used synonymously with Convention and Covenant; there is no legal difference in how they are treated as international legal instruments.

 

Types of Violence

  • There are many different forms of violence against women, among them:
    • Physical Violence: When someone uses physical force or a weapon to cause harm, injury or death, or to control someone else’s actions.
    • Sexual violence: when someone tries to force or forces someone else to take part in a sexual activity that is unwanted, against their will or without their consent.
    • Economic/financial violence: When someone controls someone else by withholding funds or access to living needs, refusing to support financially, or misusing financial resources.
    • Psychological violence: when someone uses threats or force to make someone else feel afraid, stupid, worthless, isolated, humiliated, etc.
    • Cultural violence: when someone harms or injures someone else because of practices tied to their culture, religion or tradition. May also be tied to so-called “honour crimes.”
    • Political violence: when someone threatens, coerces or uses force against a woman or her family to prevent, restrict or stop her from engaging in political activities. May also be tied to the work of women human rights defenders.
  • (2015, April 15). Glossary of Terms from Programming Essentials and Monitoring and Evaluation Sections. Available at: http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/347-glossary-of-terms-from-programming-essentials-and-monitoring-and-evaluation-sections.html.
  • For more detailed definitions, see Defining Violence and Abuse (2015), by the Violence Prevention Initiative of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Available at: http://www.gov.nl.ca/VPI/types.

 


V

VAWG across the lifecycle

  • It can be helpful to think of VAWG as something that can occur once or repeatedly over the whole lifecycle of women, often with detrimental effects on her health.
  • It can be broken down into five stages to include:
    • Pre-birth: sex-selective abortion; effects of pregnancy-related violence; HIV/AIDS.
    • Infancy: Female infanticide; neglect; physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
    • Girlhood: Early or forced marriage; female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); physical, sexual and psychological abuse; incest; child prostitution and pornography; child trafficking; malnutrition because of gendered neglect.
    • Adolescence and adulthood: Dating and courtship violence (eg. date rape acid throwing and date rape); economically coerced sex (eg. exchanging sex for food or school fees); incest; sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace; rape or sexual violence; forced prostitution, pornography and sex work; trafficking; intimate partner violence; stalking; marital rape; dowry abuse and murder; psychological abuse; abuse of women with disabilities; forced pregnancy; forced abortion or forced sterilisation; so-called “honour killings”.
    • Elderly: Forced suicide or homicide of widows; sexual, physical and psychological abuse; discriminatory asset/property inheritance laws; neglect.
  • Shane, B. and Ellsberg, M. (2002) Violence Against Women: Effects on Reproductive Health. Seattle, Washington: PATH, UNFPA. Report No.:20 (1). Available at: https://www.path.org/publications/files/EOL20_1.pdf

 

Violence against Women

  • The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (Article 1) defines violence against women (VAW) as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.” <see “Gender-based violence” entry>
  • Simply put, VAW is a violent act that harms women and girls.
  • VAW can happen at any time during a woman’s life, which is why it is often referred to as VAWG to include girls.
  • Generally, VAWG can be broken down into two broad but connected categories: interpersonal (such as intimate partner violence or stalking) and institutional/structural (such as discriminatory workplace policies, a lack of laws that criminalize VAWG, or societal beliefs that one group is superior to another).
    • eg. The Commission on the Status of Women in 2013 noted that women’s exclusion from social, economic and development policies may increase their risk of violence, which in turn also harms their communities and states.
  • Commission on the Status of Women 2013 – Agreed conclusions on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw57/CSW57_Agreed_Conclusions_(CSW_report_excerpt).pdf.

OTHER SOURCES:

UN OHCHR. (N.D.) Human Rights Treaty Bodies – Glossary of technical terms related to the treaty bodies: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/Pages/TBGlossary.aspx#treaty.

Flowers, Nancy (ed.). (1998) Appendix 3: A Human Rights Glossary, in Human Rights Here and Now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Available at: https://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-5/6_glossary.htm.

UN Treaty Collection. (N.D.) Definition of key terms used in the UN Treaty Collection. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/Overview.aspx?path=overview/definition/page1_en.xml.