THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS WITHIN THE UN SYSTEM; with a greater

focus on the CEDAW

HURMIS 2022-2023
Internati onal Protecti on of the Human Rights
Student; Cheridou Sophia
Professor; Tsitselikis Konstanti nos
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1
CHAPTER 1. UN MECHANISMS FOR PROTECTING
WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS
1.1. Charter of the United Nations 2
1.2. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 2
1.3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 3
1.4. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW)
3
1.5. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW Committee)
7
1.6. Case Study 9
1.6.1. A.S. v. Hungary (C/36/D/4/2004) 

1.7. Beijing World Conference and Platform for Action 11

1.8. UN Women 12
CHAPTER 2. CRITIQUES & RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1. Critique on the UN 14
2.2. Critique on the CEDAW
15
2.3. Recommendations & Conclusion 16
BIBLIOGRAPHY
18
INTRODUCTION
Women’s rights and gender equality is at the very heart of human rights
and United Nations’ (hereinafter UN) values. Human Rights mechanisms
have long addressed issues like the empowerment of women and the
achievement of equality between women and men, as well as gender-
based discrimination is prohibited under almost every human rights
treaty; all due to the fact that it has become evident that women’s rights
and gender equality are central to the maintenance of international
peace and security.
The right to be free from gender-based violence and slavery; the right to
sexual and reproductive health; the right to reproductive self-
determination; the right to have a fair and equal wage and to eliminate
any gender and sexual orientation- related discriminations at the
workplace; the right to be equally represented in research and at all
levels of political leadership; these are just few of the rights that women
worldwide still need to struggle for in order to enjoy, although to be fair
there has been some progress over the decades and there have been
battles partly won.
All of that being said, what is precisely the contribution of the United
Nations to the effort to achieve gender equality; what actions, what
agreements and what structures have been adopted, created and
furthermore implemented throughout the years by the “world’s only
truly global organization” and its’ Member States?

3
CHAPTER 1. UN MECHANISMS
FOR PROTECTING WOMEN’S
HUMAN RIGHTS
1.1. Charter of the United Nations
To begin with, the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, the
founding document of the United Nations which was signed in 1945, sets
as one of the Organization's central goals the reaffirmation of "faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women". Admittedly, UN’s
support for the rights of women genuinely began with the Charter, the
first international instrument to refer specifically to human rights and to
the equal rights of men and women. By the terms of it, all members of
the United Nations are legally bound to strive towards the full realization
of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as it is declared in its 1st
Article that among the Organization’s purposes is “To achieve
international co-operation … in promoting and encouraging respect for
human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction
as to race, sex, language, or religion.”.

1.2. Commission on the Status of Women

Within the UN’s first year, that is to say the year 1946, the Economic and
Social Council (hereinafter ECOSOC) established its Commission on the
Status of Women (hereinafter CSW), as the principal intergovernmental
policy-making body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender
equality and the advancement of women.
The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the
reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global
standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Among its earliest accomplishments was ensuring gender neutral
language in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Later in 1996,
ECOSOC expanded the Commission’s mandate and decided that it
should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress and

4
problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities.

1.3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Just two years after the establishment of the CSW, gender equality was
made part of international human rights law by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (hereinafter UDHR). More precisely, the
UDHR was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948
and it is considered since then the milestone document in the history of
human rights. In fact, it strengthens and extends the emphasis on the
human rights of women, recognizing that “All human beings are born
free and equal in dignity and rights” and that “everyone is entitled to all
the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction
of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, … birth or other
status.”. It is commonly believed that the UDHR, together with the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional
Protocols, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, form the so- called International Bill of Human Rights.
Furthermore, the adoption of the UDHR by the Member States provides
the legal framework and therefore the foundation for the work of UN
Human Rights Council and the mechanisms it supports, considering that
by becoming parties to international human rights treaties, States
assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to
protect and to fulfil human rights.

