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 Link categorized with Key Treaties and Texts
Special Rapporteur on Women's Rights , African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the 'African Commission') was established by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and is entrusted with the promotion and protection of human and peoples' rights and the interpretation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Commission includes a special mechanism devoted to women's rights in Africa, presided over by the Special Rapporteur on Women's Rights. This section of the African Commission's website contains information on the group's mandate and resolutions, the protocol on women's rights, and a report of activities.

 

Women, Gender and Development Directorate , African Union
The African Union (AU) was established on September 9, 1999 by the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The objective was to accelerate the process of integration in the continent to promote Africa's role in the global economy while addressing the continent's social, economic and political problems. Human rights are a core aspect of this process and one aspect of the work the AU Commission is to implement the AU's gender programme that aims to achieve equality between men and women and the empowerment of women on the African continent.

 

ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law , American Society of International Law
This research guide was prepared by Marci Hoffman, currently International & Foreign Law Librarian at UC Berkeley Law Library. The guide focuses on English-language resources available in electronic format (including CD-ROMs and on the internet). It is a useful resource both for developing a research plan and also for locating primary and secondary sources. It includes in-text links to the sources referred to in the commentary, in addition to a list of other relevant sites and quick links.

 

Canada's Reports on UN Human Rights Treaties and Related Official Documents , Canadian Heritage Human Rights Program
This website includes links to publications available from the Canadian Heritage Human Rights Program and to the texts of the major international human rights treaties. The publication list includes Canadas reports to the United Nations with respect to the international human rights treaties that Canada has signed and ratified. The site also lists the dates for the submission of Canada's upcoming reports to the UN treaty monitoring bodies and a table of concordances showing how provisions from the various treaties overlap and reinforce each other. [Descriptors: Key Texts, Canada]

 

European Court of Human Rights , Council of Europe
The European Court of Human Rights is the judicial body which supervises the implementation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Court's web site includes background information on the Court, the European Convention and Rules of the Court, judgements and decisions, press releases, ratification information, etc. In the General Information section, users will find a Notice for the Attention of Person Wishing to Apply to the Court, posted in twenty-three languages.

 

Human Rights: Equality between Men and Women , Council of Europe
This section of the Council of Europe's website is dedicated to the pursuit of equality between men and women. The Council of Europe seeks to combat any interference with women's liberty and dignity (for example violence against women, trafficking in human beings for purpose of sexual exploitation), to eliminate discrimination based on sex and to promote a balanced representation of women and men in political and public life. This section of the website provides information on the current activities of the Council of Europe in pursuing gender equality in Europe.

 

Treaty Office , Council of Europe
The Council of Europe's Treaty Office provides on-line information pertaining to the treaties in the Council of Europe Treaty Series (CETS) such as status, ratifications, reservations, declarations and protocols. This section of the database specifically addresses itself to human rights in Europe and provides full text links as well as information on the ratification status of the 29 European human rights treaties or protocols.

 

Human Rights in Subsaharan Africa , Derechos
This web-page is part of the "Derechos" Human Rights Internet project. It provides a link to information and resources on human rights violations across the African region. Human rights updates on a range of African countries are available. The site offers access to African human rights instruments, NGO's with a specific focus on Africa, news sites and on-line links on Africa and other regions around the world. Although the site does not specifically address gender aspects, it provides useful information on various human rights issues specific to this region.

 

Equitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education , Equitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education
Equitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of human rights through education. Their education programs focus on human rights law and public education strategies. Their main activities include an annual International Human Rights Training Program and regional programs in Canada, Africa, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. This website, available in both English and French, contains information on Equitas' various programs, conferences and publications. While the organization's work does not focus specifically on women's human rights, two specific projects are aimed at improving the legal protection of women and girls working as domestic servants and migrant workers. [Descriptors: Applying Human Rights - Domestic, International]

 

European Union: Human Rights , Europa (European Union)
Human rights, democracy and the rule of law are core values of the European Union (EU). This section of th Europa website provides information on the activities of the EU with regard to human rights. Whilst the site provides an excellent overview of human rights in the EU, WHRR users will probably be most interested in the "Equality" section that outlines EU measures to combat discrimination and promote equality between men and women at all levels of society and in all EU member states.

 

Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women , Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The rapporteurship on the rights of women was established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 1994. The objective was to pursue equality between men and women and to ensure that the rights of women are fully respected in all member states of the Organization of American States (OAS). This section of the IACHR site contains thematic reports/studies and reports of petitions/ cases pending before the Commission, along with country-specific reports.

 

IWRAW Asia Pacific , International Women's Rights Action Watch - Asia Pacific
IWRAW Asia Pacific is based in the South and contributes to the progressive interpretation, universalization, implementation and realization of women's human rights through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Women's Convention) and other international human rights treaties. The aim is to foster a process whereby the Women's Convention is used as a tool for applying international human rights standards at the domestic level and to a wide range of contexts, such as political participation, armed conflict, rights in marriage, violence against women, trafficking reproductive rights, employment. The website of this organization provides information on how IWRAW Asia Pacific seeks to achieve these ends, as well as detailed information on the Women's Convention, the Optional Protocol, other human rights mechanisms and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as information on how to use CEDAW. [Descriptors: Applying Human Rights - Domestic, International]

 

Network of East-West Women , Network of East-West Women (NEWW)
The Network of East-West Women (NEWW) links women across national and regional boundaries to share resources, knowledge and skills. NEWW's mission is to empower women and girls throughout the East (Central and Eastern Europe, the Newly Independent States and the Russian Federation) and the West by dialogue, networking, campaigns, and educational and informational exchanges. The organization's goals are to "support the formation of independent women's movements and to strengthen the capacities of women and women's NGOs to influence policy regarding women's lives". This site features information on and access to NEWW's activities, publications and links. [Descriptors: Applying Human Rights Law - Domestic, International]

 

International Human Rights Instruments , Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
This part of the High Commissioner for Human Rights site contains a list of links to all the major international human rights and humanitarian instruments. It also contains links to relevant declarations. These documents are divided according to major subject headings and are easily searchable. Users can also obtain ratification information about each instrument through a link contained within the document.

