Women's Human Rights Resources Database

Among the main responsibilities of the Division is the substantive servicing of: The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the central intergovernmental body with the mandate to elaborate policies to achieve equality between women and men; the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - the expert treaty body which monitors the implementation of the legal standards in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the "Women's Convention"). The Division assists these bodies to perform their mandated tasks and to exercise a leadership role in developing innovative strategies to promote the equality of the women of the world with men and work towards their empowerment.

IWRAW was organized in 1985 at the World Conference on Women in Nairobi to monitor implementation of the CEDAW Convention. It is an international network of activists, scholars, and organizations that focus on the advancement of women's human rights. The network is served by a resource and communications center at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Activities include providing technical assistance and research support for women's human rights projects, monitoring government performance under international human rights treaties, and supporting non-governmental groups, especially in developing countries. The site contains a list of "upcoming events" of the CEDAW Committee, access to IWRAW publications, sample shadow reports, and 'Beijing +5' information.

This page from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights web site provides convenient links to a variety of essential information on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the "Women's Convention"), including a fact sheet on the Convention and the Committee, sessions of the Committee (state party reports and concluding observations), individual complaints procedure, press releases, and the Treaty Body Database.

Q Web is a comprehensive and searchable online database with access to articles, documents and websites dealing with a variety of issues related to gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and empowerment. It seeks to enable resource and knowledge sharing between organizations, students, researchers and individuals. Materials related specifically to violence against women and girls can be located by searching under the category of "Gender-based Violence" under "Resources". [Descriptors: Violence Against Women - International]

This website is centered on the Optional Protocol to CEDAW, and seeks to improve awareness of its existence, assist women in its use, facilitate access to resources, foster debate about the Protocol, and facilitate the cross-fertilization of womens human rights jurisprudence. The website provides an overview of the Optional Protocol process and various reasons for its use. It provides general resources, such as texts and articles regarding the Optional Protocol, and a list of cases, communications, and inquiries submitted by countries. Also included are timely social media updates by the author, social justice organizations, and the public concerning material on CEDAW and the Optional Protocol.

The International Women's Rights Project (IWRP) seeks to strengthen the capacity of women's NGOs and to influence the implementation of international human rights standards, for the benefit of women, through research and evidence-based advocacy and is currently affiliated with the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. The CEDAW section of their website provides links, an extensive annotated bibliography (2005), an impact study (2000), and an alternative report to CEDAW (2003). [CEDAW Convention - International]