1.4. Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against

Women
As a new consciousness of the patterns of discrimination against women
and a rise in the number of organizations combating the effect of such
discrimination emerged during the 1960s and as the international
feminist movement began to gain momentum during the 1970s, the
General Assembly declared 1975 as the International Women’s Year and
organized the first World Conference on Women.
In this context, the CSW felt the need to provide a binding treaty; a
single, comprehensive and internationally binding instrument to
reinforce the provisions of existing international instruments aiming to

5
eliminate discrimination against women and achieve gender equality.
Within this framework, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter CEDAW) was adopted in
1979 by the General Assembly and entered into force as an international
treaty in 1981. By the tenth anniversary of the Convention in 1989,
almost one hundred nations had agreed to be bound by its provisions
and thus far it has been ratified by 189 States, making it the second most
widely ratified fundamental human rights treaty. Indisputably, the
Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the
CSW and it is often described as the International Bill of Rights for
Women.
In its preamble, the CEDAW explicitly acknowledges that "extensive
discrimination against women continues to exist", and emphasizes that
such discrimination "violates the principles of equality of rights and
respect for human dignity". In its 30 articles, it defines discrimination
against women as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the
basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the
recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their
marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human
rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural, civil or any other field.
In detail;
In article 1, discrimination is understood as "any distinction,
exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex, in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field".
While,
In article 3, positive affirmation is given to the principle of equality
as States parties are required to take "all appropriate measures,
including legislation, to ensure the full development and
advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them
the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms on a basis of equality with men".
The CEDAW sets up an agenda for national action to guarantee the
enjoyment of those rights and thereby end such discrimination. The
agenda for equality is specified in fourteen subsequent articles. In its
6
approach, the Convention covers three dimensions of the situation of
women; civil rights and the legal status of women are dealt with in great
detail.
More thoroughly;
In article 7, it is restated that women are guaranteed the rights to
vote, to hold public office and to exercise public functions,
While,
In article 8, equal rights for women to represent their countries at
the international level are ensured.
Under article 9, the Convention on the Nationality of Married
Women is integrated, providing for the statehood of women,
irrespective of their marital status. It is therefore ascertained by
the CEDAW that often women's legal status has been linked to
marriage, making them dependent on their husband's nationality
rather than individuals in their own right.
Articles 10, 11 and 13, respectively, affirm women's rights to non-
discrimination in education, employment and economic and social
activities.
Under article 14, these demands are given special emphasis with
regard to the situation of rural women, whose particular struggles
and vital economic contributions warrant more attention in policy
planning.
In article 15 the full equality of women in civil and business
matters is asserted, demanding that all instruments directed at
restricting women's legal capacity ''shall be deemed null and
void". 
In article 16, the Convention returns to the issue of marriage and
family relations, affirming the equal rights and obligations of
women and men with regard to the choice of spouse, parenthood,
personal rights and command over property.
What is truly remarkable of this Convention is that, unlike other treaties,
it devotes major attention to a most vital concern of women; their
reproductive rights. It is actually the first human rights treaty to affirm

7
their reproductive rights. The preamble sets the tone by stating that
"the role of women in procreation should not be a basis for
discrimination". This link between discrimination and women's
reproductive role is a matter of recurrent concern in the Convention.
For example,
Article 5 advocates ''a proper understanding of maternity as a
social function", demanding fully shared responsibility for child-
rearing by both women and men
At the same time, society's obligation extends to offering social services,
especially child-care facilities that allow individuals to combine family
responsibilities with work and participation in public life.
In article 4, special measures for maternity protection are
recommended and it is stated that they "shall not be considered
discriminatory".
The CEDAW also affirms women's right to reproductive choice. Notably,
it is the only human rights treaty to mention family planning. States
parties are obliged to include advice on family planning in the education
process and to develop family codes that guarantee women's rights.
Article 16 pleads women’s right "to decide freely and responsibly
on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to
the information, education and means to enable them to exercise
these rights".
Besides the aforementioned, the CEDAW additionally targets cultural
factors and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family
relations. The third general thrust of the Convention openly recognizes
the influence of culture and tradition on restricting women's enjoyment
of their fundamental rights, appearing in stereotypes, customs and
norms, themselves giving rise to the multitude of legal, political and
economic constraints on the advancement of women. Noting this
interrelationship, the preamble of the Convention stresses "that a
change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in
society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality of men and
women".

