Women's rights

In 2019, five countries topped the Human Rights Committee's ranking for the implementation of selected recommendations. Argentina, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Morocco and Sweden received 'A's in the Committee's follow-up review of their action on priority recommendations. The 'A' rating reflects "significant action" taken towards implementing recommendations. Burkina Faso was commended for its efforts to address human trafficking and child labour through awareness-raising activities. When hearing of the Committee's evaluation, Burkina Faso welcomed the 'A' rating. "This grade is the recognition of the efforts made by Burkina Faso, in collaboration with civil society organizations, to implement its international obligations linked, in particular, to the recommendations of the treaty bodies and, more precisely, those of the Human Rights Committee," said Dieudonné W. Sougouri, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso ...

My dear Mary, Henrietta, Minister Rodriguez, and distinguished activists from all over the world, Greetings to all of you, and let me say how glad I am to be here, to be able to thank you, profoundly, for your determination and clarity. I particularly thank the representatives of Governments that have signed the Declaration on children's rights and climate change. The struggle for climate justice – and effective, urgent climate action – is a struggle for human rights. Young people, in particular, have been at the forefront of this movement recently – marching peacefully and persistently; engaging in strategic litigation; helping to devise climate solutions; overturning obstacles and overcoming threats. Many young people are angry about the failure by leaders – of government, business and institutions – to act on the realities that all of us can see. Climate change is already underway, destroying lives, vital infrastructure and ecosystems.  No country, no economy, and ...

Secretaries-General of the Confederacion Sindical de Comisiones Obreras, the Unión General de Trabajadores and the International Trade Union Confederation Executive Secretary of ECLAC, Distinguished panellists, And to all of you, I thank you for your invitation to be a part of this strategy session, this discussion of climate priorities for action by the labour movement, globally, regionally and in countries. I honour the long-standing struggle of your movements to ensure the rights to decent work, to social security, and to many other labour rights. Workers' rights are human rights; your struggle for social justice and dignity is fundamentally a human rights struggle. In just two days, it will be Human Rights Day, which marks the universal acceptance that all human beings are born equal, with rights. The right to health. To be free of torture and discrimination. To decent housing, food, education, social protection. To live – and to work – in conditions of decency. ...

Arizza Nocum believes in the power of education to combat violent extremism. With her family, she founded the Kristiyano-Islam Peace Library, an NGO that has built libraries, provided scholarships, and distributed books and educational materials in conflict affected areas in her native Philippines. For Nocum, the lack of financial security, especially in areas in southern Philippines that have experienced conflict, have driven many young people to join violent extremist groups. “We built libraries, provided scholarships for young people affected by conflict and poverty. We do this because we believe that when young people don't have that opportunity to go to school and to have a productive job later on, they tend to turn to crime or even to violent extremism,” Nocum says. A 2012 estimate of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos indicates that 11 per cent of the population in the Philippines is of Muslim faith, the rest being predominantly Catholic. Nocum herself has s...

“We believe that fighting for the rights of youth is fighting for the rights of all generations,” said Dalí Silvia Angel, an indigenous youth rights activist. “Because these young people are going to be adults, they are going to be parents, grandparents.” Angel is an indigenous rights defender with Red de Jóvenes Indígenas (Indigenous Youth Network) in Mexico. She was recently in Geneva, taking part in the Social Forum, which focused this year on the promotion and protection of the rights of children and youth through education. Red is part of a network of youth groups across 15 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The organization provides space for indigenous young people to talk about the challenges they face, as well as leveraging their numbers to make visible problems that indigenous young people face. Latin America and the Caribbean region has one of the largest indigenous populations in the world. According to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin Americ...

Thokozani Ndaba, the Founder and Executive Director of Ntethelelo Foundation, lives in a country that has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence and killings in the world. According to the latest data, every single day the police receive over 100 cases of reported rape. Last year alone, 2,700 women and over 1,000 children died at the hands of another person. In the township of Alexandra, located on the outskirts of Sandton, South Africa – the professed richest square mile in Africa – tarred roads turn into dirt, snaking their way between small homes that are erected from corrugated iron and other easily scrounged materials. The stark contrast in inequality is palatable. Gender-based violence is also a regular occurrence, with compounded vulnerability in areas with high socio-economic inequality commonplace. It is in this place that Ndaba, a theater practitioner, human rights activist and performer, set the Ntethelelo Foundation. Her work comprises activism, education, ...

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Breaking the Chains: Eradicating Slavery through SDGs Expert Panel organized by the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ambassador Wilde, Distinguished panellists,Excellencies, Colleagues and Friends, We are here to mark the international day to abolish slavery. I begin by reminding everyone that slavery is not just an abomination of the past. People are enslaved, today, in every region of the world – perhaps even every country in the world. The ILO estimates that more than 40 million women, men and children are enslaved: that's more than 5 in every thousand people. Furthermore, one-quarter of the survivors who have escaped modern slavery are children, according to recent research. Almost three-quarters of the survivors are women and girls. Women and girls are forced into sexual slavery or unpaid domestic labour. They end...

