The event was described by many as “the birth of global feminism”. It was convened at a time when the movement for gender equality had finally gained true global recognition, and 15,000 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participated in a parallel NGO Forum. In 1985, the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, was held in Nairobi. The resulting Programme of Action called for stronger national measures to ensure women's ownership and control of property, as well as improvements in women's rights with respect to inheritance, child custody and loss of nationality. The Convention targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations, and it is the first human rights treaty to affirm the reproductive rights of women.įive years after the Mexico City conference, a Second World Conference on Women was held in Copenhagen in 1980.
In its 30 articles, the Convention explicitly defines discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. In 1979, the General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is often described as an International Bill of Rights for Women.
At the urging of the Conference, it subsequently declared the years 1976-1985 as the UN Decade for Women, and established a Voluntary Fund for Decade.
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That milestone document in the history of human rights recognized 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, colour, sex, language, religion, … birth or other status.”Īs 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, held in Mexico City. Gender Equality was made part of international human rights law by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Among its earliest accomplishments was ensuring gender neutral language in the draft Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Within the UN’s first year, the Economic and Social Council established its Commission on the Status of Women, as the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Among the purposes of the UN declared in Article 1 of its Charter 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.” UN support for the rights of women began with the Organization's founding Charter. António Guterres has stated that achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world. It is also essential to achieve equal opportunities in access to employment and to positions of leadership and decision-making at all levels. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to end the multiple forms of gender violence and secure equal access to quality education and health, economic resources and participation in political life for both women and girls and men and boys.
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Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality of rights and opportunities between men and women, warns UN Women. Moreover, it has been shown that empowering women spurs productivity and economic growth. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development. Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential.
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