Women's Human Rights Resources Database

This article offers a critique of the feminist politics that have influenced international law developments in the area of reproductive rights by looking specifically at the Programme of Action drafted at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo. The author finds that while significant progress was made in the discourse on, and conceptualization of, the role and equality of women in population and reproductive health policies, the Cairo agreement continues to reinforce conceptions of the fertilization of Southern women as dangerous or threatening. The author argues that in so doing, the agreement perpetuates international racial and socio-economic biases related to the portrayal of overpopulation as a primary source of the developing world's economic and environmental problems which makes the fertility of the Southern, non-white, impoverished women a focus of international law and politics. The author challenges the language and assumptions used in linking population growth with environmental protection and economic development, and recommends that feminists engage the racial and colonial dimensions of their reproductive rights and population growth politics.

This is a descriptive note on the preparation for the Beijing conference and the final conference documents. Focusing on the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA), the author concludes that it is basically ineffectual as it contains no firm commitments, lacks formal legal status and fails to provide concrete targets or resources for implementation.

This report was written to assess the previous 20 years that have followed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA). The report focuses on: the work that women do, their body politic, the inequality and discrimination they face, and directions for our future agenda of gender equality. The report examines the impact that neoliberalism has had on job opportunities available to women in the developing world. Its authors are concerned that the diminishing power of states, in relation to private corporations, will force women into underemployment even as they gain greater economic autonomy. The report also discusses how institutional efforts towards achieving gender equality have been less substantive and more superficial than promised by countries. The report recommends exploring virtual and online spaces as a way to contest dominant discourses, as well as taking steps to close the implementation gap between rhetoric and policy.

This note contains a detailed review of state responses to the Platform for Action (PFA) produced at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. The author finds that consensus was reached on most of the provisions in the Platform. Certain proposals regarding reproductive and inheritance issues, however, were subject to a great deal of dispute during drafting and many countries ultimately registered reservations to them. The author finds that most of the damage done toconsensus on these controversial proposals was caused by the Islamic countries, justified by their religious and cultural beliefs. The author predicts that while thenumber of objecting states was small relative to the whole, on the basis of the way customary international law is developed, the opposition of this one highlyinterested group of states will likely stall the further development of theseproposals as legal norms for the foreseeable future.

These papers were presented at the Second World Conference on Women’s Studies, hosted by the International Institute of Knowledge Management, May 5-6, 2016 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This conference highlighted the insights of Southeast Asian feminists scholar-activities who made contributions to global knowledge of the region’s challenges and achievements regarding gender equality. These papers explored a diverse array of topics. Among other things, these papers examined young Cambodian women’s expression of self-determination and agency through zines, increasing visibility and contributions of female artists in various parts of India, analyses of Indian laws pertaining to sexual harassment and domestic violence, the role of university education for Pakistani young women’s understanding of their social status. These topics illustrate how local and regional variations impact feminism, a global phenomenon. These articles provide insight for scholars in the West to challenge assumptions that progress flows from the “West to the rest”, or from North to South, or from “developed” to “developing” nations.

The author considers the impact, for Egyptian women, of the compromise clause included in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) program of action that provides for "full respect for the various religious and ethical values and cultural backgrounds of the signatory countries". The article begins by describing the recommendations of the ICPD. The author then discusses Islamic notions of women's role in society and illustrates how these views of women are reflected in Egyptian society. Then, the author considers the Islamic influence on Egyptian law and outlines past Egyptian attempts to achieve equality. The author concludes that "if Egypt fulfills the program without reconceptualizing its religious and cultural traditions, Egyptian women will remain unempowered and unable to assert control over their reproductive potential."

The article discusses the global human rights movement of comfort women, who suffered serious abuses by the Japan during WWII. The movement demands that Japan publically apologize and provide reparation for the acts committed. The article discusses the human rights strategy used by the movement to advance its claims and focuses on how this strategy can serve as a lesson to other similarly situated groups. The author compares the people-centric paradigm of post-conflict justice put forth by the movement with the state-centric paradigm employed by Japan. The first part of the article focuses on the early strategies of the movement, and analyzes the Hwang v Japan decisions to dissect the litigation efforts put forth and the challenges faced. The second part discusses the impacts of the more recent human rights strategies employed which go beyond litigation, including the 2000 Womens Tribunal mock trial. Finally, the paper examines the transnational legislative campaigns brought forward by the movement in 2007 and 2008, and conducts a case study of the U.S. House Resolution 121. The author also discusses the impact of pursuing routes that go beyond litigation and how they further the movement. Cheah Wui Ling, Walking the Long Road in Solidarity and Hope: A Case Study of the "Comfort Women" Movement's Deployment of Human Rights Discourse (2008) 22:1 Harv Hum Rts J 63.

This article provides an overview of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994. Specifically, it focuses on the international developments that led to the conference, the various restrictions on reproductive rights found throughout the world at the time of the conference and their relation to the overall problem of population growth, as well as the substantive content of the agreement reached at the conference, and the factors that can foster the implementation of the conference's plan of action. According to the author, the ICPD offered a new and qualitative approach to population control centered around human development and education. Further, the conference recognized the crucial role women play in the realization of population objectives as well as the importance of women's empowerment through human rights - including reproductive rights - in the development process.

This article argues that the US should ratify CEDAW (The UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women). The US is currently the only democracy that has refused to ratify it. 7 countries total have not ratified CEDAW to date. The author posits that participation in CEDAW is an essential step towards implementing the UN Security Council’s resolutions on the theme of Women, Peace and Security. Part I of the article argues for the ratification of CEDAW to bolster American leadership in gender equality. Part II examines current American responses to violence against women. Finally, Part III argues that the ratification of CEDAW will spur a much-needed implementation shift in gender equalizing policy.

This paper presents a brief chronological and historical account of events leading up to the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights (the Vienna Conference) and its intersection with women's human rights. It examines the objectives of the Conference and the underlying work of the human rights NGO movement, which together made the Conference a historical opportunity for women to advance the cause of their fundamental human rights.

This article presents a background paper for the 2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) illustrating the need to integrate gender issues into considerations of racial discrimination. The authors identify that gender equality and racial equality are interdependent rights, and are thus inseparable (within context of antidiscrimination law). By providing examples of how women face additional barriers where racial inequality and gender inequality intersect, the authors call on States' representatives to incorporate gender perspectives into all policies and programs. The authors conclude with recommendations for changes in reporting methodologies and information gathering to address this need.

This article explores the history of NAWL (American National Association of Women and the Law) and its involvement in international women's rights. One of NAWL's most important initiatives has been informing American women lawyers about issues of women's rights in other countries, which as been furthered by articles published in recent years. NAWL is a leading supporter in the area of womens rights in international settings. NAWLs recently renamed "International Committee" undertakes new projects, such as the March 2012 International Women in Law Summit in London. It is to be expected that NAWL will remain an advocate for women lawyers and the rights of women wherever NAWL's efforts can most effectively be deployed.

In this article, the author presents some preliminary critiques of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. The author begins by describing what occurred at the Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Forum in Huairou from August 30-September 8, 1995. Then, the article appraises the forum workshops finding them to have to been "well-organized and covered the areas of concern enumerated in the Platform." Then the author describes the various ways NGOs lobbied and worked with governments. The author concludes with comments on the success of the conference including building upon the results in other United Nations (UN) conferences and the changes in different government policies.