 

Treaty Body Database , Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
The United Nations Treaty Body Database is a compilation of all the documents submitted to, or issued by, the various treaty-based monitoring committees. State reports and concluding observations constitute the database's core; however, it also contains other full-text documents and factual data concerning the reporting process and ratification of the treaties, as well as information relating to the individual Committees. This database is a comprehensive resource for individuals wishing to research the work of the Committee against Torture (CAT), the Human Rights Committee (HRC) that monitors the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CECSR), the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Documents are available in English, French and Spanish.

 

Women's Rights are Human Rights , Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
This special section of the UNHCHR site addresses the "mainstreaming" of gender in the human rights context, and reviews the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the international human rights system. There is recognition that despite significant advances (such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Vienna and Beijing Conferences), there is still work to be done to incorporate gender experiences in the implementation of human rights norms. It is recognized that in certain areas gender amounts to a risk factor for violation or abuse of human rights. Furthermore, it is recognized that attention must be given to cultural beliefs and values and not just institutional practices when considering gender.

 

Inter-American Commission of Women , Organization of American States
The Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) is a specialized organization of the Organization of American States (OAS), established in 1928 by the OAS at its Sixth International Conference in Havana, Cuba. CIM was the first official intergovernmental agency in the world created expressly to ensure recognition of the civil and political rights of women. It has played a crucial role in making the participation and support of women a legitimate and indispensable part of governance and international consensus building in the Americas. This site provides links to relevant conventions and documents as well as a staff directory and contact information.

 

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights , Organization of American States
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), based in Washington, D.C., is one of two organs in the Inter-American system designed to promote and protect human rights. (The other organ is the Inter-American Court). The IACHR receives and analyses individual petitions which allege human rights abuses, observes the general human rights situation in member countries, submits cases to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (when States are party to the regional human rights Convention), carries out on-site visits, organizes seminars and educational materials, and makes recommendations of measures to improve human rights protection to member countries. The web site includes basic documents of the Inter-American human rights system, annual reports of the Commission, country reports, the views of the Committee on individual petitions, press releases and speeches. The site is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

 

Inter-American Court of Human Rights , Organization of American States
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ('the Inter-American Court')is located in Costa Rica. The Inter-American Court is one of two organs in the Inter-American system aimed at the promotion and protection of human rights (the other organ is the Inter-American Commission). The web site includes information on the Court and its composition, decisions of the Court, press releases and publications. Information is posted on the Court's site in Spanish and English.

 

Optional Protocol to CEDAW , Simone Cusack et al.
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.

 

United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights , United Nations
This is the home page of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Although the site is not limited to women's rights, it is fully searchable and has some very useful features. For example, there is a link to a map of the United Nations sytem under "Structure" at the left hand side of the home page. This map sets out the main bodies of the United Nations and provides links to elevant information for each body. The "Programme" option also on the left hand side of the home page also contains a useful catalogue of United Nations activities as well as links to related information, including official UN documents.

 

United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women , United Nations
The United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) promotes and undertakes policy-oriented research, disseminates informaton and carries out training programmes at the international level to contribute to the advancement of women world wide. Founded in 1976 by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), INSTRAW is a major catalyst in gender initiatives. Furthermor, it promotes applied research on gender, facilitates information sharing, and supports capacity building through networking mechanisms such as GAINS and multi-stakeholder partnerships with UN agencies, governments, academia and civil society.

 

United Nations Systems of Organization , United Nations
This is the official Web Site locator for the UN system of organizations. It provides a fully searchable "Alphabetic Index of Websites of the United Nations System of Organizations".

 

UNIFEM , United Nations Development Fund for Women
The United Nations Development Fund for Women [UNIFEM] was established to promote women's empowerment and gender equality. It works to ensure the participation of women in all levels of development planning and practice, and acts as a catalyst within the UN system, supporting efforts that link the needs and concerns of women to all critical issues on the national, regional and global agendas. UNIFEM focuses it work at the country level within the context of the United Nations Resident Coordinator System. Playing a strong advocacy role, UNIFEM concentrates on fostering a multilateral policy dialogue on women's empowerment.

 

Regional Materials , University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
This part of the University of Minnesota human rights resources website is a comprehensive resource for those seeking to research the three regional human rights systems (European, African, Inter-American) and their texts and instruments. The site does not have a women focus.

 

Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights , WILD for Human Rights
The Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights (WILD) promotes human rights through the conscious leadership and action of women and girls. WILD provides human rights education, engages in public advocacy, and collaborates on the adoption and implementation of international human rights standards in the United States. Of particular interest to the domestic implementation of international women's rights is the fact that WILD spearheaded the passage in San Francisco of the first-ever U.S. city ordinance implementing the principles underlying CEDAW. They worked with members of city government, policy makers, and advocates to provide training on CEDAW and organize a public hearing. [Descriptors: Applying Human Rights Law - Domestic, International - North America]