8
 According to article 5, States parties are therefore obliged to work
towards the modification of social and cultural patterns of
individual conduct in order to eliminate "prejudices and
customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of
the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on
stereotyped roles for men and women"
While,
Article 1O mandates the revision of textbooks, school programs
and teaching methods in an attempt to eliminating stereotyped
concepts in the field of education. 
Finally, cultural patterns that reinforce gender stereotypes by defining
public issues as a man's job and at the same time, domestic and child
care responsibilities as a women's role in society, are strongly targeted
in all of the Convention's provisions that affirm the equal responsibilities
of both genders in family life and their equal rights with regard to
education and employment.
Undoubtedly, CEDAW has proven to be resilient and relevant to the fight
to end discrimination against women, including violence, poverty, and
lack of legal protections, along with the denial of inheritance, property
rights, and access to credit. On top of that, international and regional
human rights mechanisms have relied on this important instrument to
develop jurisprudence on new forms of disparities and violence that
have emerged long after CEDAW was created, such as digital forms of
violence against women and girls.

1.5. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against

Women
The implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter CEDAW
Committee); a body consisting of 23 independent experts on women’s
rights from around the world.
The Committee's mandate and the administration of the treaty are
defined in the Convention; particularly between article 17 and article 30.
This mandate is very specific; it watches over the progress for women

9
made in those countries that are the States parties to the Convention.
At least every four years, the States parties, put simply the countries
that have ratified or acceded to the treaty, are expected to submit a
national report to the Committee on how the rights of the Convention
are being implemented.  More specifically, the reports should indicate
the measures the countries have adopted to give effect to the provisions
of the Convention and thus improve the situation of women. During its
annual public session, the Committee members review each State
party’s report, discuss these reports with the Government
representatives and explore with them areas for further action by the
specific country. The Committee also makes general recommendations,
in the form of concluding observations, to the States parties on matters
concerning the elimination of discrimination against women. This
procedure of actual dialogue, developed by the Committee, has proven
valuable because it allows for an exchange of views and a clearer
analysis of anti-discrimination policies in the various countries.
Nonetheless, having read all these, someone may ask themselves if this
regular reporting procedure is an adequate means of protection in the
event of a women’s rights violation. The truth is that, the ability of
individuals to complain about the violation of their rights in an
international arena is what brings real meaning to the rights contained
in the human rights treaties. In other words, it is thanks to individual
complaints that human rights are given concrete meaning. Through the
application of international norms and standards contained in
international human rights treaties for the purpose of the adjudication
of individual cases, concepts that may otherwise seem general and
abstract are put into practical effect. When applied to a real-life
situation, treaties find their most direct application.
Indeed, one of the three main procedures for bringing complaints of
violations of the provisions of the human rights treaties before the
human rights treaty bodies is the individual communications. But first
things first; to understand what treaty bodies are; each one of the nine
core international human rights treaties, including the Convention on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, has established a
treaty body, or else a Committee of experts just like the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, to monitor the
compliance of States Parties with the treaty. Treaty bodies may, under
10
certain conditions, consider individual complaints from individuals. In
particular, a complaint can be brought only against a State that satisfies
two conditions; firstly, it must be a party to the treaty in question and
secondly, the State party must have recognized the competence of the
relevant monitoring Committee to receive and consider complaints from
individuals. The Committees’ decisions represent an authoritative
interpretation of the treaty concerned and they contain
recommendations to the State party. As a consequence, when the
Committee concludes that a violation of the treaty has taken place, the
State is invited to provide information, within 180 days, on the steps it
has taken to implement the recommendations. The State’s response is
then transmitted to the complainant for comments. If the State party
fails to take appropriate action, the case is kept under consideration by
the Committee. A dialogue is thus pursued with the State party and the
case remains open until satisfactory measures are taken.

1.6. Case Study

In such a way, since the adoption of the Convention, women have been
able to access justice at an international level through the submission of
complaints to the Committee. On this basis, it is crucial to highlight a
certain key case that has been brought before the Committee, in order
to shed light on a major women rights violation committed by the State
party of Hungary, as well as, on the judgements which were finally made
upon it.

