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Draft Platform for Action
I. [Lack of awareness of and commitment to [internationally and nationally recognized] human rights of women] [The enjoyment of [all] [universal] human rights by women]
Strategic objective I.1. Promote and protect [all] the human rights of women, through the full implementation of all [international] human rights instruments, especially through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Actions to be taken

230. By Governments:

(a) [Consider] Ratify or accede to and implement international and regional human rights treaties;

(b) [Consider] the ratification or accession to and [ensure] implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women so that universal ratification of the Convention can be achieved by the year 2000;

(c) [Consider withdrawing reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;]

(d) [Limit the extent of any reservations to the Convention, formulate any reservations as precisely and as narrowly as possible, ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention or otherwise contrary to international treaty law and review their reservations regularly, with the view to withdrawing them expeditiously;]

(e) Consider drawing up national action plans identifying steps to improve the promotion and protection of human rights, including the human rights of women, as recommended by the World Conference on Human Rights;

(f) Create or strengthen [independent] national institutions for the protection and promotion of these rights, including the human rights of women, as recommended by the World Conference on Human Rights;

(g) Develop a comprehensive human rights education programme to raise awareness among women of their human rights and among others of the human rights of women;

(h) [Undertake, if they are States parties, to implement the Convention by reviewing all laws, policies, practices and procedures to determine whether they meet the obligations set forth in the Convention, revising all non-conforming laws, policies, practices and procedures to meet the international obligations set forth in the Convention;]

(i) Include gender aspects in reporting under all other human rights conventions and instruments, including ILO conventions, to ensure analysis and review of the human rights of women;

(j) Report on schedule regarding the implementation of the Convention to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, following fully the guidelines established by the Committee and involving non-governmental organizations, where appropriate, or taking into account their contributions in the preparation of the report;

(k) [Enable the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women fully to discharge its mandate, for instance [by revising the Convention to allow adequate meeting time and] by promoting efficient working methods;]

(l) [Take steps to support] [Consider] the drafting of an optional protocol to the Convention to establish [a right of petition and inquiry] [a communication] procedure that can enter into force before the year 2000 [as soon as possible];

(m) [Consider] Ratify or accede to and ensure [full] implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure equal rights for girls and boys and urge those who have not already done so to become a party in order to realize universal implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the year 2000;

(n) Address the acute problems of children, including through supporting efforts in the context of the United Nations system aimed at adopting efficient international measures for the prevention and eradication of female infanticide, harmful child labour, the sale of children [and their organs], child prostitution, child pornography and other forms of sexual abuse and consider [guidelines for a possible draft] [the drafting of an] optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child;

(o) [Promote the approval and enforcement of an international convention against all open and covert forms of sexual exploitation that includes the provision of social services to the victims and the prosecution of those who run sex tourism industries and the traffickers;]

(p) Taking into account the need to ensure full respect for the human rights of indigenous women, consider a declaration on the rights of indigenous people for adoption by the General Assembly within the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, and encourage the participation of indigenous women in the working group elaborating the draft declaration, in accordance with the provisions for the participation of organizations of indigenous people.

231. By [the United Nations] [The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] [all human rights bodies in the United Nations system as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees], while promoting greater efficiency and effectiveness through better coordination of the various bodies, mechanisms and procedures, taking into account the need to avoid unnecessary duplication and overlapping of their mandates and tasks:

(a) Give full and equal and sustained attention to the human rights of women in the exercise of their respective mandates to promote universal respect for and protection of all human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social - including the right to development;

(b) Ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the World Conference on Human Rights for the full integration and mainstreaming of the human rights of women;

(c) Develop a comprehensive policy programme for the mainstreaming of the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system, including in activities with regard to advisory services, technical assistance, reporting methodology, gender impact assessments, coordination, public information and human rights education, and play an active role in the implementation of the programme;

(d) Ensure the integration and full participation of women as both agents and beneficiaries in the development process, and reiterate the objectives established for global action for women towards sustainable and equitable development set forth in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development;

(e) Include information on gender-based human rights violations in their activities and integrate the findings into all of their programmes and activities;

(f) Ensure that there is collaboration and coordination of the work of all human rights bodies and mechanisms to ensure that the human rights of women are respected;

(g) Strengthen cooperation and coordination between the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission for Social Development, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the United Nations human rights treaty monitoring bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, UNIFEM, INSTRAW, UNDP, UNICEF, and other organizations of the United Nations system, acting within their mandates, in the promotion of the human rights of women, and improve cooperation between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Centre for Human Rights;

(h) [Call upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to establish effective cooperation within their respective mandates, taking into account the fact that refugee, displaced and returnee women are subject to particular forms of human rights abuse;]

(Alternative)

[Call upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to establish effective cooperation within their respective mandates, taking into account [the close link between human rights situations, military aggression, ethnic cleansing and genocide, refugee, displaced and returnee women, and the fact that these women are subject to particular forms of human rights abuse];]

(i) Encourage incorporation of a gender perspective in national programmes of action and in human rights and national institutions, within the context of human rights advisory services programmes;

(j) Provide training in the human rights of women for all United Nations personnel and officials, especially those in human rights and humanitarian relief activities, and promote their understanding of the human rights of women so that they recognize and deal with violations of the human rights of women and can fully take into account the gender aspect of their work.

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