Hernández-Truyol, Berta E.

Latinas, Culture and Human Rights: A Model for Making Change, Saving Soul

This article reviews the progress made in the human rights situation of Latin American women both within Latin America and in the United States. The piece begins with a discussion of the intersections of race and sex discrimination in the Latina experience and assesses the protection offered by international race and sex-based instruments. Next, an overview is presented of the Inter-American Human Rights system’s jurisprudence in relation to women’s rights and the system’s effects in fostering changes in domestic laws and constitutions.

Making Women Visible: Setting an Agenda for the Twenty-First Century

This article provides a description of the “Women’s Rights as International Human Rights Symposium.” The symposium dealt with the extent of female invisibility in manners such as not being allowed political participation. Participants also discussed the presence of systematic discrimination and its endangering effects. Lastly, the symposium advocated several approaches to the problem of women’s rights as human rights. Women must unite and network together and since they are not a homogenous group, critiques of human rights must reflect their various backgrounds.

Unsex CEDAW? No! Super-Sex It!

This article responds to Darren Rosenblum's article, Unsex CEDAW, or What's Wrong with Women's Rights. While the author agrees with Rosenblum's point that inequality is not isolated to women only, she argues that the solution is to modify and expand CEDAW rather than abolish it. The author draws on personal anecdotes and qualitative reports to show that women continue to experience significant discrimination. She admits that CEDAW is directed at a male/female binary and seems to address a single form of "woman" (white/Western/Northern). The author suggests

To Bear or Not to Bear: Reproductive Freedom as an International Human Right

This article notes that reproductive freedom as a matter of concern to the international community is part of a personal right to privacy as well as part of a fabric of social rights which include rights to health care and equality for women. Using the sources of international law as an analytical framework, the author argues that reproductive freedom is now included in the body of protected international human rights; thus, any governmental interference with the individual's exercise of such freedom constitutes an impermissible intrusion into the individual's rights.

Sex, Culture, and Rights: A Re/conceptualization of Violence for the Twenty First Century

The author calls for a new definition of what constitutes violence against women so that gender equality can become a reality in both the domestic and international spheres. She notes that the reservations taken to the Women's Convention is an illustration of how legislating 'equality' fails to eradicate the systemic inequality that plagues women in all aspects of their lives.

Women's Rights as Human Rights - Rules, Realities and the Role of Culture: A Formula for Reform

"Recognizing the second-class status of women in societies around the world and the dangers of the marginalization that results, this article, as the title suggests, reviews and analyzes the rules that exist and the realities that persist. It proposes reform in the context of cultural, religious and traditional norms and practices. Part II describes the general setting that provided the impetus for women around the world to unite and demand their rights as human beings.

Women Facing War

This study assesses the impact of armed conflict on the lives of women. It identifies the core needs of women during situations of armed conflict (such as physical safety, access to health care, adequate food and shelter) and explores the associated problems faced by women along with the coping mechanisms employed by women themselves and aid agencies/organizations. The study includes a thorough analysis of international humanitarian law and, to a lesser extent, human rights and refugee law, as a way of assessing the protection afforded to women through these bodies of law.

Violence in the Americas - A Regional Analysis Including a Review of the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women

This comprehensive report scrutinizes the effectiveness of strategies currently being employed by Organization of American States (OAS) members in the domestic implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women. The report focuses on national policies, social, economic and institutional barriers, and the relative impact of measures taken.