Absence of consent must become the global standard for definition of rape, say experts 25 November 2019 On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UN and regional experts on violence against women and women's rights* call upon all States to close the gap between international and national laws on rape and sexual violence. "In recent years, through campaigns such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #Niunamenos, #NotOneMore, and others, the voices of rape survivors, both in times of war and in peace, have placed the spotlight on this issue and have reached an upsurge that can no longer be silenced or ignored," the experts said in a joint statement. "As we look to the future, and in order to address the chilling impact that rape and sexual violence against women has on the human rights of women, urgent action must be taken by States, but also by non-State actors, as well as international organisations and independent monitoring mechanisms, civil s...

8th Forum on Business and Human Rights “Stepping up government leadership: from commitments to action” Opening Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva, 25 November 2019 Distinguished Vice-President of the Council, Members of the Working Group on Business, Distinguished panelists, Colleagues and friends, I am delighted to welcome you to the 8th annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights. It is very encouraging to see so many people from different backgrounds coming together to share experiences and thoughts about how to ensure protection and respect for human rights in the context of business. I particularly welcome and pay tribute to human rights defenders, and representatives of workers and communities: we heard some of their stories in the "voices from the ground" session this morning. Throughout history, business and trade have been crucial to human life – and human rights. They have brought higher standards of living a...

Concluding Message to the Geneva commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and handover to the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights My greetings to all the representatives of States, civil society, experts and practioners, UN colleagues – and above all, children – who are present here in Geneva in this symbolic Room XX of the Human Rights Council; who are with us online; and those present at the High-level meeting of the General Assembly, in New York. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols constitute a vital, living body of law. It has been a powerful force guiding the world to better fulfill the rights of children, and today, its 30th anniversary compels us to action. We need to take action to ensure respect for children's rights to raise their voices and participate in decisions about their lives and future. We need to tak...

Saadah Hamood Ahmed Alhuamaidi is a 16 year-old teenage girl from Yemen. In a country at war since 2015, Saadah has been defending and demanding the rights of the children who are bearing the brunt of the human rights consequences. A recent UN report estimates that a child dies due to the repercussions of war in Yemen every 11 minutes and 54 seconds. Saadah herself is visually impaired. She is a member of the Hope Foundation, which focuses on the rehabilitation of visually impaired girls. She is also a member of the Yemeni Children's Parliament*, where she represents visually impaired children. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, we celebrate children like Saadah who are dedicating their spare time to fight for the rights of the people who will lead our future: children. How are you involved with the Children's Parliament? As the representative of blind children, I raise awareness in my community about the challenges...

Amidst global insecurity for journalists and rights activists – and against the backdrop of the five-year long armed conflict in the east, the occupation of Crimea and all-pervading corruption - Ukraine has suffered from a string of attacks and killings. In most cases, impunity prevails. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine is calling for effective investigation into all cases. It is also supporting judicial and legal reforms in the country, and is advising the Government in ensuring accountability. “He was unstoppable, irreconcilable” “He was vocal on matters that others were afraid to cover, mainly on local corruption schemes. His persistence is already missing in the local media landscape,” said Valerii Makeev, a lawyer from Cherkasy, Ukraine, speaking about his late friend, journalist Vadym Komarov. In June 2019, Komarov, 55, died after a brutal attack. “I have no doubts he was killed for his work as a journalist. It is very sad to see no results of the investi...

When it comes to providing compensation and rehabilitation to redress the harm provoked by serious human rights and humanitarian law violations, the needs of victims are often left out of the process, said UN expert Fabián Salvioli. “Victims often find themselves in a vulnerable situation and are generally excluded from decision making: that should not continue to happen. I strongly urge States to put victims at the centre of their programmes and grant them full participation so that the process has real legitimacy,” he said. Salvioli, who is the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition, made his statement during the Human Rights Council. In a report presented to the Council, Salvioli says that domestic reparation programmes aimed at providing redress to victims of gross human rights violations need to be more holistic, attending needs that are physical as well as emotional. “Reparations should go beyond compensation, a...

“Justice is very important because today it is not enough to defend ourselves with spears or rituals. Now we have to go to court to protect ourselves and work with lawyers and community law,” said Nemonte Nenquino of the Waorani people in Ecuador. Nenquino is the president of the Waorani Pastaza Organization (CONCOAWEP), an organization that represents the Waorani people of Ecuador across the Pastaza region. Nenquino, along with Waorani elder Omanca, were in Geneva recently to attend the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). The meeting brought together indigenous people, NGOs and other experts to discuss challenges facing the communities. Nenquino and Omanca were also there to talk about the Waorani’s recent court victory. In April, a court in Ecuador ruled that that the Government had not properly consulted the Waorani of Pastaza, in eastern Ecuador, about an oil auction that would affect their territory. Over the years, Ecuador has divided much of its p...

UN human rights chief urges Iranian authorities to defuse tensions, investigate protest deaths GENEVA (3 January 2018) – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday urged the Iranian authorities “to handle the wave of protests that have taken place around the country with great care so as not to further inflame violence and unrest,” and to investigate all deaths and serious injuries that have occurred so far. “I am deeply disturbed by reports that more than 20 people, including an 11-year-old boy, have died and hundreds have been arrested during the recent wave of protests in Iran,” Zeid said. “The Iranian authorities must respect the rights of all demonstrators and detainees, including their right to life, and guarantee their safety and security. There must be thorough, independent and impartial investigations of all acts of violence that have taken place – and a concerted effort by the authorities to ensure that all security forces respond in a...