1.6.1. A.S. v. Hungary (C/36/D/4/2004) 

Most definitely, the A.S. v. Hungary (C/36/D/4/2004) constitutes a case
of utmost importance considering not only the intersecting identities of
the victim, but also the fact that for the first time an international
human rights tribunal held a government accountable for failing to
provide necessary information in order to get informed consent to a
reproductive health related medical procedure. Specifically, A.S., a
Hungarian woman of Roma origin, underwent surgery at a public
hospital because of a miscarriage. Shortly after being admitted to the
hospital in a “state of shock” and while on the operating table, A.S. was
asked to sign a statement of consent to a caesarean section which
11
contained as well a barely legible handwritten note using the Latin word
for sterilization. A.S. had no idea that she was signing a form authorizing
her sterilization; she learned it only after the surgery, when she asked
when it would be safe for her to try to have another baby. A.S. was not
provided with information or advice concerning sterilization and its
effects, risks, or consequences, nor was she provided with any
information or advice about alternative family planning methods.
Surprisingly, domestic Hungarian Courts rejected her claim, therefore
A.S. subsequently brought a complaint before the CEDAW Committee
alleging that Hungary, by failing to fully inform her about the risks and
consequences of sterilization and obtain her informed consent, violated
her rights protected under the CEDAW, including her right to
information on family planning, stated in Article 10; her right to access
health care services, affirmed in Article 12; and her right to decide freely
on the spacing and number of her children, defined explicitly in Article
16. The Committee moved forward with the examination of the merits
of the complaint and decided as such; ART10 grants a right to “specific
educational information to help ensure the health and well-being of
families, including information and advice on family planning”, therefore
the “failure of the State party … to provide appropriate information and
advice on family planning” violated this right. ART12 grants a right to
“appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and
the post-natal period.”, which means that the state’s failure to provide
A.S. with thorough information about sterilization “in a way in which she
was able to understand it….as well as alternatives, risks and benefits, to
ensure that she could make a well-considered and voluntary decision to
be sterilized” violated this right. Finally, ART16 grants a right to “decide
freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of…children and to
have access to the information, education and means” to do so.
Sterilization without a woman’s full and informed consent “must be
considered to have permanently deprived her of her natural reproductive
capacity”, thereby violating this right. Given these rights violations,
CEDAW called on Hungary to provide financial compensation to A.S,
while, combined with this, some significant recommendations to the
State were made. Firstly, the State should work harder on ensuring that
both public and private health care providers understand and respect
the provisions of CEDAW concerning women’s access to health care,
12
especially the fact that compulsory sterilization, as well as abortion,
blatantly violate their reproductive autonomy. What’s more, it is vital
that sexual education and family planning services are available and
accessible to women. Secondly, the State should review domestic
legislation on the issue of informed consent in a way that this legislation
conforms to international legal standards. Lastly, it is highly suggested
that Hungary monitors public and private health centers, including
hospitals and clinics making sure that all sterilization procedures are
carried out with the patient’s fully informed and voluntary consent.
Overall, the significance of this case is found in the following
affirmations; that the right to health includes the right of information
about health which is considered critical for the right to life, the
autonomy in decision making, and generally all women’s reproductive
rights; and that informed consent is more than just a signature according
to international ethical standards. Sadly, the impact of the decision has
implications throughout the Central and East European region, where
forced and coerced sterilization of Roma women has recently been
exposed. Nonetheless, despite the positive outcome of this judgment for
A.S., it was addressed during the 39 th session of the Committee in 2007,
when Hungary was reviewed, the issue of lack of implementation of the
A.S. v. Hungary decision.

1.7. Beijing World Conference and Platform for Action

Moving on to other landmark moments for women’s rights within the
UN system, the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in
1995, and its child, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
(hereinafter BPFA), asserted once again women’s rights as human
rights and committed to act accordingly in order to ensure respect for
those rights by flagging 12 key areas where urgent action was needed;
Women and Poverty; Women and Armed Conflict; Women and the
Environment; Women in Power and Decision-making; the Girl Child;
Women and Health; Violence against Women; Women and the
Economy; Women and the Media; Institutional Mechanisms and Human
rights of Women. Among others, the Platform acknowledged that
poverty, climate change and conflict are all factors that leave women
and girls extremely vulnerable and unprotected, generally because they

