Women's Human Rights Resources Database

This database lists hundreds of resources -- articles, documents and links -- related to international women's rights law and Canadian women's rights law. Annotations describe the content of each resource. Users can search by keyword and author as well as browse by women's rights topic. Full-text documents or links to full-text documents are provided where available.
Search Results for content type Document categorized with Economic Globalization
Militarism, Violence And Conflict How Women Bear The Brunt Of War (2012) , Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
This interview with Mavic Cabrera-Balleza examines implications of increased military spending for women. Cabrera-Balleza concludes that greater militarism and conflict increase incidences of violence against women and other attacks on womens human rights, which become normalized in the context of the conflict. Cabrera-Balleza argues that recent world crises have led to increased visibility of violence against women and increased solidarity between global activists. Cabrera-Balleza examines the effect of neoliberalism on the increase in poverty, and concludes that it has diminished access to healthcare services and ultimately reinforced gender inequality. Recommendations are made for an increase in positive rights alternative development strategies and a reduction in military spending, as the jobs and benefits created through state military expenditure would be more beneficial if applied to poverty and environmental crisis.

 

The World Bank and Women's Rights in Development , Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
This document provides an overview of the history, purpose and structure of the World Bank, its role in international development and economic restructuring and some of the effects of its policies on women's rights. The document reviews the Bank's gender mainstreaming strategy, noting several areas that warrant improvement. The document concludes with recommendations to increase the Bank's accountability with respect to women's rights.

 

Women's Rights, the World Trade Organization and International Trade Policy , Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
This document provides an overview of the history, purpose and structure of the World Trade Organization (WTO), its role in trade liberalization and the implications of its policies on women's rights. The document provides suggestions on how to conduct a gender analysis of trade agreements and outlines an action agenda in response to the outcomes of the WTO's Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, 2001.

 

Evatt, Elizabeth , Preliminary Report of the Special Rapporteurs, J. Oloka-Onyango and Deepika Udagama, to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, The Realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Globalization and its Impact on the Full Enjoyment of Human Rig
This report discusses issues of equality and non-discrimination resulting from the processes of globalization, focusing on the situation of women in particular. The report draws connections between globalization and growing global inequality, addressing issues such as worsening labour conditions, labour migration and racial discrimination. In responding to these challenges, the authors argue for the primacy of international human rights law over all other regimes of international law (including trade agreements), as well as the need to incorporate gender analysis into the policies and processes that facilitate economic globalization.

 

Begum, Rothna , “I Was Sold” Abuse and Exploitation of Migrant Domestic Workers in Oman , Human Rights Watch
This report documents the abuse and exploitation of female migrant domestic workers in Oman. The author’s team conducted interviews with 59 domestic workers in May 2015. The report details the types of abuses commonly suffered by underprivileged workers. It does so by analysing how Oman’s legal frameworks, specifically its “Kafala” visa-sponsorship system, enable these abuses by protecting employer interests and stifling worker rights. The report calls upon Oman to reform its labour laws to provide equal protection to domestic workers. Specifically, the report recommends that Oman abolish its “Kafala” system and undergo legal reform to provide domestic workers with rights equal to their employers. Additionally, the author encloses their letter to the Royal Oman Police presenting the Human Rights Watch findings and requesting additional information to supplement the author’s interviews. 

 

Ngwena, Charles , Women and Trade in Canada: An Overview of Key Issues
This paper reviews some of the early concerns of womens organizations regarding the effects of trade liberalization on women, as well as different feminist responses. The author then assesses the potential implications of a deepened trade liberalization agenda under the World Trade Organization, in light of the gendered roles of Canadian women. The author focuses on the deregulation and privatization of healthcare and education, the harmonization of food safety and pesticide regulations, and the position of women entrepreneurs. [Descriptors: Economic Globalization, Canada]

 

Trading Away Our Rights: Women Working the Global Supply Chain , OXFAM International
This document was published as part of Oxfam's "Make Trade Fair" campaign. The document outlines dynamics of global trade, including corporate strategies to maximize profits and national labour policies, which have resulted in precarious employment and poor working conditions for women producing goods for export around the world. The document argues that as producers within the global supply chain, these women are essential to international trade, and as such they should be receiving a greater share of the benefits. The document relies on research from 12 different countries, including interviews with thousands of women. It includes more in-depth sections on the conditions faced by women working in the sectors of textile manufacturing and agricultural production. Many of the concerns raised include gender discrimination as well as labour and human rights abuses.

 

Stark, Barbara , International Trade: Putting Gender into the Process: Initiatives and Lessons Learned
The author of this paper considers various strategies to integrate gender concerns into Canada's trade policy. She assesses the accessibility and accountability of different mechanisms that allow for public consultations with respect to trade policy and also reviews past strategies of womens organizations to advance gender concerns during previous trade negotiations. The author discusses the gender mainstreaming approach of the Asia-Pacific Economic Council, the only trade agreement to explicitly address gender concerns at the official level. The author concludes with a summary of lessons learned from these different approaches and provides several recommendations for future strategies. [Descriptors: Economic Globalization, Canada]

 

Preliminary Report of the Secretary General to the United Nations General Assembly, Globalization and its Impact on the Full Enjoyment of all Human Rights , United Nations General Assembly
General Assembly resolution 54/165 (1999) called upon the Secretary General to deliver a comprehensive report on globalization and human rights. This preliminary report provides an introduction to some of the key issues in order to solicit feedback and reactions from member States. In considering the liberalization of trade, the report pays particular attention to the impact on women workers, noting increased discrimination against women in certain areas. In conclusion, the report asserts the need to adopt the standards and principles of human rights as a framework for globalization.

 

Roth, Brad R. , Trade Impact Review , Women's Edge Coalition, Global Trade Program
This Report was prepared in support of lobbying efforts urging the US government to conduct gender assessments of its trade policies and agreements. The authors outline several reasons as to why such assessments are warranted, including both domestic and international legal precedent, and then develop a framework that examines both the legal and economic impacts of trade agreements on women in the United States and partner countries. The authors assess the gender impacts of trade agreements in different sectors and thematic areas of particular relevance to women such as agriculture, manufacturing, and human rights. In order to avoid undermining international and constitutional equality guarantees for women, the legal and regulatory component of the framework calls for a content assessment of laws and norms that determine women's status in a particular country.