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Violence Against WomenInternational Legal Framework

Cheryl Thomas

The Advocates for Human Rights

Harvard Kennedy School

Carr Center for Human Rights

October 2013

“Violence against women is a form of discrimination and a violation of human rights. . . Its elimination requires a comprehensive and systematic response by States, the United Nations and all stakeholders.”

Ending Violence Against Women: From Words to Action Study of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon (2006).

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• Selected United Nations standards on VAW

• Regional standards on VAW• Selected cases from international

tribunals• Research and information on

promising practices (tools for drafters of legal standards)

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United Nations Standards on Violence Against Women (selected documents)

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976)

• International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (1976)

United Nations Standards on Violence Against Women

(selected documents continued)

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW 1979)

• General Recommendation 19 (1992)• Optional Protocol to CEDAW (2000)

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CEDAW Cases (2007)

Sahide Goekce v. Austria

Fatma Yildrim v. Austria

The State’s obligation to protect women from domestic violence extends beyond passing laws. States must implement those laws effectively.

United Nations Standards on Violence Against Women

(selected documents continued)

• Convention Against Torture (1987)• Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish

Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (`Palermo Trafficking Protocol’, opened for signature in December 2002) 

• Security Council Resolutions on Peace, Security and Women 1325, 1820, 1888, 1889

• The Rome Statute (International Criminal Court, The Hague 2002)

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United Nations policy instruments

• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993)

• Beijing Platform for Action (adopted at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women 1995)

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Regional Conventions/Protocols on Violence against Women

• Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women (‘Belem do Para’ adopted by the Organization of American States in 1994)

• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (`Maputo Protocol’, passed by the African Union in 2003)

• Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (‘Istanbul Convention’, open for signature May 2011) 9

Selected Cases from International Tribunals

• X and Y v. the Netherlands (1985 European Court of Human Rights)

• Maria da Penha v. Brazil (2000 Inter-American Commission on Human rights)

• Maria Mamerita Mestanza Chavez v. Peru (2003 Inter-American Comission on Human Rights)

• M.C. v. Bulgaria (2003 European Court of Human Rights)

• Bevaqua v. Bulgaria (2008 European Court of Human Rights)

• Opuz v. Turkey (2009 European Court of Human Rights)• Valiuliene v. Lithuania (2013 European Court of Human

Rights)• Eremia v. Moldova (2013 European Court of Human

Rights)

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Research and information on gaps and promising practices

(tools for drafters of legal standards)

• In-depth study of all forms of Violence against Women, Report of the United Nations Secretary General (2006)

• United Nations Virtual Knowledge Center on Violence Against Women (www.endvawnow.org)

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• Handbook for Legislation on Violence Against Women (2009)

• Good Practices in Legislation on Harmful Practices against Women and Girls, Report of the Expert Group Meeting and Background Paper(2009)

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Research and information on gaps and promising practices (tools for

drafters, continued)

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

(first appointed by Human Rights Commission in 1994)

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www.endvawnow.org

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www.stopvaw.org