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.2. Ensure equality and non-discrimination under the law
Actions to be taken
232. By Governments:
(a) Give priority to promoting and protecting the full and equal enjoyment by women and men of all human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origins, property, birth or other status;
(b) Provide constitutional guarantees and/or enact appropriate legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex for all women and girls of all ages and assure women of all ages equal rights and their full enjoyment;
(c) Embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their legislation and ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;
(d) [Consider] reviewing national laws [including customary laws and legal practices in the areas of family, civil, penal, labour and commercial laws] in order to ensure the implementation of the principles and procedures of all relevant international human rights instruments by means of national legislation, and [consider] revoking any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex and remove gender bias in the administration of justice;
(e) Strengthen and encourage the development of programmes of protection of the human rights of women in the national institutions on human rights which carry out programmes, such as human rights commissions or ombudspersons, according them appropriate status, resources and access to the Government to assist individuals, in particular women, and ensure that these institutions pay adequate attention to problems involving the violation of the human rights of women;
(f) [Take action to ensure that women's [sexual and] reproductive rights are fully recognized and respected;]
(g) [Take urgent action to combat and eliminate violence against women, which is a human rights violation, resulting from harmful traditional or customary practices, cultural prejudices and [religious, anti-religious, or secular] extremism. [They are also urged] Prohibit female genital mutilation wherever it exists and give vigorous support to efforts among non-governmental and community organizations and religious institutions to eliminate such practices;]
(h) [Consider what legal safeguards may be required to prevent discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or lifestyle;]
(i) Provide gender-sensitive human rights education and training to public officials, including, inter alia, police and military personnel, corrections officers, health and medical personnel, and social workers, including people who deal with migration and refugee issues, and teachers at all levels of the educational system, and make available such education and training also to the judiciary and members of parliament in order to enable them to better exercise their public responsibilities;
(j) [Promote the equal right of women to be members of trade unions and other professional and social organizations;]
(k) Establish effective mechanisms for investigating violations of the human rights of women perpetrated by any public official and take the necessary punitive legal measures in accordance with national laws;
(l) Review and amend criminal laws and procedures, as necessary, to eliminate any discrimination against women in order to ensure that criminal law and procedures guarantee women effective protection against, and prosecution of, crimes directed at or disproportionately affecting women, regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, and ensure that women defendants, victims and/or witnesses are not revictimized or discriminated against in the investigation and prosecution of crimes;
(m) Ensure that women have the same right as men to be [judges], advocates or other officers of the court, as well as police officers and prison and detention officers, among other things;
(n) Strengthen existing or establish readily available and free or affordable alternative administrative mechanisms and legal aid programmes to assist disadvantaged women seeking redress for violations of their rights;
(o) [Guarantee the full enjoyment of all human rights by women activists and by members of non-governmental organizations in this field and their freedom in carrying out their activities;]
(Alternative)
[Ensure that all women and [members of] non-governmental organizations [and their members] genuinely involved in the field of protection and promotion of all human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social, including the right to development - enjoy the rights and freedoms recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the protection of national laws;]
(p) Strengthen and encourage the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, paying special attention to ensure non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls with disabilities, including their access to information and services in the field of violence against women, as well as their active participation and economic contribution in all aspects of society;
(q) Encourage the development of gender-sensitive human rights programmes.
Strategic objective I.3. Achieve legal literacy
Actions to be taken
233. By Governments [with the support of] [and] non-governmental organizations, the United Nations and other international organizations, as appropriate:
(a) Translate whenever possible, into local and indigenous languages and into alternative formats appropriate for persons with disabilities and persons at lower levels of literacy, publicize and disseminate laws and information relating to the equal status and human rights of all women, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Declaration on the Right to Development and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, as well as the outcomes of relevant United Nations conferences and summits and national reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;
(b) Publicize and disseminate such information in easily understandable formats and alternative formats appropriate for persons with disabilities, and persons at low levels of literacy;
(c) Disseminate information on national legislation and its impact on women, including easily accessible guidelines on how to use a justice system to exercise one's rights;
(d) [Include information about international and regional instruments and standards in their public information and human rights education activities and in adult education and training programmes, particularly for groups such as the military, the police and other law enforcement personnel, the judiciary, and legal and health professionals to ensure that human rights are effectively protected;]
(e) Make widely available and fully publicize information on the existence of national, regional and international mechanisms for seeking redress when the human rights of women are violated;
(f) Encourage, coordinate and cooperate with local and regional women's groups, relevant non-governmental organizations, educators and the media, to implement programmes in human rights education to make women aware of their human rights;
(g) [Promote education on the human and legal rights of women in school curricula at all levels of education and undertake public campaigns, in the most widely used languages of the country, on the equality of women and men in public and private life, including their rights within the family and relevant human rights instruments under national and international law;]
(h) Promote education in all countries in human rights and international humanitarian law for members of the national security and armed forces, including those assigned to United Nations peace-keeping operations, on a routine and continuing basis, reminding them and sensitizing them to the fact that they should respect the rights of women at all times, both on and off duty, giving special attention to the rules on the protection of women and children and to the protection of human rights in situations of armed conflict;
(i) Take appropriate measures to ensure that refugee and displaced women, migrant women and women migrant workers are made aware of their human rights and of the recourse mechanisms available to them.
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