The United Nation's Structure for the Protection of Women Rights
Introduction
The United Nations was officially founded in October 1945. The organisation is in the business of maintaining international peace, security, and the protection of human rights, and also to give humanitarian assistance to those in need of it and to uphold international law. The United Nation is an organisation that supports the rights of women. This is explicitly provided in because 1 of the UN Charter which states thus;
“To achieve international co-operation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedom for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion”.
The purpose of this research work is to examine the structure of the United Nation in the protection of the rights of women.
Women Rights Under United Nations
In 1948, gender equality was actually made a part of international human rights law by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was adopted by the United General Assembly. The year 1975 was declared international women’s year by the United Nations General Assembly and the first world conference on women was held in Mexico. Furthermore, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted on the 18th December, 1979. Article 30 of the Convention provides for national action to end discrimination against women.
Also, Article 8 of the United Nations Charter provides that the UN shall not put limit on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under condition of equality in it major. The Charter of UN made sure that it provisions will cover women rights and did not accommodate discrimination on the basis of sex but rather create space for equality between men and women.
The Commission on the Status of Women
Before the United Nations was established, advocates of women rights started complaining about how women were treated poorly. It all began at the League of Nations when International Council of Women were in support of the inclusion of the rights of women in the League Convention. In 1919, the International Labour Organisation in order to protect women rights enacted the Convention on Maternity Protection and the Night Work but was later cancelled by a resolution of ILO Conference in 2017. The Convention concerned itself with the employment of women before and after childbirth and the employment of women at night.
In 1946, a sub-commission on the Status of Women was created which was under the Commission on Human Rights. The aim of the sub-commission was to monitor the equality of women as provided in the UN Charter. The Commission accepted the principles of UDHR as the basis for its agenda. During it early phase of existence, the Commission focused on promoting the equality of women and developed the Convention on Political Rights on women and it was accepted at the UN General Assembly in 1952. The Convention preserved the political rights of women. The Commission also concern itself with the discrimination against women in the area of marriage by adopting the Convention on the Nationality of Married women in 1957, The Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriage adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1965. These Conventions protected the rights of women. During the 1990s, the Commission drafted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and it was adopted in 1993 by the UN General Assembly.
In1967, UN member states adopted the declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. That the Discrimination Against women is an offence against human dignity and urged states to abrogate any existing laws or customs that are discriminatory against women and a law that will give equal protection to men and women be enacted. The Convention was later adopted by UN General Assembly in 1979. Article 1 of the Convention provides that any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women regardless of their Marital status on a basis of equality of men and women of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. Furthermore, Article 3 of the Convention provides that State parties should take all appropriate measures, including legislation to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on the basis of equality with men.
Conclusion
The United Nation's Structure has shown to recognise the protection of women rights, and it that has encouraged the enactment of a more comprehensive law to protect women rights. The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is a very detailed treaty on the protection of the rights of women. The Convention prohibit any form of discrimination and emphasises the importance of ensuring that both men and women have equal access to political, economic, social, cultural and civil rights.
Article by Opokuma, Victor Ebikonbo-ere
Photocredit: Unsplash