13
face double discrimination on account on their gender end economic
situation and also due to the fact that access to land and productive
resources is limited, while sexual violence against them is typically used
as a war tactic. Furthermore, the Platform stresses the lack of women’s
leadership and participation when it comes to political and economic
decision making, likewise in environmental planning and management;
they are under-represented as voters, in parliaments and in the labor
market as well, especially in highly skilled jobs, STEM industries and
senior management. Uniquely, the BPFA was the first global policy
document on women to include a specific focus on the girl child,
meaning that specific forms of violence and harmful practices, including
female genital mutilation and cutting, breast ironing and child marriage,
disproportionally affect young girls in particular, which is why it called
for specific protection for their rights.
As mentioned above, progress on implementation of the Platform is
reviewed by the CSW every five years. Up to now, five reviews have
been conducted; in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, with each review
resulting in an outcome document in which countries pledge to continue
their efforts towards achieving gender equality.
Altogether, evaluating the Platform’s importance brought us to the
following realization; the BPFA was a turning point in the world’s
understanding of women’s and girls’ rights and ushered in a new
mindset that acknowledging the full potential of women and girls is a
powerful and essential component of successful and sustainable
development. It was the first global policy framework to confirm that
putting a gender lens to every policy and program is a key strategy that
governments and other actors should apply and in fact it gave the
human rights of women unprecedented attention and visibility.

1.8. UN Women
Last but not least, completing the overview of the UN’s mechanisms for
promoting women’s rights, it is essential to mention The United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, or simply
UN Women. In particular, in 2010, the United Nations General Assembly
unanimously voted to create a single UN body tasked with accelerating
progress in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment. UN

14
Women main roles are to support inter-governmental bodies, like the
Commission on the Status of Women, and all aspects of their work, such
as but not limited to their formulation of policies, global standards and
norms, as well as to facilitate the participation of civil society
representatives and the forging of effective partnerships with them.
Additionally, UN Women assists Member States to implement these
standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial help
to those countries that request it, while at the same time holds the UN
system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality,
including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

15
CHAPTER 2. CRITIQUES &
RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1. Critique on the work of the UN
Taking into consideration all the aforementioned, we conclude
undeniably that the United Nations has made, over many decades,
significant progress in meeting women’s needs worldwide and
empowering them, in advancing gender equality globally and eliminating
discrimination and violence against them; all these through effective
mechanisms, historic agreements, international standards and norms of
great impact, to name but a few. Nonetheless, it is certainly true that
the UN system shows major weaknesses as well, leading to an intense
and continuous criticism towards it, regarding its efforts on the
promotion and protection of women’s human rights.
Markedly, the UN remains a mainly Northern and male dominated and
directed institution reinforcing patriarchal structures. That being the
case, gross inequalities are observed throughout its agencies and across
all levels of leadership while institutional recruitment, hiring and
promotional practices do not represent equally people of all genders,
ethnicities, sexual identities, class etc. Despite urging by various bodies
within the U.N. and Non-Governmental Organizations to increase the
number of women in decision making positions within the U.N., women
continue to be hugely underrepresented. By all means, the UN has failed
to eliminate male bias from which international human rights law, the
language and content of human rights treaties and the UN itself operate
and therefore to incorporate the female perspective into its machinery
at a fundamental level. A clear example of this may be the use of only
male pronouns in major UN treaties.
Similarly, it is indeed ironic that the UN, which is considered
instrumental in setting norms in the area of gender equality, has
repeatedly been accused of egregious acts of sexual abuse and
16
exploitation committed by members of the UN staff themselves, coupled
with allegations of mishandling of sexual harassment claims within the
organization. For instance, there has been public outcry about the abuse
of women and girls by the UN personnel in host countries, in all forms of
violence and sexual harassment, which is met with impunity. As a
consequence, there is little trust shown towards the current internal
justice systems of the UN from the victims of sexual offenses committed
by the UN staff, as the procedure moves very slowly, favors
perpetrators, and is fully controlled by the UN, which constitutes a
conflict of interest.
Equally important, the lack of resources and consistent underfunding of
the UN Women since its establishment in 2010, poses serious obstacles
to its efforts and underscores the unequal terrain on which UN Women
must engage with other agencies, and hence must be immediately
addressed. Notably, UN Women never received the full one billion
dollars budget that activists initially campaigned for.
Furthermore, concerning particularly the UDHR, the universality of the
document has been a very controversial issue. It is argued that the UDHR
is a Western-biased document that ignores and undermines the cultural
norms, values and differences existing between societies in different
parts of the world and constitutes an attempt to impose Western values
to everybody else.

