Otto, Dianne

Holding up Half the Sky, But for Whose Benefit?: A Critical Analysis of the Fourth World Conference on Women

Part 1 of this article examines the content of the formal outcomes of the 1994 Fourth World Conference on Women, specifically The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action (PFA). Part 2 critiques these outcomes around the three official themes of the Conference - equality, development and peace - arguing that the language of equality dominated and operated to prevent transformative outcomes.

"Gender Comment": Why Does the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Need a General Comment on Women?

The author of this article discusses considerations of equality in the provision of economic, social and cultural rights and analyzes the particular role of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in securing these rights for women. The article begins with a review of General Comments by the Committee, including a discussion of the status of these comments under international law. The second half of the article focuses on how women's human rights issues are addressed within the broader UN system.

Women, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights

This paper provides a human rights analysis of gender-specific factors that make women vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS and influence the consequences of contracting the virus. It analyzes social and human rights factors such as gender-based violence, traditional practices, violence against women in conflict, lack of economic independence, sex work, and injected drug use. Intersecting discriminatory categories such as ethnicity, sexual orientation and age are also discussed.