UN expert decries growing global violence against women
The Guardian newspaper Monday, October 27, 2008
A UNITED Nations (UN) human rights expert says women around the world will continue to endure violence, abuse and discrimination, according to a report submitted to the UN General Assembly in New York.
The expert, Yakin Ertrk, who is the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, according to the Pan-African News Agency (PANA) yesterday, said that “in spite of the abuses and violence, they (women) often have no recourse to justice.”
She urged UN member states to take remedial steps to save women from violence and abuses.
“In spite of considerable achievements, violence against women persists in every country as a pervasive and universal violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality,” Ertrk noted.
She said that the problem of violence against women had become so complex that laws and policies worldwide needed to be changed to adjust to the reality.
“To enhance the effectiveness of this mandate in promoting and supporting endeavours to combat violence against women, I would like to emphasise the need to complement the mandate with a substantial funding source,” she added.
The report came weeks before the UN Development Fund for Women’s (UNIFEM) target date for gathering a million names on its “Say No to Violence against Women” campaign web-site. The campaign wraps up 25 November when the signatures will be handed over to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The report has been presented to the UN General Assembly’s third committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural matters.
Meanwhile, the UN and the World Bank Group have signed an agreement to strengthen their commitment to work together in countries struck by conflicts or natural disasters.
The agreement was signed last Friday by Ban and the World Bank President Robert Zoellick.
It said that the agreement sets out common principles to guide the two institutions on how to work with national authorities and aid partners to support crisis prevention, stabilisation and recovery strategies.
“At the same time, the agreement acknowledges the importance of the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence,” it noted.
The statement also said that the UN and the World Bank were also committing themselves to improving inter-agency communications and strengthen joint planning.
Others, it added, include increase collaboration on funding mechanisms and also to foster a broader culture of collaboration between the two institutions.
