NGOs want protection for women and homosexuals

One billion women worldwide suffer from some form of abuse says UN swissinfo.ch

NGOs want the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to push for better protections women and homosexuals.

The call came as the UNHRC started its annual six-week session in Geneva.

According to UN statistics, roughly one billion women worldwide suffer from some form of abuse or sexual assault, while an estimated two million girls are genitally mutilated each year.

Ten years ago, the Commission established a UN special rapporteur, or advisor, on violence against women, but the secretary general of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, says widespread violations still occur.

“A decade after the Vienna Conference endorsed women’s rights as human rights, one in three women in the world continues to suffer serious abuse, attack, rape or coerced sex,” she said. “This is an outrageous scandal.”

Violence

The Swiss foreign minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, has also taken up the cudgels for women’s rights by inviting her female counterparts to hold talks in Geneva on ways to combat violence against women.

She told swissinfo that the aim of the meeting – to be held later on Monday – was to put women’s rights higher on the political agenda.

“Despite the fact that many countries have integrated women’s rights into their beliefs and constitutions, the promotion and respect of these rights is a long way from being at the level they should,” said Calmy-Rey.

The group plans to adopt a common declaration to be presented to the Commission during the session.

Sexual orientation

Besides women’s rights, Adrien-Claude Zoller of the Swiss NGO, Geneva for Human Rights, says the UNHRC’s other main priority should be the adoption of a resolution on sexual orientation.

“This would allow sexual minorities to finally, after so many decades, be recognised as human beings,” he said.

During last year’s session, Brazil tabled a draft resolution that expressed concern over human rights violations against homosexuals.

Commission members failed to reach agreement on the issue but it is expected to be the subject of heated debate again this year, with many Islamic countries opposing it.

Death penalty

Amnesty says it has documented many cases of human rights abuses based on sexual orientation, including the death penalty, imprisonment, torture and attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights defenders.

“These violations are unacceptable in any country and governments must stand up to such abuses,” said Khan.

“The Commission’s main task is to uphold the universality of human rights and that means equal protection of all.”

swissinfo, Anna Nelson in Geneva

In brief

Non-governmental organisations have slammed the United Nations Human Rights Commission for failing to act promptly and effectively in denouncing human rights violations.

NGOs say the UNHRC, which opens its 60th session on Monday, risks becoming irrelevant if it does not reform itself.

They have called on the Commission to establish transparent and objective criteria for selecting the countries it scrutinises.

In addition, they are pushing for a more effective system for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.