2.2. Critique on the CEDAW

In the same way, the CEDAW has also been heavily criticized, firstly for
its extensive reservations and secondly for its lack of intersectionality
and specificity.
Much as the ratification of the CEDAW is nearly universal with 189 States
parties being bound to its provisions, it is the second human rights treaty
with the most reservations. Reservations allow states to ratify a treaty
but only legally bind themselves to provisions with which they want to
comply; admittedly reservations to provisions and whole articles of the
CEDAW are abundant. For numerous scholars, these reservations to the
CEDAW are problematic, as they indicate that many states are party to
the treaty without truly committing themselves to its goal, namely
17
achieving equality for women. Article 2, which defines the measures that
states must take to eliminate discrimination, is one of the provisions
with the most reservations, as parties have cited religious, cultural, and
legal reasons for being unable to comply with the provisions. As a result,
a party can continue operating discriminatory practices such as female
genital mutilation, virginity testing, and domestic violence without
accountability.
Another key point is that the CEDAW has been equally targeted for its
inconsistent approach to intersectionality. In fact, it fails to incorporate
women’s intersectional identities into any of its provisions, promoting, in
this way, a framework that characterizes women as facing only gender
discrimination as opposed to also experiencing other forms of
discrimination like racism, classism, ethnocentrism, and heterosexism.
Additionally, as far as lack of specificity is concerned, the widespread use
of the phrase “all appropriate measures” when it comes to
implementation, is problematic, since it is a term vague enough for
states to claim falsely they have done enough to meet the terms of the
convention. For example, Mali ratified CEDAW with no reservations in
1985 and yet, as the convention does not address FGM, Mali has failed
to criminalize or even take a clear stance against FGM. In reality, a 2018
study found that 88.6 percent of women aged 15-49 in Mali have
undergone FGM in some form.

2.3. Recommendations & Conclusion

For all the above mentioned reasons, it is highly advocated that the U.N
takes further action to strengthen its effort on achieving gender equality.
In detail, with the aim of overcoming the challenge of underfunding, it is
recommended that the UN; commits to full transparency by publishing
funding sources and furthermore to a system-wide gender budgeting;
ensures that a consistently high percentage of current spending is
dedicated to women’s rights programming and gender mainstreaming;
increases funding for UN Women both by encouraging member state
contributions and by pulling from the core general fund.
Moreover, regarding the unequitable representation of women at all
levels of the UN, it is crucial that the organization implements feminist
18
HR and staffing reforms and transforms hiring practices and policies in a
way that people of all genders, races, ages, classes, etc. are recruited
effectively, represented equally, and given equal opportunities for
advancement, while principles of transparency and accountability are
being upheld.
Lastly, concerning gender-based violence within the UN system, UN
should urgently institute or update and enforce a zero tolerance policy
for all women human rights violations, not only sexual exploitation and
abuse, committed by any UN staff, peacekeepers, high-level UN leaders
etc. In this context, system-wide trainings on preventing and responding
to gender-based violence are indeed decidedly suggested, while the
development and implementation of a more accessible and independent
reporting system for cases of violence and abuse, not one that is fully
operated by the UN, could prove to be critical.
To sum up, the advancement of women and the achievement of gender
equality “is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary
foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world”. Despite
the many gained victories in the fight against gender discrimination,
gender disparities remain in all aspects of life, impeding the realization
of an equal world for women, thus greater commitment and bold action
are needed to accelerate progress, including through the promotion of
more effective laws and policies, increased budgets and stronger
mechanisms.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

United Nations. “Gender Equality.” United Nations, 2020, www.un.org/en/global-

issues/gender-equality.

“Using the International and Regional Legal Framework to Stop All Forms of
Violence against Women and Girls.” OHCHR,
www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/03/using-international-and-regional-legal-
framework-stop-all-forms-violence-against.

Soken-Huberty, Emmaline. “What’s the Role of the UN in Protecting Human

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