Women's Rights are Human Rights!

Sixty years after the adoption of the UDHR, women around the world still find themselves being disproportionately affected by violence and discrimination. While the UDHR enshrines far-reaching principles of human dignity with the proclamation that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," and the stipulation that human rights apply to all equally without distinction of any kind including sex, this rhetoric has not yet been fully translated into reality.

Over the past few decades, women's movements worldwide have formed organizations, networks and coalitions to give greater visibility both to the specific problems that women face every day, and to the centrality of gender to many issues from development and the environment to peace and security. In the evolution of a global women's movement, the term "women's human rights" has provided a common framework and foundation for securing commitments from decision makers to ensure women's equality in all spheres and to achieve concrete change in policies and practices that affect women's daily lives.

Where are we now?

The recognition of women's rights as human rights is testimony to the success of decades of advocacy by women and their allies. Over the past 60 years women in all regions have created groundbreaking global and local efforts to challenge gender inequality; and today, feminist approaches to human rights are being developed and used around the world. Women's advocacy has brought about pioneering change in areas such as women's access to education and political participation, as well as in awareness raising about issues of women's health and violence against women. It has also transformed interpretations of the human rights framework to take greater account of women's lives. Global frameworks and standards for realizing women's human rights have been spelled out in The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and in a wide range of international documents from other UN processes, such as the Vienna Human Rights Declaration, The Cairo Programme of Action, The Beijing Platform for Action, The Millennium Development Goals, and The 2005 UN World Summit. Women have successfully demanded state attention to these issues, but the political will and resources to implement and fulfill these promises are still lacking.

What can we do?

Every person makes a difference! Start today to live by the principles of the UDHR by pledging to speak out against acts of violence and discrimination against women! We invite all to join in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration, and honoring decades of landmark women's rights advocacy. We encourage groups to focus in March and throughout the year on activities that address the many human rights challenges facing women around the globe and to celebrate the leadership of women in defending human rights.

Human Rights for Women <--> Human Rights for All.

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